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A heritage speaker is someone who learned a certain language in childhood, but has subsequently used it only in a limited set of contexts (often only with family). While the heritage language would be considered an L1, the person often falls short of the full range of abilities one would expect from a native speaker. Children who immigrated before they began formal education in their native country, and children who are exposed to their immigrant parent or parents' native language at home are likely to become heritage speakers.