Panelists:

• Irina Y. Dubinina, PhD (Brandeis University)
• Olesya Kisselev, PhD (University of Texas San Antonio)
• Oksana Laleko, PhD (State University of New York at New Paltz)

Previous Heritage Language Research Institutes (HLRI) have repeatedly underscored the need for a closer dialogue between the linguistically- and pedagogically-oriented research traditions in the field of heritage language (HL) studies, which ideally leads to a better understanding of both HL instructional approaches (i.e., how to teach) and the relevant instructional content (i.e., what to teach) in HL classrooms. Answering the calls for such dialogue, the presenters will provide a thorough and cohesive review of research in the field of Russian HL with the aim to address pedagogical needs of Russian HL learners. We will draw on several studies, including classroom-based, applied, and empirical linguistic research, that investigate various aspects of heritage Russian (such as phonetics and phonology, morphosyntax, development of writing and reading skills, etc.) in different majority language contexts, including North America, Israel, Germany, Finland, Spain, Estonia, and Cyprus. The studies come from the presenters’ newest publication project, Russian as a Heritage Language: From Research to Classroom Application. This edited volume fosters a mutually beneficial conversation between researchers and classroom practitioners, and aims to provide a set of well-grounded, evidence-based, and comprehensive guidelines for teachers of Russian as a HL. Specifically, we will highlight how findings from research on heritage Russian phonetics, reading, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics of community and educational practices can be applied to HL classrooms. We hope that this project, motivated by the HLRI, can serve as a useful model for other HLs.