FLLs spoke about HLLs in terms of the cultural “capital” they brought to the classroom. Although some FLLs picked up the term “heritage learner/speaker” from me during their interviews, they often referred to HLLs as “native speakers,” “Arab speakers,” or “people from that region”—references that suggest linguistic and cultural “authenticity” and acknowledge HLLs’ status as insiders in the target speech community. These labels also demonstrate FLLs’ belief that HLLs are legitimate representatives of that culture and language. In other words, HLLs have more of a say than their classmates when discussing Arab culture or linguistic
appropriateness. The data are consistent with those presented in Chapters 5 and 7, in which FLLs seek authenticity and native speakership by employing God-expressions, and most FLLs self- report a limited knowledge of the region and the culture. Hence they look to HLLs for cultural and linguistic “expertise.” For instance, Jack lamented the fact that he had not been able to travel the Arab world and described his desire to talk to Arabic-speaking people such as two hijabi ladies he saw in a Middle Eastern store. However, for both cultural reasons and his limited Arabic proficiency, he was always reluctant to initiate a conversation in Arabic. For him, HLLs provided a window to the region and the culture:
I think it [learning Arabic with HLLs] was very good. Being an American who’s lived in many different cities and been exposed to many different cultures, I’ve just had such limited--aside from doing business with people, in a store or wherever--like limited interaction with the Arabic world. So for me it was definitely a positive because again like I’ve never interacted…which is unfortunate. To have the opportunity to interact with people that are from the Arabic world is great for me. (Jack)
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Jennifer, an FLL with a Jewish and Israeli background, appreciated the “authenticity” of her HLL classmates. In response to an interview question about which Arab county she would like to visit, she identified Saudi Arabia and regretted the political and religious reasons that banned her from going there. She wanted to see the birthplace of Islam and that country where “they cut off people’s hands.” However, the closest she could come was talking to HLLs:
One thing I really like is talking to religious Muslims in class. They’re my favorite people to befriend because I love to learn about the authentic culture of their religion…I’m definitely jealous of the people who can speak Arabic way better than me…It makes more sense to me if I’m learning the language, to learn it from people whose culture coincides with that language. (Jennifer)
Jennifer, who wished to be a peace activist, viewed HLLs in class as an “opportunity” for a “trial run,” i.e., creating bonds with people who are often against Israel. She proudly described some success finding common ground with another student in an elementary-level Arabic class:
There was a hijabi girl who sat next to me. We spoke a lot about the different cultures between us, and also about this idea of Westernization among the two cultures and the problems that it creates for both peoples. We actually found a lot of common ground, especially in terms of when it comes to Israel and Palestine, that kind of thing. It was really nice. We developed a very good friendship. We had some very good conversations about religion and politics. (Jennifer)
To some FLLs, the HLLs provide a missing link between abstract information, whether linguistic or cultural, from the textbook and the concrete or “real” information about Arabs and Arabic. Ginette described textbook learning of Arabic as studying language out of context, which
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made it feel distant and removed. For her, the HLLs brought the reality of the language into the classroom:
Sometimes when you’re studying something, it’s so out of context, because we’re
learning how to speak a language in this very formal classroom setting. With the heritage speakers, when they bring in their knowledge of colloquial expressions or when they talk with each other, you’re reminded “Oh, this is language. Language is used to
communicate with your friends.” It puts things into perspective. Sometimes it [studying Arabic] seems like you’re studying rocket science…I feel the Arab speakers will always say “But, my Mom always says blah, blah, blah.” That gives us more insight into the culture and the language. (Ginette)
Textbook language instruction is also not as enjoyable as language learning from people who belong to the culture. For example, Christopher described an unusual cultural project for his Arabic class. An HLL invited an FLL to a family wedding, and each reported to the class and showed videos from the event, allowing other students to “live” the experience instead of being taught by the professor, a textbook, or a YouTube video:
I remember last year, one of our presentations, these two girls were partnered up and one of them who was Egyptian invited the other to a wedding because someone in her family was getting married. She showed us some videos and she talked with us about a marriage ceremony happening inside the house and this huge amount of family gathering. That was probably the first time I really saw how exciting of a party it was and how really
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Many FLLs affirmed that they seek out HLLs for questions they have related to the culture. Christopher, for instance, wondered whether the mores of one Arab country extended to another:
I remember last year we watched ʿasal iswid (Molasses) [as a class assignment]. There’s a lot of presentation of culture in Cairo. I remember talking a little bit with my friend last year from Dubai asking him, “Is it like this anywhere in Dubai?” I remember in the movie we saw how a grown-up man wouldn’t use a backpack if he was going somewhere, he would carry those things in a bag instead. I was curious, like why a backpack seems so much more convenient. I asked my friend from Dubai if it was the same like that there. I have enjoyed being able to clarify questions like that. (Christopher) Nathan, who had lived in Oman for three months, realized that his experience of high school there could not be extrapolated to all Arab high school students and was curious about his fellow HLLs such as Ruba, a Lebanese heritage learner:
I remember, especially when she [Ruba] first joined our class last year, I asked her about her experience in high school in Lebanon, just asking what it was about and what it was like. She would sometimes tell stories about what they would do there and how she learned Arabic, because she learned it when she went to Lebanon. (Nathan)
Such exchanges acted as a “glue” that brought FLLs and HLLs together, triggered by pair work and often continuing during the break or resuming after class.
Class presentations provide fertile ground for curiosity as students are encouraged to ask questions to the speaker at the end of the presentation. When the presenter is an HLL, some questions revolve around the peculiar culture of the country of ancestry. As Kinley explained:
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After those presentations, some of us would have more questions than others, and there usually was a time for me to ask questions beyond like the really basic ones. I’d ask like, “Elaborate more on this ritual at home,” or “You’re not as religious as your parents, even though you wear hijab, you follow the religion, so how does that work with your parents who you just said were really devoted?” That kind of thing. (Kinley)
Although such questions spur HLLs’ motivation to search for answers, as discussed in Chapter 7, some HLLs do not have the linguistic and cultural proficiency to answer accurately. Nonetheless, the FLLs seem confident that HLLs will be able to feed their curiosity. What also remains true is that FLLs consider their HLL classmates as cultural resources although the “native speaker” label is problematic given its complicated and controversial meaning and boundaries, as will be further discussed in Chapter 9.