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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 672

Part of Session 130: Language in Multilingual Cities (Other abstracts in this session)

Multilingual Los Angeles: The Impact of Immigrant Languages on the Educational System

Authors: Kagan, Olga Eugenia
Submitted by: Kagan, Olga Eugenie (UCLA, United States of America)

According to recent census data, over 57 million people in the U.S. —that is, nearly 20% of the population—speak a language other than English at home (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010). The State of California has the largest number of foreign born residents in the nation (over 10 million), followed by New York state and Texas (over 4 million each).  Los Angeles County has the largest foreign born population, with 56.4% of residents speaking a language other than English at home. Los Angeles Unified School District reports that its students speak 91 different languages.

This paper will report on the linguistic landscape of Los Angeles and the impact that the presence of heritage[i] language speakers has on its public educational system.  Such characteristics as speakers’ identities, language attitudes and motivations, as well as linguistic competencies will be discussed (Carreira and Kagan 2011).  The data has been collected in a survey conducted by the National Heritage Language Resource Center at UCLA, one of the 15 National Language Resource Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education (http://nhlrc.ucla.edu/). Additionally, data from some in-depth interviews with second and 1.5 generation Russian immigrants will be presented.

Taking as a premise that “…there is no contradiction between an ethnic identity and an American identity” (Zhou 2004, p. 153), I will argue that the maintenance of home languages contributes to the vitality of Los Angeles. Robust education in the heritage languages can play an important role in the wellbeing of communities and families in the city. In creating a better-educated population, heritage language education can promote rather than hinder the upward mobility of the children of immigrants.

References

Carreira M., O. Kagan. (2011) The Results of the National Heritage Language Survey: Implications for Teaching, Curriculum Design, and Professional Development.  Foreign Language Annals, Vol. 44, no. 1. pp. 81-105.

Zhou, M. (2004) “Assimilation, the Asian Way” In Tamar Jacoby (ed.) Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What It Means To be American.  New York, NY: Basic Books.