Aspects of Teaching Literacy to Heritage Learners of Russian

This book focuses on linguistic and methodological aspects of accommodating heritage speakers in Russian language courses at the university level. It starts by discussing the availability of special sections for heritage learners at Russian programs, heritage learner enrollments, instructional materials used, and the placement strategies employed. Motivations of Russian heritage learners are identified in the context of an 'integrative orientation' and an 'instrumental orientation', and they are compared to motivations of non-heritage learners of Russian. The book also focuses on syntactic errors demonstrated in the written work of intermediate and advanced heritage learners. Most commonly used textbooks for advanced Russian courses are evaluated from the perspective of their suitability for use with heritage learners. Different types of heritage learner written errors are identified according to their source, and teaching strategies for dealing with these errors are suggested. The findings of the book are brought together to create two sample instructional units: one for the intermediate and one for the advanced level, both suitable for classrooms with mixed levels of proficiency.

Auteur
Geisherik, Anna Anna Geisherik teaches Russian at Stony Brook University in New York. She grew up in Kharkov, Ukraine. She has a B.A. degree in English and French, a M.Ed. and a Doctorate degree in Foreign Language Instruction. Her professional interests include methods of teaching Russian to heritage learners, Russian linguistics, and second language acquisition.