News
Relearning a language and regaining a heritage
Iris Galloza Vance’s first language was Spanish; her Puerto Rican parents spoke it at home. But as her family moved with her father from base to base in the U.S. Army, the language and cultural familiarity faded.
Vance wants it back, and that is why she is enrolled in the University’s new Heritage Language Program this fall. PSU is presenting six languages for heritage learners—students who may have more advanced verbal skills than first-year students but lack the reading or grammar ability to skip directly to upper-level classes.
The typical heritage speaker was born in the United States, learned his or her immigrant parents’ native language as a child at home but never mastered it before switching to English for school. Vance regrets that she didn’t even try to speak Spanish with her two daughters, who are now 21 and 15.
Portland State is the first university in Oregon to offer heritage language classes. It will start with Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese. A mix of PSU faculty, community members, and Fulbright-funded teachers from Iraq, Pakistan, and Turkey—all of whom are native speakers—will teach the courses and tailor them to the skills of students who enroll.
Heritage learners are considered an untapped national resource by the federal government, industry, and social services. These sectors have an increasing demand for employees who speak more than English. Heritage speakers often have extensive vocabularies, have mastered native pronunciation, and are familiar with cultural aspects of effective communication. These skills would take a student new to a language years to learn.
Vance sees the advantage to being proficient in both English and Spanish. Once she masters her childhood language, she would like to become a medical interpreter.
Vance wants it back, and that is why she is enrolled in the University’s new Heritage Language Program this fall. PSU is presenting six languages for heritage learners—students who may have more advanced verbal skills than first-year students but lack the reading or grammar ability to skip directly to upper-level classes.
The typical heritage speaker was born in the United States, learned his or her immigrant parents’ native language as a child at home but never mastered it before switching to English for school. Vance regrets that she didn’t even try to speak Spanish with her two daughters, who are now 21 and 15.
Portland State is the first university in Oregon to offer heritage language classes. It will start with Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese. A mix of PSU faculty, community members, and Fulbright-funded teachers from Iraq, Pakistan, and Turkey—all of whom are native speakers—will teach the courses and tailor them to the skills of students who enroll.
Heritage learners are considered an untapped national resource by the federal government, industry, and social services. These sectors have an increasing demand for employees who speak more than English. Heritage speakers often have extensive vocabularies, have mastered native pronunciation, and are familiar with cultural aspects of effective communication. These skills would take a student new to a language years to learn.
Vance sees the advantage to being proficient in both English and Spanish. Once she masters her childhood language, she would like to become a medical interpreter.
Profile
What makes Portland State University special »
What makes our university special is not just what we do, but the way we do it: linking faculty, students, and research to projects in the community.