Issues in Chinese heritage language education and research at the postsecondary level

This chapter provides an overview of some of the most important current issues and challenges for research and educational practice in the teaching, learning, and assessment of Chinese as a heritage language (CHL) at the postsecondary level. We review existing research and identify areas in which further theoretical and practical attention is needed with regard to political, social-psychological, linguistic, and curricular dimensions of CHL. The shift in recent research to ecologically valid qualitative investigations of the lived experiences of CHL and other language learners, in terms of their shifting (or multiple, hybrid) identities, trajectories, and literacies, is highlighted. Salient practical concerns are also discussed, such as identifying heritage and non-heritage students’ diverse needs and planning curriculum accordingly; accommodating different student populations in single-track versus dual-track programs; developing effective and engaging instructional resources and assessment procedures and instruments; and providing advocacy for the legitimacy of CHL learners while at the same time attending to non-CHL students ’ needs equally well. Finally, we argue that understanding CHL students’ heterogeneity and their potential will help us to better serve linguistically diverse learner