Language attitudes and heritage language maintenance among Chinese immigrant families in the USA

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donghui Zhang ◽  
Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Immigrant Families ◽  
Chinese Immigrant ◽  
Heritage Language Maintenance ◽  
Chinese Immigrant Families ◽  
The Usa

scholarly journals Home Language-Learning Strategies Chosen by Chinese Immigrant Families

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Shikun Li
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Immigrant Families ◽  
Chinese Immigrant ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Heritage Language Maintenance ◽  
Chinese Parents ◽  
Chinese Immigrant Families ◽  
Home Context

The home context is ranked as one of most essential factors in heritage-language maintenance. Compared to many other ethnic minority groups, the Chinese community is always underrepresented in bilingual-education research. This case study explores language learning in the home context in two Chinese immigrant families. Both sets of parents share a similar cultural background and socioeconomic status in the U.S. However, one family relies heavily on technology to promote their child’s literacy development at home, while the other family prefers to increase cultural-immersion opportunities for their child. In addition to presenting different home-learning strategies used by Chinese parents, the present study explores factors that affect strategy selection. The results suggested that three factors impact Chinese parents’ selection of language-learning strategies: 1) the influence of individual ethnic communities; 2) parents’ perceptions of their heritage languages; and 3) social validation from people outside the home community. This paper will discuss the distinctive home context and its implications for heritage-language maintenance.

scholarly journals Language attitudes of young Romanians in Catalonia (Spain): The role of heritage language maintenance programs

Multilingua ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-355
Author(s):  
Maria Adelina Ianos ◽  
Ester Caballé ◽  
Cristina Petreñas ◽  
Ángel Huguet
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Immigrant Population ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Heritage Language Maintenance ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Method Analysis ◽  
International Status

Abstract This article presents a mixed method analysis of the language attitudes held by secondary education students of Romanian origin, which are members of the second largest immigrant population living currently in Catalonia. The relevance of this data is based on the cardinal role played by attitudes in the success of any educational or linguistic policy (Lewis, E. Glyn. 1981. Bilingualism and bilingual education. Oxford, UK: Pergamon.) – a topic of special relevance in contexts with considerable migratory influxes, such as Catalonia, which aims to achieve social cohesiveness in a framework of interculturalism and multilingualism. The various initiatives implemented for this purpose include the heritage language maintenance programs, such as the “Romanian Language, Culture, and Civilization” (RLCC) program. The results showed that the young Romanians had the most favourable attitudes towards Spanish, followed closely by Romanian, and lastly Catalan, which was the least valued language. Furthermore, these attitudinal patterns were not determined by RLCC attendance. The insights provided by the in-depth interviews indicated various components and meanings associated with the attitudes towards the three languages. Namely, attitudes towards Spanish were primed by its international status and ease of learning, while attitudes towards Catalan were build on its integrative value and social status. Although esteemed for its emotional and symbolic bonds, Romanian seemed to be on a path towards invisibilization. Finally, the educational and social implications of these findings are discussed, emphasising the importance of involving and working with both the autochthonous and the Romanian immigrant population.

Children’s language exposure and parental language attitudes in Russian-as-a-heritage-language acquisition by bilingual and multilingual children in Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 457-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Makarova ◽  
Natalia Terekhova ◽  
Amin Mousavi
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Heritage Language Maintenance ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Family ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Research Questions

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: The research study presented in this paper aims to describe some aspects of the maintenance of Russian as a heritage language among bilingual/multilingual children in Saskatchewan, Canada. The study focuses on the relationship between parents’ language attitudes and children’s language exposure on the one hand and child language proficiency on the other hand. The research questions are as follows. What are the language attitudes of Russian-speaking parents in minority settings? Is there a connection between parents’ language attitudes and children’s language proficiency? What is the scope of Russian language exposure of bilingual/multilingual children within and outside of the family? Is there a connection between this exposure and children’s language proficiency? Design/Methodology/Approach: The study was conducted within a Variationist Sociolinguistics framework. The following methods were employed in the study: a questionnaire study of parents’ language attitudes and of language use within and outside the family; an assessment of children’s speech production based on narratives elicited from children with the help of pictures (language proficiency parameters). Data and Analysis: Thirty parents (aged 31–43) and children (aged 5–7) participated in the study. The questionnaire addressed to parents included 52 demographic and research questions. A statistical analysis of parents’ language attitudes and language use by parents and their children as measured against language proficiency parameters was conducted with the help of correlation analysis. Findings/Conclusions: Study results indicate that Russian-speaking parents in Saskatchewan are interested in passing Russian to their children. The study also suggests that language exposure parameters, as well as language attitudes held by parents, correlate with children’s heritage language fluency. Originality: The study indicates that even in environments unfavorable for heritage language maintenance, a child can still successfully acquire Russian as a heritage language. Significance/Implications: The study clarifies the set of parameters relevant for heritage language maintenance among bilingual/multilingual children. It also suggests the importance of bilingualism/multilingualism for some groups of the immigrant population in Canada.

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