Foreign Languages: Immigrant And Mrs. Rodriguez

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Introduction In the United States, languages other than English are often thought of and referred to as “foreign” languages. However, many people who live in the United States have different cultural connections and often know languages other than English. These languages are not “foreign” to particular individuals or communities; instead, they are familiar in a variety of ways. Some people may be able to speak, read, and write the language; others may only speak or understand when spoken to. Some may not understand the language but are part of a family or community where the language is spoken. The term “heritage” language can be used to describe any of these connections between a non-dominant language and a person, a family, or a community. …show more content…

and Mrs. Rodriguez, offering me something to drink or eat as I got settled in the dining room, which was located centrally in the home, offering enough privacy while still allowing me to observe various interactions happening throughout the home as I interviewed each of the children individually. Mr. Rodriguez is a native speaker and was born in Mexico while Mrs. Rodriguez was born in the United States but considers herself to be a native speaker as well having been born to immigrant parents. Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez speak both English and Spanish in the home, although Mrs. Rodriguez is more adamant about speaking to the children in Spanish. The oldest of the three, a 21 year old, Rodriguez 1 was the first to be interviewed. He was one of the children to have been born in California, where he lived and grew up until the age of 12 when he and his parents moved to Minnesota. Rodriguez 2, 16 years old, was also born in California and was a bit younger than Rodriquez when the family moved away at just 7 years of age. The Rodriguez's have a lot of extended family in California, including their grandparent's on both sides, both of which were actively involved in the children's lives when they are growing up. Rodriguez 3, the youngest of the boys was 9 years old. He was born in Minnesota, and unfortunately has had little contact with their extended family due to the limited number of visits the family has made to California in …show more content…

In conducting the interviews, I asked a variety of questions as well as sample scenarios in order to get a sense of their oral proficiency, as well as a basis for the background of the children and the learning conditions under which they learned their Heritage language. In order to evaluate oral proficiency I used an assessment instrument based on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). There are three stages to the interview: warm-up, role-play, and wind down. The role of the 'warm-up' is to put the interviewee at ease, to familiarize him/her with the pronunciation and way of speaking of the interviewer, and to generate topics which can be explored later in the interview. A 'role-play' not only allows the interviewee to demonstrate his/her ability to manipulate tasks and contexts at a particular level, it also serves as an additional check, to help the interviewer confirm the testee's level. Sample role play scenarios are shown

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