Heritage language education: A proposal for the next 50 years

This article discusses ideas that will likely figure prominently in the development of the field of heritage language (HL) studies over the next five decades. Drawing on the ideals that prompted the launch of the Heritage Language Initiative 20 years ago and building on the accomplishments of the field since then, we make several proposals for advancing research and instruction to better serve the needs of HL-speaking youth and communities, as well as the nation at large. With this overarching goal, we focus in particular on the ways to institutionalize HL education in foreign language departments and mainstream it in the larger U.S. educational system.