Opening a Japanese Saturday School in a Small Town in the United States: Community Collaboration to Teach Japanese as a Heritage Language

Abstract

This article addresses the problem of how immigrant parents from Japan can pass on their native language, Japanese, to their children in a location where ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) is low. The case study is an overview of an opening of a Saturday school to teach Japanese as a heritage language. The school is located in a small town in the northeastern region of the United States. Its background, curriculum, and community support, as well as parents' efforts, are described. It is obvious that Saturday schools are one of the most effective ways to teach children a heritage language, since parents' efforts, patience, and resources are limited. Cooperation among parents and community support are essential. The school became not only a place to teach the language, but also a center for the ethnic group to share their values and identity, which were passed on to the next generation in the small community. Factors that contributed to the success of the Saturday school are also discussed.