Post by Cristina Lozano Argüelles, Ph.D.

For many bilingual professionals, their home language begins as a language of intimacy: family conversations, humor, affection, conflict. What it rarely becomes is a language of authority. Few were taught how to use it to write formally, analyze complex texts, or speak with confidence in professional settings, and that absence shapes how far they believe their language can go. When heritage language education works, it changes this trajectory. Students learn to read academic texts, write professional documents, and present ideas clearly: through meaningful use across genres, rather than simple grammar drills. Accuracy develops along the way. The goal is language ownership. The ability to move from private to public, from personal expression to professional contribution. Heritage language education should nurture what bilinguals already have and also expand where they can take it.