Along with our research partners of the National Heritage Language Resource Center at UCLA, we have been participating in several language teachers conferences, such as ACTFL, NECTFL and FLENJ to share our experience and exchange ideas with teachers and administrators. In collaboration with the NHLRC-UCLA, we are now working on the creation of a high school survey that thousands of heritage students will be able to take online, nationwide. The survey focuses on the relationship between heritage speakers and their heritage language. It will lead to a better understanding of their pedagogical needs.

The French Heritage Language Program also contributes to other aspects of scholarly research, and to the design of curricular activities for the teaching of heritage French, and heritage languages in general. Please visit our Teaching Resources page for example of cultural projects used in our classrooms.

Benefiting from the Internationals Network for Public Schools global education methods, the structure of the curriculum is project-based and focuses on a very participative approach, with an emphasis on the students’ liability towards their projects and classmates. The pedagogical process also covers a vast sociological territory, due to the diversity of the students’ backgrounds.

The curriculum includes very diverse activities such as field trips to museums, films, meetings with university students or professionals – all a part of larger pedagogical projects. Authentic multimedia resources such as videos, music and the Internet are also frequently used in the classroom to enrich the learning experience.

The very heterogeneous linguistic levels of the students must be taken into account to keep class challenging for all and avoid discouragement among the less advanced students. Our goal is to ensure that the skills of every student are used to full potential while making room for further improvement. Differenciated instruction is therefore implemented in the classroom.