Historical Evolution Of Chinese Heritage Language Education In The United States

Chinese heritage language education is the product of Chinese immigrants to the U.S.,whose history can be traced back to the mid-19 th century.In 1848,driven by the“gold rush” in California,a large number of people along the coast of Guangdong in China embarked on a long journey across the Pacific Ocean,and went through hardships and dangers to reach the land of America,where they were in pursuit of their golden dream.Gathering together and supporting each other on the foreign land,they gradually formed Chinese communities,and Chinese heritage language education came into being.Chinese heritage language education in the U.S has up to now,gone through a history of more than 150 years.In the long years,it has been moving forward despite ups and downs,due to the persistence of generations of Chinese immigrants,the support from their home country,China,and the push from their host country,America.In view of this,this dissertation,while sorting out the history of Chinese heritage language education in the U.S.for more than 150 years,focuses on its interactive relationship with the macro-language planning from the home country and the host country in the course of its development.Apart from Introduction,the dissertation is divided into seven chapters.Chapter One examines the embryonic stage of Chinese heritage language education in the U.S.,which spanned from 1848 to 1881.The U.S.government had a tolerant and laissez-faire attitude towards heritage language education.After arriving in the U.S.,the early Chinese immigrants settled together to form Chinatowns.Cultural awareness and regional identity drove them to start Chinese heritage language education.Traditional Chinese schools first appeared in Chinatowns.Chapter Two examines the growing stage of Chinese heritage language education in the U.S.,which spanned from 1882 to 1911.The issue of the “Chinese Exclusion Act”degraded the Chinese into the bottom of the society,who were segregated in Chinatowns.The care from the Qing government brought their heart closer to the home country.Commissioner Liang Qinggui’s visit created a wave of setting up Chinese schools.Community-run and government-sponsored Chinese schools were established one after another.Chapter Three examines the initial prosperous stage of Chinese heritage language education in the U.S.,which spanned from 1912 to 1942.The U.S.government implemented compulsory English assimilation policy,and imposed strict censorship on Chinese heritage language education.The establishment of the Republic of China,however,ignited the patriotism of the Chinese in the U.S.With the support of the government’s overseas Chinese education policy,Chinese heritage language education experienced a climax of development.Chapter Four examines the stagnation and revival stage of Chinese heritage language education,which spanned from 1943 to 1979.Chinese heritage language education encountered a shortage of students and teachers during World War II.The U.S.government’s repeal of the “Chinese Exclusion Act”,the hostile Sino-American relationship following the birth of the People’s Republic of China,and the P.R.C government’s cancellation of the dual nationality system,further led to the reducing enthusiasm for Chinese heritage language education and its stagnation in development.However,with the U.S.government’s promotion of the bilingual education policy after the 1960 s,the social status of heritage languages was greatly improved.Meanwhile,another wave of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan,Hong Kong and China-Indochina Peninsula arrived in U.S.Weekend Chinese schools,therefore were widely set up,and regional Chinese-school associations were formed in the 1970 s.Chapter Five examines the prosperous stage of Chinese heritage language education in the U.S.,which spans from 1980 to the present.A large number of new immigrants from the Chinese mainland came to the U.S.after P.R.C government’s implementation of reform and opening-up policy,and set up new Chinese schools in their communities.In1994,two national Chinese-school associations emerged,creating a communication platform for Chinese schools to cooperate with the mainstream educational resources.Since the beginning of the 21 st century,with the development of China’s economy and the increase of its international influence,the P.R.C government has strengthened its promotion of overseas Chinese education,and the U.S.government has implemented the critical language policy.Thus Chinese heritage language education is stepping into the mainstream society.Chapter Six takes 10 Chinese American parents from Stillwater Chinese School in Oklahoma State,U.S.as the case study subjects,and analyzes their motivations and efforts to support Chinese heritage language education,so as to gain an insight into the internal reasons why it can last for more than 150 years in the U.S.at the micro level.Through the analysis and discussion of the above six chapters,Chapter Seven finally draws the following conclusions:First,the U.S.government’s language planning for Chinese heritage language education has shown a trend of “tolerance-inhibition-priority development”.The rapid development and prosperity of Chinese heritage language education in the U.S.since the1980 s is inseparable from the promotion of the U.S.government’s bilingual education and critical language education policy.Chinese heritage language education has gradually moved out of the Chinese communities and into the mainstream society.Second,the Chinese government’s attitude towards Chinese heritage language education has shown a trend of “ignoring-paying attention to-supporting”.The change in attitude has determined that successive Chinese governments have continuously increased their help and support on Chinese heritage language education,so that it can maintain its development for a long time in the face of segregation and adversity.Third,the development of Chinese heritage language education in the U.S has shown a trend of “spontaneously organized-regionally organized-nationally organized”.In addition to receiving help from the language planning in China and the U.S.,the Chinese community has strong agency and rich experience in surviving the adversity.From being spontaneously organized to forming regional associations and then national associations,the autonomy of language planning in the Chinese community has gradually improved.Influenced by China’s domestic language ontology planning and status planning,the choice of teaching language for Chinese heritage language education in the U.S.has shown a trend of “Cantonese dialects-Cantonese-Mandarin”.China’s standardization and modernization reform of Chinese has enhanced the international prestige of Chinese,which is conducive to the spread of Chinese in the world.The identity of Chinese Americans has shown a trend of “regional identity-national identity to China-national identity to America”.Identity is the “invisible planning hand”that manipulates Chinese heritage language education,prompting changes in the language of instruction and school-running form of Chinese schools.The essence of Chinese heritage language education in the U.S.is a parent-driven mechanism.It first started with family members and then expanded to clansmen,fellow villagers and even compatriots.Therefore,the support of the American Chinese are the internal driving force for its development.Based on ethnographic interviews with 10 Chinese American parents,the study indicates that the motivations for their support mainly consist of ethnic identity as the key,language value as the basis and Chinese prestige as the guarantee and that their efforts mainly include community activities as the key,family activities as the subsidiary and transnational activities as the supplementary.