Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Publication Title
Spanish and Portuguese Review
Abstract
Language attrition, the switch to a dominant language and the loss of proficiency in the original language, are problems confronted by some families in the United States who speak heritage languages at home. This article is about the conviviality and outcomes of a Portuguese-speaking community. The main goal of the project was to create an environment where ideas and techniques are negotiated to help children and parents maintain language and culture. Drawing on Vygotsky’s scaffolded participation, the article also describes how children, parents, a college student, and a researcher co-construct language learning with song and other playful activities to foster a sense of community. The analysis focuses on how the engaged-involvement of families connecting through memories and emotional relation with the language and the culture represents a powerful tool in this group context. It is also about how the project uses multimodalities and multiliteracies as parts of sociolinguistic and sociocultural construction in a shared space. In sum, this paper proposes to present a combination of practical experiences and theory-informed perspectives in heritage language community building.
Keywords
Brazilian, Portuguese, heritage, language, bilingualism, Vygotsky, play
Volume
2
First Page
1
Last Page
12
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Rights
AATSP Copyright © 2016
Version
Version of Record
Recommended Citation
Gugliotta, Simone, "Aprender com / Learning with: Collaborative Learning in a Portuguese Heritage Language Community" (2016). Spanish and Portuguese: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/spp_facpubs/20