3:30-5PM on Thursday, February 1

Speaker: Kim Potowski (kimpotow@uic.edu)

Title: Apples and oranges: Teaching heritage speakers

ABSTRACT

This talk covers important issues related to teaching language courses to heritage speakers, addressing questions such as these: What are their linguistic, affective, and academic characteristics?  What makes them different from foreign language learners? What placement procedures, instructional approaches, and materials are most appropriate in working with heritage speakers to best serve their linguistic and affective needs? There will be particular focus on Spanish but also consideration of other heritage languages taught in the U.S.

BIO

Dr. Kim Potowski is Professor of Spanish linguistics in the Department of Hispanic & Italian Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she also holds appointments in Latin American and Latino Studies and Curriculum & Instruction. She directed the Spanish for heritage speakers program on her campus for 18 years and is the founding director of its summer study abroad program in Oaxaca, Mexico. Her research focuses on Spanish in the United States, including factors that influence language maintenance and change, as well as connections between language and ethnic identity. She has authored and edited over 12 books including Spanish in Chicago, El español de los Estados Unidos, Heritage language teaching, Language diversity in the USA, and Language and identity in a dual immersion school, as well as several textbooks for students and for teachers.