Research Article
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Year 2023, Issue: 34, 457 - 471, 22.06.2023

Selim Tiryakiol

https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1316209

Abstract

References

  • Aberdeen, T. (2016). Six things you might not know about Heritage Language Schools. Language Issues, 27(1), 13–20.
  • Balgamış, D., & Karpat, K. (Eds.). (2008). Turkish Migration to the United States: From Ottoman Times to the Present. University of Wisconsin Press. https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4434.htm
  • Bayram, F. (2015). Miras Dil Olarak Göçmen Türkçesi: Yeni Bir Kuramsal Yaklaşım. Dede Korkut The Journal of International Turkish Language & Literature Research, 8, 8–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.25068/dedekorkut65
  • Bayram, F., Rothman, J., Iverson, M., Kupisch, T., Miller, D., Puig-Mayenco, E., & Westergaard, M. (2019). Differences in use without deficiencies in competence: Passives in the Turkish and German of Turkish heritage speakers in Germany. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22(8), 919–939. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1324403
  • Bayram, F., & Wright, C. (2016). Turkish Heritage Language Acquisition and Maintenance in Germany. In R. Latiner Raby & E. J. Valeau (Eds.), Handbook of Comparative Studies on Community Colleges and Global Counterparts (pp. 1–22). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38893-9_49-1
  • Carreira, M., & Kagan, O. (2011). The Results of the National Heritage Language Survey: Implications for Teaching, Curriculum Design, and Professional Development: The Results of the National Heritage Language Survey. Foreign Language Annals, 44(1), 40–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2010.01118.x
  • Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed). Routledge.
  • Compton, C. J. (2001). Heritage Language Communities and Schools: Challenges and Recommendations. In J. K. Peyton, D. A. Ranard, & S. McGinnis (Eds.), Heritage Languages in America Preserving a National Resource (pp. 145–165). Center for Applied Linguistics.
  • Coşkun Kunduz, A. (2022). Heritage Language Acquisition and Maintenance of Turkish in The United States: Challenges to Teaching Turkish as a Heritage Language. Dilbilim Dergisi / The Journal of Linguistics, 0(38), 41–60. https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1129254
  • Doomernik, J. (1995). The institutionalization of Turkish Islam in Germany and The Netherlands: A comparison 1. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 18(1), 46–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.1995.9993853
  • Evcen, O. (2020). The role of schooling for heritage language learners: A case study of Turkish heritage speakers [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]. https://hdl.handle.net/2142/109597
  • Fishman, J. A. (2014). Three Hundred-Plus Years of Heritage Language Education in the United States. In T. G. Wiley, J. K. Peyton, D. Christian, S. C. K. Moore, & N. Liu (Eds.), Handbook of Heritage, Community, and Native American Languages in the United States (1st ed.). Routledge.
  • Kupisch, T., & Rothman, J. (2018). Terminology matters! Why difference is not incompleteness and how early child bilinguals are heritage speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism, 22(5), 564–582. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006916654355
  • Lee, J. S., & Wright, W. E. (2014). The Rediscovery of Heritage and Community Language Education in the United States. Review of Research in Education, 38(1), 137–165. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X13507546
  • Leeman, J. (2015). Heritage Language Education and Identity in the United States. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 100–119. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000245
  • Li, G. (2006). Biliteracy and trilingual practices in the home context: Case studies of Chinese-Canadian children. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(3), 355–381. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798406069797
  • Lo Bianco, J., & Kreeft Peyton, J. (2013). Introduction: Vitality of Heritage Languages in the United States: The Role of Capacity, Opportunity, and Desire. Heritage Language Journal, 10(3), i–viii. https://doi.org/10.46538/hlj.10.3.1
  • Luk, G., & Grundy, J. G. (2022). The Importance of Recognizing Social Contexts in Research on Bilingualism. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728922000177
  • Rothman, J., & Treffers-Daller, J. (2014). A Prolegomenon to the Construct of the Native Speaker: Heritage Speaker Bilinguals are Natives Too! Applied Linguistics, 35(1), 93–98. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amt049
  • Rothman, J., Tsimpli, I. M., & Pascual y Cabo, D. (2016). Formal linguistic approaches to heritage language acquisition: Bridges for pedagogically oriented research. In D. Pascual y Cabo (Ed.), Advances in Spanish as a heritage language (pp. 13–26). John Benjamins.
  • Shibata, S. (2000). Opening a Japanese Saturday School in a Small Town in the United States: Community Collaboration to Teach Japanese as a Heritage Language. Bilingual Research Journal, 24(4), 465–474. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2000.10162778
  • Uludağ, A. (2011). Turkish heritage language schools in the United States (Heritage Brief Collection, pp. 1–5). Center for Applied Linguistics. https://www.cal.org/heritage/research/briefs.html

Turkish Heritage Language Programs for Immigrant Children in the United States: The Current State and Opportunities

Year 2023, Issue: 34, 457 - 471, 22.06.2023

Selim Tiryakiol

https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1316209

Abstract

This study investigates Turkish community centers (weekend schools) in the United States. These centers are usually used as places of worship, cultural centers, and/or heritage language programs for immigrant children. This study aims to provide a snapshot of Turkish heritage language programs with a descriptive research design by collecting information from administrators and/or teachers of Turkish community centers in the United States. Administrators and/or teachers from 12 different centers responded to the online survey which consisted of questions on categories such as organizational, teacher-related, student-related, and parental issues. The data was analyzed with content analysis based on these categories. The results of the study demonstrates that Turkish heritage language programs overwhelmingly function within the informal cultural context on a voluntary basis and are not integrated into the formal education system. Although the center leaders expend effort to attract kids and parents, enrollments remain low and concentrated among primary school-age children. These centers are overwhelmingly funded by the community, the Turkish state, and private organizations and lack support from U.S. institutions. While some centers prioritize religious education, others give only cultural education. They generally offer few classes, employ teachers with minimal experience, and do not sufficiently collaborate with each other. This study concludes that community centers play a critical role in maintaining heritage languages since they are the only spaces for Turkish children’s professional language development. They provide immigrant families and children with complex social, cultural, and educational experiences. The field needs further study that explores the role of these complex interactions in heritage language proficiency.

Keywords

Community Centers Heritage Language Programs Immigrant Children Heritage Language Education Turkish.

References

  • Aberdeen, T. (2016). Six things you might not know about Heritage Language Schools. Language Issues, 27(1), 13–20.
  • Balgamış, D., & Karpat, K. (Eds.). (2008). Turkish Migration to the United States: From Ottoman Times to the Present. University of Wisconsin Press. https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4434.htm
  • Bayram, F. (2015). Miras Dil Olarak Göçmen Türkçesi: Yeni Bir Kuramsal Yaklaşım. Dede Korkut The Journal of International Turkish Language & Literature Research, 8, 8–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.25068/dedekorkut65
  • Bayram, F., Rothman, J., Iverson, M., Kupisch, T., Miller, D., Puig-Mayenco, E., & Westergaard, M. (2019). Differences in use without deficiencies in competence: Passives in the Turkish and German of Turkish heritage speakers in Germany. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22(8), 919–939. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1324403
  • Bayram, F., & Wright, C. (2016). Turkish Heritage Language Acquisition and Maintenance in Germany. In R. Latiner Raby & E. J. Valeau (Eds.), Handbook of Comparative Studies on Community Colleges and Global Counterparts (pp. 1–22). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38893-9_49-1
  • Carreira, M., & Kagan, O. (2011). The Results of the National Heritage Language Survey: Implications for Teaching, Curriculum Design, and Professional Development: The Results of the National Heritage Language Survey. Foreign Language Annals, 44(1), 40–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2010.01118.x
  • Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed). Routledge.
  • Compton, C. J. (2001). Heritage Language Communities and Schools: Challenges and Recommendations. In J. K. Peyton, D. A. Ranard, & S. McGinnis (Eds.), Heritage Languages in America Preserving a National Resource (pp. 145–165). Center for Applied Linguistics.
  • Coşkun Kunduz, A. (2022). Heritage Language Acquisition and Maintenance of Turkish in The United States: Challenges to Teaching Turkish as a Heritage Language. Dilbilim Dergisi / The Journal of Linguistics, 0(38), 41–60. https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1129254
  • Doomernik, J. (1995). The institutionalization of Turkish Islam in Germany and The Netherlands: A comparison 1. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 18(1), 46–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.1995.9993853
  • Evcen, O. (2020). The role of schooling for heritage language learners: A case study of Turkish heritage speakers [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]. https://hdl.handle.net/2142/109597
  • Fishman, J. A. (2014). Three Hundred-Plus Years of Heritage Language Education in the United States. In T. G. Wiley, J. K. Peyton, D. Christian, S. C. K. Moore, & N. Liu (Eds.), Handbook of Heritage, Community, and Native American Languages in the United States (1st ed.). Routledge.
  • Kupisch, T., & Rothman, J. (2018). Terminology matters! Why difference is not incompleteness and how early child bilinguals are heritage speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism, 22(5), 564–582. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006916654355
  • Lee, J. S., & Wright, W. E. (2014). The Rediscovery of Heritage and Community Language Education in the United States. Review of Research in Education, 38(1), 137–165. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X13507546
  • Leeman, J. (2015). Heritage Language Education and Identity in the United States. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 100–119. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000245
  • Li, G. (2006). Biliteracy and trilingual practices in the home context: Case studies of Chinese-Canadian children. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(3), 355–381. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798406069797
  • Lo Bianco, J., & Kreeft Peyton, J. (2013). Introduction: Vitality of Heritage Languages in the United States: The Role of Capacity, Opportunity, and Desire. Heritage Language Journal, 10(3), i–viii. https://doi.org/10.46538/hlj.10.3.1
  • Luk, G., & Grundy, J. G. (2022). The Importance of Recognizing Social Contexts in Research on Bilingualism. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728922000177
  • Rothman, J., & Treffers-Daller, J. (2014). A Prolegomenon to the Construct of the Native Speaker: Heritage Speaker Bilinguals are Natives Too! Applied Linguistics, 35(1), 93–98. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amt049
  • Rothman, J., Tsimpli, I. M., & Pascual y Cabo, D. (2016). Formal linguistic approaches to heritage language acquisition: Bridges for pedagogically oriented research. In D. Pascual y Cabo (Ed.), Advances in Spanish as a heritage language (pp. 13–26). John Benjamins.
  • Shibata, S. (2000). Opening a Japanese Saturday School in a Small Town in the United States: Community Collaboration to Teach Japanese as a Heritage Language. Bilingual Research Journal, 24(4), 465–474. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2000.10162778
  • Uludağ, A. (2011). Turkish heritage language schools in the United States (Heritage Brief Collection, pp. 1–5). Center for Applied Linguistics. https://www.cal.org/heritage/research/briefs.html
There are 22 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Turkish language and literature
Authors

Selim Tiryakiol This is me 0000-0001-5735-2320

Publication Date June 22, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Issue: 34

Cite

APA Tiryakiol, S. (2023). Turkish Heritage Language Programs for Immigrant Children in the United States: The Current State and Opportunities. RumeliDE Dil Ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi(34), 457-471. https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1316209
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