Recently, the Lily published a really nice first-person piece written by a heritage speaker of Korean, Dabin Han. One of my favorite lines from the article is “As I grew older, my language didn’t have the chance to grow with me.” I’m sure many heritage speakers can relate to the feelings of being “stuck” with their language abilities and the feeling of impotence when navigating complex situations or deep conversations. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that this is precisely why courses designed specifically for heritage speakers are so important and valuable. Not only do such courses serve to prevent further language loss, but heritage language instruction allows the speaker to expand their language skills, to communicate on topics of interest with “depth and breadth,” and to gain confidence in self-expression. Heritage language courses also create community with other bilingual speakers who are experiencing the world in a very similar way.