Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Reflexive language attitudes and language practices among school-aged Chinese Australian immigrant bilinguals

  • Published:
Asia Pacific Education Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examines the reflexivity of immigrant children in forming their language attitudes (LAs). Considering the special cultural environment of the Chinese community in Australia, which refers to the community’s well-matched cultural powers with Australia, this research explored Chinese Australian children’s conflicting but reflexive LAs and language practices. By drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews and longitudinal participant observations conducted in multiple schools, this study classified Chinese Australian children into four types according to their perceptions and behaviors toward language learning and use and examined each age group’s characteristics. The study further analyzed the mutually influential relation between cultural environment, family, immigrant children, and their LAs. These findings shed light on immigrant children’s agency in forming and reconfiguring their LAs. This is an important addition to the existing knowledge about bilingual children’s language choices, language development, and language education.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. “Mandarin” is a commonly used term in Australia, referring to the standard Chinese language. Standard Chinese, which is based on the Beijing dialect, is China’s official national spoken language and serves as a lingua franca within the Chinese context (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 2012).

  2. In Victoria, each primary school requires languages other than English (LOTE) as a subject.

References

  • Alsahafi, M. (2020). When homeland remains a distant dream: language attitudes and heritage language maintenance among Rohingya refugees in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1754753.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). Census of Population and Housing: Australia Revealed, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/2024.0Main%20Features22016

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2017). 2016 Census QuickStatss. Retrieved from https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/036

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2018). ABS Chinese New Year Insights. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbytitle/D8CAE4F74B82D 446CA258235000F2BDE?OpenDocument

  • Arya, D. J., McClung, N. A., Katznelson, N., & Scott, L. (2016). Language ideologies and literacy achievement: Six multilingual countries and two international assessments. International Journal of Multilingualism, 13(1), 40–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bacon, C. K. (2018). ‘It’s not really my job’: A mixed methods framework for language ideologies, monolingualism, and teaching emergent bilingual learners. Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487118783188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, C. (1992). Attitudes and language. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banes, L., Martinez, D. C., Athanases, S. Z., & Wong, J. W. (2016). Self-reflexive inquiry into language use and beliefs: Toward more expansive language ideologies. International Multilingual Research Journal, 10(3), 168–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berardi-Wiltshire, A. (2017). Parental ideologies and family language policies among Spanish-speaking migrants to New Zealand. Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research, 23(3), 271–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blommaert, J. (2006). Language policy and national identity. In T. Ricento (Ed.), An Introduction to Language Policy: Theory and Method (pp. 238–254). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callahan, R. M. (2005). Tracking and high school English learners: Limiting opportunity to learn. American Educational Research Journal, 42, 305–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K. B. (2005). Chinese identities. Ethnicity and Cosmopolitanism: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, J., Wang, C., & Cai, J. (Eds.). (2010). Teaching and learning Chinese: Issues and perspectives. Chinese American Educational Research and Development Association Book Series: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. (2012). Zhongguoyuyandituji (di 2 ban): Hanyufangyan juan [Language Atlas of China (2nd edition): Chinese dialect volume]. Beijing: The Commercial Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corson, D. (1991). Language, power and minority schooling. Language and Education, 5(4), 231–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, J. (2000). Language, Power and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire. Multilingual Matters.

  • Cunningham, S., & Sinclair, J. (2001). Floating lives: The media and Asian diasporas. Lanham: Rowman Littlefield Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2009). Visible and invisible language planning: Ideological factor in the family language policy of Chinese immigrant families in Quebec. Language Policy, 8(4), 351–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2014). Family language policy: Is learning Chinese at odds with leaning English in Singapore. In X. L. Curdt-Christiansen & A. Hancock (Eds.), Learning Chinese in diasporic communities: Many pathways to being Chinese (pp. 35–58). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2016). Conflicting language ideologies and contradictory language practices in Singaporean multilingual families. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 37(7), 694–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Houwer, A. (1998). Environmental factors in early bilingual development: The role of parental beliefs and attitudes. In G. Extra & L. Verhoeven (Eds.), Bilingualism and migration (pp. 75–96). New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Houwer, A. (2015). Harmonious bilingual development: Young families’ well-being in language contact situations. International Journal of Bilingualism, 19, 169–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong, J. (2009). “Isn’t it enough to be a Chinese speaker”: Language ideology and migrant identity construction in a public primary school in Beijing. Language & Communication, 29, 115–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dyers, C., & Abongdia, J. (2010). An exploration of the relationship between language attitudes and ideologies in a study of Francophone students of English in Cameroon. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 31(2), 119–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434630903470837.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fishman, J. A. (Ed.). (1966). Language loyalty in the United States. The Hague: Mouton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Francis, B., Archer, L., & Mau, A. (2014). Speaking of Identity? British-Chinese young people’s perspectives on language and ethnic identity. In X. L. Curdt-Christiansen & A. Hancock (Eds.), Learning Chinese in diasporic communities: Many pathways to being Chinese (pp. 204–218). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • French, S. E., Seidman, E., Allen, L., & Aber, J. L. (2006). The development of ethnic identity during adolescence. Development Psychology, 42(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.42.1.1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, J. (2017). Rediscovering the new gold mountain: Chinese immigration to Australia since the mid-1980s. In M. Zhou (Ed.), Contemporary Chinese Diasporas (pp. 209–232). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, J. (2018). Chinese Australians face a foreign influence panic. Current History, 177(800), 229–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, J. (2020). Chinese immigration and Australian politics: A critical analysis on a merit-based immigration system. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hancock, A. (2014). Chinese complementary schools in Scotland and the continua of biliteracy. In X. L. Curdt-Christiansen & A. Hancock (Eds.), Learning Chinese in diasporic communities: Many pathways to being Chinese (pp. 59–80). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, S. B. (1977). Social history. In Bilingual Education: Current Perspectives. Vol. 1: Social Science (pp. 53–72). Arlington, VA: Center for Applied Linguistics.

  • Kanno, Y., & Kangas, S. E. N. (2014). “I’m not going to be, like, for the AP”: English language learners’ limited access to advanced college-preparatory courses in high school. American Educational Research Journal, 51(5), 848–878.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, K. A. (2000). Language ideologies and heritage language education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 3(3), 167–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kondo-Brown, K., & Brown, J. D. (Eds.). (2008). Teaching Chinese, Japanese, and Korean heritage language students: curriculum needs, materials, and assessment. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Komine, A. (2018). A closed immigration country: revisiting Japan as a negative case. International Migration, 56(5), 106–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, G. (2002). ‘East is East, West is West’?: Home literacy, culture, and schooling. New York: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, G. (2006). Biliteracy and trilingual practices in the home context: Case studies of Chinese-Canadian children. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(3), 355–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, G. (2007). Home environment and second-language acquisition: The importance of family capital. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28(3), 285–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, J., Ai, B., & Zhang, J. (2020). Negotiating language ideologies in learning Putonghua: Myanmar ethnic minority students’ perspectives on multilingual practices in a borderland school. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(7), 633–646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, J., & Juffermans, K. (2014). Learning and teaching Chinese in the Netherlands. In X. L. Curdt-Christiansen & A. Hancock (Eds.), Learning Chinese in Diasporic communities: Many pathways to being Chinese (pp. 97–116). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Li, J., & Juffermans, K. (2015). Polycentric repertoires: Constructing Dutch-Chinese youth identities in the classroom and online. In W. Li (Ed.), Multilingualism in the Chinese Diaspora Worldwide: Transnational connections and local social realities (pp. 32–46). New York, NY: Roughtledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Li, W. (Ed.). (2015). Multilingualism in the Chinese Diaspora Worldwide: Transnational connections and local social realities. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowy Institute. (n.d.) China-Australia Relations. Retrieved from https://www.lowyinstitute.org/issues/china-australia-relations.

  • Mijares, L., & Pastor, A. M. R. (2011). Language programs at Villababel High: Rethinking ideologies of social inclusion. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 14(4), 427–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moin, V., Scwartz, L., & Leikin, M. (2013). Immigrant parents’ lay theories of children’s preschool bilingual development and family language ideologies. International Multilingual Research Journal, 7(2), 99–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mu, G. (2014). Learning Chinese as a heritage language in Australia and beyond: The role of capital. Language and Education, 28(5), 477–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers-Scotton, C. (2006). Multiple voices: An introduction to Bilingualism. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norris-Holt, J. (2001). Motivation as a contributing factor in second language acquisition. The Internet TESL Journal VII, no. 6. http://iteslj.org/Articles/Norris-Motivation.html (accessed May 14, 2008).

  • Ovando, C. J. (2003). Bilingual education in the United States: Historical development and current issues. Bilingual Research Journal, 27(1), 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piaget, J. (1955). The child’s construction of reality. London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piaget, J. (1970). Piaget’s Theory. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), Carmichael’s Manual of Child Psychology (3d ed.) (vol.1). (pp. 703–732). New York, NY: Wiley.

  • Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (2008). The psychology of the child. New York, NY: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosa, J. D., & Burdick, C. (2017). Language ideologies. In O. García, N. Flores, & M. Spotti (Eds.), The oxford handbook of language and society (pp. 103–124). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruhs, M. (2013). The price of rights: Regulation internationallabormigration. Princeton University Press: Princeton.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rumbaut, R. G. (2004). Ages, life stages, and generational cohorts: Decomposing the immigrant first and second generations in the United States. International Migration Review, 38(3), 1160–1205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saville-Troike, M. (1989). The ethnography of communication: An introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schüpbach, D. (2009). Language transmission revisited: family type, linguistic environment and language attitudes. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 12(1), 15–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song, J. (2010). Language ideology and identity in transnational space: Globalization, migration, and bilingualism among Korean families in the USA. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 13(1), 23–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Treasury. (2012). Australia-China: Not just 40 years. Retrieved from https://treasury.gov.au/publication/economic-roundup-issue-4-2012/australia-china-not-just-40-years/

  • Valdés, G. (2001). Heritage language students: Profiles and possibilities. In J. K. Peyton, D. A. Ranard, & S. McGinnis (Eds.), Heritage language in America: Preserving a national resource (pp. 37–80). McHenry, IL: Center for Applied Linguistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, K. F., & Xiao, Y. (2010). Diversity and difference: Identity issues of Chinese heritage language learners from dialect backgrounds. Heritage Language Journal, 7(2), 153–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, H., & Li, W. (2014). Geopolitics and the changing hierarchies of the Chinese language: Implications for policy and practice of Chinese language teaching in Britain. Modern Language Journal, 98(1), 326–339. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2014.12064.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to Professor Gao Jia from University of Melbourne and Professor Pookong Kee from Peking University for their valuable comments. I am also grateful to all interviewees whose participation made this study possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yilu Yang.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yang, Y. Reflexive language attitudes and language practices among school-aged Chinese Australian immigrant bilinguals. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 22, 401–415 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-021-09678-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-021-09678-w

Keywords

Navigation