This chapter presents an overview of the different models of community-organized heritage language programs ranging from Saturday/Sunday Schools and language camps to e-learning platforms that serve diasporic post-immigration communities. Using various examples of currently existing programs from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia, this review identifies characteristics of community-organized heritage language programs that set them apart from other language education programs such as foreign language courses for heritage language speakers and maintenance bilingual programs that exist within the infrastructure of mainstream schooling. It discusses the current state of knowledge that surrounds the functions and roles of community-organized heritage language programs as well as some commonly encountered institutional and operational challenges in such programs. It concludes with a discussion of current work that is being done to support, connect, and promote the interests of community-organized heritage language programs in order to increase their alignment and visibility so that they may more effectively accomplish the goals of heritage language education within and across nations.

Research on heritage languages (HL) in the United States consistently demonstrated that they are lost beyond two or three generations, resulting in significant linguistic and cultural losses at the individual, familial, community, and national levels. In an effort to reverse this loss, practitioners and researchers in HL education strive to provide meaningful learning experiences for those language learners who want to reconnect with their linguistic and cultural heritage. This chapter seeks to provide an overview of HL programmatic practices in postsecondary institutions as well as innovative curricular practices emerging from current research in HL education. This chapter’s main contribution is to offer practitioners, researchers, and administrators with a review of state-of-the-art curricular and programmatic options for university-level HL learners, including innovations, achievements, current challenges, and future directions.