A heritage language learner (HLL) is "a student who is raised in a home where a non-English language is spoken, who speaks or merely understands the heritage language and who is, to some degree, bilingual in English and the heritage language" (Valdés, 2000, p. 1). The term captures learners with a familial or cultural connection to a language that is not the dominant language of their society.
Heritage learners differ fundamentally from typical L2 learners:
| Dimension | Heritage learner | L2 learner |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition context | Naturalistic: acquired from family/community from birth | Instructional: learned in classroom or adult immersion |
| Listening/speaking | Often strong, especially in informal registers | Develops through instruction; may lag behind literacy |
| Reading/writing | Often weak or absent: limited schooling in the heritage language | Develops alongside oral skills in balanced programmes |
| Register range | Informal/familiar registers; limited access to academic or formal language | May develop academic register first (through textbooks) |
| Phonology | Near-native pronunciation in most cases | Typically accented, especially if onset is post-puberty |
| Grammar | Incomplete acquisition in some areas (especially morphology not salient in oral input) | Systematic development through instruction and input |
Heritage learners typically exist in the context of intergenerational language shift: the first generation speaks the heritage language dominantly; the second generation is bilingual; the third generation may be English-dominant with passive heritage language knowledge. The HLL's proficiency reflects where they sit in this trajectory.
An important distinction in heritage language research:
In practice, both processes often co-occur, making it difficult to disentangle them.
Heritage learners are poorly served by both L1 and L2 classrooms:
This has led to the development of dedicated heritage language programmes that leverage existing oral proficiency while building literacy and expanding register range.
Heritage learners are inherently multilingual, and their language practices naturally involve code-switching and translanguaging. Rather than viewing these as deficiencies, current research frames them as evidence of a sophisticated multilingual repertoire.