East Asian heritage language proficiency development

Heritage language (HL) researchers with a focus on East Asian languages today have recently made major advances in identifying individual and contextual factors associated with HL proficiency development in these languages. This chapter first reviews recent empirical studies that examine factors associated with or predictive of East Asian HL proficiency development such as first language background, HL use and contact, and socio-psychological variables (e.g., attitude, motivation, and identity). The chapter also reviews the literature that investigates how parents view and experience HL proficiency development. The papers collected in this volume are also discussed where relevant. This chapter concludes by suggesting directions for future research concerning East Asian HL proficiency development.