Resisting English Dominance: The Narrative Inquiry of Heritage Language Schools in Los Angeles

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Reimagining Educational Research for and with Asian Americans

Abstract

This study examines two heritage language schools in Los Angeles—one Taiwanese and one Korean—to explore how they have developed to support language preservation, identity formation, and evolving diasporic needs. Guided by theories of heritage language learners (HLLs), linguistic identity, and language ideologies, the study uses narrative inquiry to analyze the perspectives of institutional actors. It highlights how heritage language education serves not only as cultural maintenance but also as a site where students’ linguistic and cultural identities are shaped through institutional visions and practices. Located in the multiracial city of Los Angeles, these schools also resist the English-dominant norms embedded in mainstream educational discourse, asserting the legitimacy of minority languages.

Authors

• Jiyun Yu, University of California - Los Angeles

• Kathy Yi-Hang LI, UCLA