TY - JOUR
T1 - Heritage Language Self-Assessment: The Role of Cultural Identity and Language Domain
AU - Kang, Hyun-sook
AU - Kim, In-sop
PY - 2016/9/30
Y1 - 2016/9/30
N2 - In this study, we investigated the role of cultural identity in self-assessment of heritage language skills for Korean heritage speakers in the U.S. The influence of a language domain i.e., speaking vs. writing, on self-assessment outcomes was also examined. Thirty Korean- American participants completed questionnaires on their language background, cultural identity, and self-rating of Korean speaking and writing skills. Speech and writing samples in Korean were then elicited with picture stimuli. Results of the self-assessment were closely related, but not identical, to those of the formal assessment, which suggests the potential of self-assessment as a complementary assessment tool in heritage language learning to provide information not obtained from other traditional types of assessment. In addition, bicultural identity was a strong predictor for self-assessment of speaking and writing in Korean. While the heritage speakers’ reported language exposure before age 5 and current patterns of language use predicted the self-assessment of speaking, the quality of output from external assessment was a strong predictor for the self-assessment of writing in Korean.
AB - In this study, we investigated the role of cultural identity in self-assessment of heritage language skills for Korean heritage speakers in the U.S. The influence of a language domain i.e., speaking vs. writing, on self-assessment outcomes was also examined. Thirty Korean- American participants completed questionnaires on their language background, cultural identity, and self-rating of Korean speaking and writing skills. Speech and writing samples in Korean were then elicited with picture stimuli. Results of the self-assessment were closely related, but not identical, to those of the formal assessment, which suggests the potential of self-assessment as a complementary assessment tool in heritage language learning to provide information not obtained from other traditional types of assessment. In addition, bicultural identity was a strong predictor for self-assessment of speaking and writing in Korean. While the heritage speakers’ reported language exposure before age 5 and current patterns of language use predicted the self-assessment of speaking, the quality of output from external assessment was a strong predictor for the self-assessment of writing in Korean.
U2 - 10.17154/kjal.2016.9.32.3.27
DO - 10.17154/kjal.2016.9.32.3.27
M3 - Article
SN - 1225-3871
VL - 32
SP - 27
EP - 50
JO - Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics
JF - Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics
IS - 3
ER -