Renowned Chicago Professor Highlights Heritage Language Speakers in the Hatcher Lecture Series

On Friday, March 16, renowned Professor Kim Potowski from the University of Illinois in Chicago gave a lecture on the captivating topic of Heritage Language Speakers. This lecture was part of the esteemed Hatcher Modern Languages Lecture Series, held at the Honors College and International Centre. The importance of understanding heritage language speakers, their experiences and communication dynamics were the principal focus of this lecture.

Understanding Heritage Language Speakers

Heritage Language Speakers are students who have learned a second language, predominantly at home, from their parents or extended family, who have usually immigrated from a foreign country. Sometimes they are not entirely proficient but have a connection to the language through their familial and cultural ties.

In a classroom setting, heritage language speakers often study the language alongside second-language learners – students who are learning the language in a formal education setting. Potowski posed a question at the heart of her lecture: “When you’ve got heritage speakers mixed with second language learners in a classroom, what can they learn from each other? How can we make the best of that situation?”

Interactive Insights from the Audience

Students in attendance at Potowski’s lecture eagerly shared their personal experiences with the language and anticipated valuable insights. Among the attendees was a freshman studying biology for pre-med and Spanish with a health sciences concentration, Alexa Garcia. She expressed her excitement at learning from Potowski’s extensive knowledge about the impact that the Spanish language has on heritage speakers. She wanted to understand others’ experiences with the language.

Another attendee, Graycee West, a freshman studying communication sciences & disorders and Spanish, stressed the importance of communication in understanding cultural diversity in the US: “We’re a melting pot, you don’t really understand others if you can’t communicate with them. I think it’s important to break down some of those barriers.”

Implications and Importance of Multilingualism

Addressing professor Potowski’s insights on the issue, Alexander Poole, chair of the modern languages department and an English professor, highlighted the vital demand for bilingual or multilingual people. In his words: “Our world is changing for economic reasons, national security. We need bilingual people. That’s non-negotiable.”

This insightful and thought-provoking lecture successfully foregrounded the cultural and linguistic experiences of heritage language speakers while also underlining the importance of multilingualism in contemporary society.