Three Korean Heritage Language Teachers' Identities, Their Identification of Their Students, and Their Instructional Practices

This study examined the instructional focuses and practices of three Korean heritage language (HL) teachers in community-based HL schools related not only to their constructed identities as HL teachers, but also to their students. Constant-comparative analyses of interviews and classroom observations across the three teacher cases showed that each teacher's identity as an HL teacher was shaped by her earlier immigration experiences and through her relationships within and across a particular historical and social context. Moreover, the three HL teachers' identities informed how they identified the imagined communities in which their students would eventually participate. The teachers' different identifications and visions became significant in shaping their instructional focuses and practices related to teaching language and culture in a manner that would enable their students to learn and, therefore, gain access to their communities.