Bilingual Story Apps for Heritage Language Maintenance: Breaking Language Loss Barriers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62951/icgel.v2i2.196Keywords:
Bilingual Apps, Cultural Identity, Family Engagement, Heritage Language, Language ProficiencyAbstract
Heritage language loss among immigrant and diaspora communities represents a critical challenge to cultural identity, intergenerational communication, and cognitive diversity. Traditional heritage language maintenance approaches face significant barriers including limited resources, lack of qualified instructors, geographic dispersion, and competing demands of dominant language acquisition. This study investigates the effectiveness of bilingual digital story applications as innovative tools for heritage language maintenance among children aged 4-12 years. Through a 24-month longitudinal mixed-methods study involving 1,843 families across eight language communities (Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Hindi, and Polish), we examined language proficiency development, cultural identity formation, family engagement patterns, and app usage behaviors. Quantitative analysis of pre- and post-intervention language assessments revealed statistically significant improvements in heritage language vocabulary (effect size d=0.68), listening comprehension (d=0.54), and oral production (d=0.47) among children using bilingual story apps for at least 20 minutes daily. Qualitative findings from parent interviews and child focus groups highlighted the apps' role in making heritage language learning enjoyable, facilitating parent-child interaction, connecting children to cultural narratives, and normalizing bilingualism. However, effectiveness varied substantially based on app design features, with interactive elements, culturally authentic content, parent involvement scaffolds, and adaptive difficulty showing strongest associations with outcomes. This research demonstrates that thoughtfully designed bilingual story apps can serve as accessible, scalable tools for heritage language maintenance, though they function most effectively as complements to rather than substitutes for rich home language environments and community connections. The study contributes empirical evidence to inform app development, family language planning, and policies supporting linguistic diversity in increasingly globalized societies.
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