Career Pathways for Heritage Learners: Student Perspectives and Effective Resources

NECTFL 2023 Presentation

Presenters:  Leslie Fink, Jamie Morgan, Francesca Di Silvio, Rachel Myers, Mathilda Reckford

This session will share the results of focus group research with heritage learners of Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Persian, and Russian about their knowledge of and interest in federal careers that use their language skills. Participants will learn about high school and university students’ perspectives on the resources they use, questions they have, and obstacles they see in researching and pursuing possible careers. Presenters will describe how these insights informed development of free web-based resources to help language learners connect their strengths and interests to career pathways, as well as how educators can support students to make these connections.