Factors Affecting Language Proficiency in Heritage Language: The Case of Young Russian Heritage Speakers in Spain

Abstract This study focuses on the issue of language proficiency attainment among young heritage speakers Russian living in Spain and examines factors that have been claimed to promote proficiency, namely, age, gender, age onset L2, quantity exposure family use. A group 30 Russian-Spanish-Catalan trilingual children aged 7–11 participated study. In order measure (L1 Russian), oral narratives were elicited. The results demonstrated a significant relationship between L1 three sociolinguistic variables (age use). Additionally, multiply regression model only variable affecting was use it accounted for 33% variation children’s proficiency. raises question about what are other, yet unknown factors, which can affect