How to maintain the motivations of non-heritage students to learn Chinese in a Heritage Saturday School in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada?
1.0 Introduction We are in the age where every culture is submerged in a multicultural society. It would be therefore plausible to maintain heritage languages and cultures by means of educating posterity about centuries-old cultural traditions. The academic system is committed in passing these languages and culture to the next generation, and this is why heritage schools are born. Heritage schools are viewed as one of the most efficient ways in accomplishing this mission. The interest to partake in heritage schools, nevertheless, is not limited to heritage students but also extends its arms to non-heritage students. Heritage Saturday School is a special class designed for non-heritage learners who do not have any Chinese (Mandarin) background to learn Chinese language on Saturdays. Thus, the students in this class were from various backgrounds besides Canadian: Vietnamese, Peruvian, French Canadian, American, Korean, Mexican, Polish, German, etc. Most of them are bilingually nurtured...