Page 437 - Tagalog for Beginners: An Introduction to Filipino, the National Language of the Philippines

Appendix 6

Understanding “Margie”: The Filipino Heritage Learner 1

Who is the heritage learner (HL)? In my opinion, almost all heritage learners are
“activists” in the broadest sense of the world.

Filipino American students see language learning as the first step towards
understanding their roots, and according to Leny Strobel, as a step towards
“decolonization.” Thus, there are many different kinds of Filipino American
activists—those involved in community issues such as veteran, health care, and
labor rights; those who seek to learn about identity and are advocates of Filipino,
Philippine and Filipino American studies; those who mentor Filipino American
children and inspire them to go to college; those who are engaged in medical
missions; those who participate in relief efforts when disaster strikes; those who
participate in “projects” such as the building of houses through organizations like
Gawad Kalinga and envision their work as charity; and finally, the activists involved
in the national democratic movement in the Philippines.

Believing in the continuing neo-colonial relationship of the United States and the
need for organized action, many of these Filipino American heritage learners go
back to the Philippines to immerse themselves in urban and rural communities. Most
of them learn Filipino precisely for this purpose—to better communicate with
Filipinos who do not or hardly speak English, mainly peasants and workers in the
Philippines.

What are their learning processes? What words are in their vocabulary as
signified by their written and recorded texts? How is the learning process affected by
their immersion in underprivileged communities in the Philippines? What are the
dynamics between language acquisition and politics?
My research on language acquisition is informed by the study of Agnes He.

Professor He’s paper “Heritage Language Across the Life Span” was presented in
June 2009 at the Third Heritage Language Summer Institute. In her paper, she talks
about Jason, a Chinese heritage learner. She presents several assumptions from a
language socialization and a conversation analytic perspective:
The symbiosis of language and identity.

Language as a resource for shaping, maintaining and transforming identity.
HL acquisition and HL literacy acquisition processes as identity processes.

Ordinary, everyday interaction as the primary locus for language and
cultural development.