Community and Heritage Languages Education

As the U.S. faces a shortage of adults with proficiency in languages other than English, the languages spoken in communities across the United States can be harnessed and developed to address this shortage. Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Korean count among the largest language groups most commonly spoken in the home. Foreign language enrollment in U.S. schools is a poor reflection of heritage language communities in the country, and heritage language speakers in schools. However, the pool of students who enter schools with some degree of proficiency in another language present a tremendous resource if they can continue to develop their language skills. 

For example, CAL and the National Foreign Language Center have joined forces in an effort to overcome the neglect of heritage languages in the United States and to help U.S. schools recognize and develop the heritage language resources of this country. Through the Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Languages, CAL raised the profile of heritage language concerns in the larger language learning discussion in the USA. The Alliance has collected a rich set of resources in the form of briefs, short papers, and documentation of languages and programs.