HL2C-SLLAT Seminar: Fatih Bayram (Arctic University of Norway)

Title: Beyond traditional testing: Navigating the complexity of heritage language competence with online methods

Presenter(s): Fatih Bayram (Arctic University of Norway)

Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 12pm to 1pm

Location: Hybrid mode: Teams and County South C89.

How to join: The seminars are free to attend. Simply sign up to the HL2C Mailing List or to the SLLAT mailing list to receive the link to join us via Microsoft Teams link. You do not need a Teams account to access the talk.

About: This is a joint event, co-organized by the Heritage Language 2 Consortium (HL2C) and the Second Language Learning and Teaching (SLLAT) Research Group.

Abstract:

Heritage language speakers (HSs) present a multifaceted landscape, offering rich opportunities to explore linguistic theory and address real-world bi-/multilingual language issues. Despite its potential, tapping into their linguistic knowledge base has been methodologically challenging. This presentation addresses these challenges by showcasing data from diverse projects, employing a range of methods, offline production and online processing/comprehension. Specifically, we look at evidence from the Visual World Paradigm to investigate whether adult heritage speakers of Turkish utilize grammatical case-marking cues to anticipate the thematic roles of arguments (who did what to whom), integrate these roles into a single event and predict upcoming linguistic structure. In doing so, we shed light on the intricate dynamics of heritage language competence, highlighting a shift towards ecologically valid testing methods, and the influence of extralinguistic factors in shaping heritage languages.