“It s Not Just Reading Books ”: Context-responsive heritage language curriculum adaptation in a Polish Complementary School in Scotland

This article explores a case of curriculum adaptation in a Polish complementary school in Scotland, which supports its multilingual learners in context-responsive, innovative ways. We draw on one qualitative case study from a larger doctoral research project about Heritage Language learners’ needs and the actual curriculum choices in Scottish complementary schools. Data collected through interviews with the school’s headteacher, teachers, parents, and students, as well as through classroom observations and analysis of teaching materials, is presented. Findings reveal that the school is able to engage in continuous curriculum adaptation to address challenges many complementary schools face in relation to ill-fitting content of textbooks and related teaching methodologies, created for monolingual learners in Poland’s mainstream schools. Teacher agency and understanding of young multilingual learners' needs emerge as central drivers of this adaptation. Teachers select, modify, and supplement materials beyond focus on linguistic skills or knowledge about their country of heritage, leading active learning which aligns with their students’ lived experiences, interests and linguistic repertoires. The study also demonstrates how it is possible to escape tokenism and meaningfully engage Heritage Language learners in cultural themes and activities in complementary school settings. By highlighting creative, context-responsive curriculum practices, we argue that a culturally responsive Heritage Language curriculum adapts the traditional aims of complementary schools in maintaining the language and cultural development of its students, by including a critical assessment of their real needs, growing up in multicultural and multilingual migratory contexts. This article contributes to understanding how Heritage Language education is negotiated in diasporic settings, emphasises the importance of learner-centred, age-appropriate approaches in Heritage Language provision, and offers important implications for curriculum design and pedagogy in complementary schools.