Tufts' language requirement is one of its most demanding foundation requirements, requiring a full six credits of language or culture classes for graduation. While some fortunate Jumbos are fluent enough in a given language to place out entirely, others need to slog through the necessary credits.
There are other students, however, who don't fit neatly into either of those categories. These Jumbos are known as "heritage learners," and they occupy a unique place in language programs at Tufts.
Heritage learners are students with some background in a language, but little formal training. They often begin to learn a language because it is spoken in their home community, but fall out of practice or never become completely fluent.
In an e-mail, Senior Lecturer and Language Coordinator of the Chinese Program Dr. Mingquan Wang described Chinese heritage learners as "students with some basic listening and speaking skills in Chinese but no training in reading and writing ... students with some listening experience/exposure ... [and] students with some basic skills in a different dialect of Chinese." This description also applies to heritage learners of other languages.
Freshman Alex Rodman is one example of a heritage learner. From a very early age, Rodman was exposed to Spanish in the way that Wang described.
"My mother is from Venezuela and I've been going back there for my whole life," she said. "I've really grown up with the culture and the language."
In addition to Spanish, Rodman grew up with a background in English. "At home I speak English, and my dad's American," Rodman said.
Jinyu Li, a lecturer in the Department of German, Russian & Asian Languages, described another kind of heritage learner. Li said that students from English-speaking countries who live abroad during their childhoods are examples of heritage learners as well.
"There are a few cases [of students], for example, who are not ethnically Chinese, but who were born, or went to school in Chinese-speaking communities ... because their parents work in those countries," Li said.
Li explained that some students who grow up in Chinese-speaking countries and move away at a young age are also considered heritage learners. "They are literally proficient," Li said. "But since they started their education in English they never had the opportunity to study the writing system."
Junior Raquel Saunders had such an experience, but with a twist. A multicultural background and extensive travel exposed Saunders to a wide variety of languages throughout her childhood, and though she knew English, she did not have the formal education she needed when she came to the United States.
"I fluently knew Spanish. My mother is Mexican and I learned it from her since I was little," Saunders said in an e-mail. "However my first language was Dutch, my family and I lived in the Netherlands for 5 years ... and that's what I knew the best. While living abroad, my parents made sure to teach me both English and Spanish, but I still had to take ESL when we moved back to the United States in second grade."
While Heritage learners may have a leg up on other language students, their situation often requires a different approach, which is why Tufts offers specific classes for heritage learners.
"At the first and second year levels, heritage learners are encouraged to take either the intensive sections, or the heritage sections, which are designed to meet the special needs of the heritage learners," Wang said.
Li said that it is important to meet the needs of heritage learners while trying to challenge them. Some of the courses offered, Li said, would not meet heritage learners' specific needs. "I feel that it's definitely an easy 'A' for them," Li said.
In order to cater to the needs of more advanced students, Li has set up a special independent study for heritage learners of Chinese. "These students, Chinese-language-wise, are very proficient," Li said. "We are able to discuss articles that we cannot discuss in any other class ... I ask them to come up with topics."
Rodman, who is taking a Spanish course for heritage learners, feels that the class' approach is in tune with her skill level.
"Basically the course lends itself to one's ear and our intuition, which was helpful," Rodman said. "Growing up, you speak based on what feels right."
The class also focuses on culture, and the colloquialisms unique to different Spanish-speaking countries. The word "pana," meaning "buddy" or "best friend" is "pretty unique to the culture of Venezuela," Rodman said. "So we learn different words specific to the culture ... depending on where the kids in the class are from."
Saunders, on the other hand, opted to take Spanish 121 rather than a course for heritage learners.
"I did feel that it helped me, but only to a certain extent," Saunders said. "While this class did a great job of technically teaching me all the rules I blindly followed while speaking, and forced me to practice my writing and reading skills, I had already taken both AP Spanish Language and Lit in high school, so I didn't really learn anything new." "What I wanted was an intense grammatical review, and my expectations were definitely met," Saunders added.
In spite of their varied experiences with languages, heritage learners have the same goal as most other language students. "We know the rules, we know the words," Rodman said. "It's just about being comfortable and confident speaking."
