Perspectives on heritage language education from around the world, all in one place

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The HL Global Think Tank and FOHLC Europe are joining forces — and we’re excited to announce that the Heritage Language Blog will now serve as the shared space for both!


We expect this to become the go-to space for inspiring stories about community-based heritage language education.


For years, people involved in heritage language education, especially for migrant minority languages, have often worked in isolation. These programs face obstacles, limited resources, and a lack of visibility, making it challenging to advocate for linguistic rights and recognition. Some regions had already built strong coalitions, creating networks to support programs locally. Thanks to the growing network of the HL Global Think Tank and FOHLC Europe, educators and coalitions are now connecting across borders and raising the profile of their work. This merger reflects that major development: heritage language education is becoming a more visible, recognized, and collaborative field.


This image is from the press kit made available by the HL Global Think Tank in 2024. This image and others are still available for sharing. View the press kit.


Heritage language education is becoming a more visible, recognized, and collaborative field.


The HL Global Think Tank formed just a few years ago but had not yet created an outlet for sharing its discussions or updates. That changes today. From now on, this blog will bring together stories and reflections from both FOHLC Europe and the Think Tank — connecting people and programs from across Europe, North America, Australia, and beyond. 


What can you expect? Reports on new and successful city-wide initiatives in the U.K.,  effective storytelling and project-based learning strategies that are really working for kids, collaborations between informal and formal education that are having impact, certification schemes that give students credit for their knowledge in North America and beyond, and more! We expect this to become the go-to space for inspiring stories about community-based heritage language education.


The aim of the HL Global Think Tank is to raise the visibility and professionalism of community-based programs. Here’s just a sample of some of the Think Tank’s recent international collaborations:


  • Global Call to Action for Heritage Language Education – an advocacy campaign with practical tools and translations in multiple languages.
  • International Guidelines for Professional Practices in Community-Based Heritage Language Schools – universal principles and good practices to guide HL programs worldwide.
  • The Review Rubric – a self-evaluation tool to help managers, teachers, and volunteers strengthen their programs.
  • Recognizing Students in Community-based Programs for Their Language Proficiency - the HL Global Think Thank is seeking ways to help programs recognize this proficiency in formal ways, including through the Global Seal of Biliteracy, in the United States and the State Seals of Biliteracy.
  • Connecting Community-based Programs and Public Schools and Universities - Although HL programs are a vital part of the language learning landscape, they are not often recognized or valued by public schools and universities. The HL Global Think Tank  seeks to change that and to create partnerships and collaborations among these sectors.


If you are a heritage language program manager, teacher, community leader and coalition and would like to share your experiences, best practices, or ideas, we’d love to hear from you! If you would like to contribute to the blog, email us at: fohlceurope@gmail.com