Community Activities

At the Heritage Language Variation and Change (HLVC) Project, we believe that both academic research and meaningful engagement with communities are essential to supporting and understanding heritage language speakers. Our community outreach initiatives are designed by our student research assistants, many of whom are heritage speakers themselves. These activities aim to bridge the gap between research and lived experience, fostering connections that empower heritage language speakers in Canada.

Name	Objectives	Language	Description (PDF)
Language Choice Bingo	Identify patterns of language choice among heritage language speakers Reflect on factors that influence heritage vs. majority language use across different real-world scenarios Foster an appreciation for both diversity and similarities in language practices across heritage language speakers	Multilingual Speakers	Language Choice Bingo
Language Use Questionnaire	Encourage reflection on heritage language use in Toronto Visualize and connect community ties Gather community-driven insights	Portuguese	Language Use Questionnaire
Heritage Language Karaoke	Promote confidence and pride in heritage language skills Provide engaging, culturally relevant language practice Support differentiated heritage language learning and use	Tagalog	Heritage Language Karaoke
A Day in the Life Activity	Identify and normalize using different languages in a variety of contexts Reflect on motivations for one’s choice of language Encourage participants to recognize that heritage language competence should not be judged based on a single context	Russian	A Day in the Life Activity
Microlinguistics Bingo	Identify and normalize diversity in linguistic variation Discuss differences and reflect on why speakers may have a certain ratio of homeland to heritage variation patterns Encourage participants to use their language confidently even if it varies from the homeland variety	Russian	Microlinguistics Bingo

Website developed by Konstantin Shapoval, August 2013