Second language (L2) learning is widely acknowledged as complex due to variables such as learner, context, and target language. Such variables are particularly relevant to the learning of immigrant or indigenous languages in countries such as Canada, the United States, and New Zealand. The motivational roles of such variables are considered…

The current study examined the perspectives of seven immigrant adolescents on aspects of their lives that informed their determined and autonomous motivations to learn Korean as a heritage language (HL) in the United States. Constant comparative analyses of interview data showed that, although all of the students experienced determined motivations…

British Columbia (BC), Canada, is home to 34 Indigenous languages, all of them classified as endangered. Considerable work is underway by First Nation communities to revitalize their languages. Linguists classify many of the languages of BC as polysynthetic, meaning that words are composed of many morphemes, or units of meaning. While strong…

This comparative inquiry examines the multi-/bilingual nature and cultural diversity of two distinctly different linguistic and ethnic communities in Montreal--English speakers and Chinese speakers--with a focus on the multi/bilingual and multi/biliterate development of children from these two communities who attend French-language schools, by…

The motivation of 145 learners of Chinese was examined in light of self-determination theory through a questionnaire survey. The results showed that the more learners felt they were learning Chinese because it was personally meaningful and fun, the more they engaged in the learning process. This orientation was promoted to the extent that learners…

This article offers a critical analysis of the language socialization of Spanish-speaking families in a Scout group in Metro Vancouver. Using tools of discourse analysis, the article examines the language use patterns of the participants, particularly focusing on the language ideologies to which they oriented themselves and the identities indexed…

The voices of 21 immigrant parents, 12 teachers, and 10 principals are heard in this discussion of assumptions regarding minority-language parents' linguistic, social, and cultural capital in supporting their children's literacy development. Interview data show that parents and educators recognize the contributions of children's first language…

This article addresses two key challenges that globalization poses to literacy research: the need for new models of literacy and literacy education, and the stakes of adopting multiliteracies pedagogies in different contexts--that is, the tensions between competing hegemonic discourses of collective identity in the public sphere of ethnolinguistic…

Proposes that heritage language education research findings in Canada fall within three interpretive frames, involving (1) interdependence, which posits that languages complement each other; (2) narrativity, which suggests that there is a narrative structure to the developing mind; and (3) cognitive enhancement, which posits that language and…

A catalog of heritage language projects funded by the Canadian government's Multiculturalism Program since 1973 lists milestones in the government's support of heritage languages, publications, research projects, teaching aids, resource kits, teacher training projects, and promotional organizations. (CB)

Describes the development of curricular materials for a Portuguese heritage language program in Ontario, Canada, involving the active participation of the students themselves, with the added benefit of increased motivation and the acquisition of computer skills. (Author/CB)

This study examined how two motivational substrates may be differentially important depending upon the learner's language background. Students registered in German classes (N = 99) completed a questionnaire that assessed (a) their intrinsic, extrinsic, integrative, and instrumental reasons for learning German; (b) their feelings of autonomy,…

Native education's linguistic and cultural content is effective only using traditional cultural values concerning ways of using language, interacting, and knowing. Brokerage between native and school learning processes emerges in the new role of native educator. Language and cultural inclusion lead to a broad cultural base in native Canadian…

Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data regarding the opinions of 148 university students studying their ethnic language identified three emerging themes: (1) the need for heritage language literacy at home and at school; (2) the relationship between language and ethnic community participation; and (3) the relationship between language and…

Reports on two studies of minority language children enrolled in a Toronto, Canada, bilingual (English-French) program. The study indicated that focus on the maintenance and development of students' heritage language with specific reference to literacy learning enhanced the learning of French, a third language for the minority language students.…