Attitudes and actions of Chinese families toward heritage language maintenance

This study examines Chinese parents' and children's attitudes toward and behaviors related to learning Chinese and English in the United States. Twenty-five immigrant Chinese families were recruited for this study. Data collection techniques included interviews, observations, and children's writing samples. Audio-taped interviews were transcribed and the contents were coded, using Strauss and Corbin's open coding technique, to find and identify patterns in responses. After patterns were identified, the data were reread and parents were clustered together into three groups based on similarities in their actions relative to Chinese language maintenance.; Of the twenty-five families that participated in this study, twenty-three sent their children to Chinese schools. So my findings are specific to this population of Chinese immigrant parents. Findings revealed that, in general, parents' attitudes toward raising their children bilingually were positive. However, parents also indicated difficulties in maintaining Chinese in the home environment as they battled against the strong pressure of English usage in the mainstream society. Parents who were most active in promoting Chinese to their children and who were most insistent on using Chinese in the home setting were most successful in maintaining their children's Chinese. The elementary and middle school children in the study also provided their perspectives on language learning and shared their experiences in studying both English and Chinese.; The findings confirm the results of other research in the field concerning the challenges and benefits of preserving heritage languages in immigrant communities in the United States and the central role played by immigrant parents in maintaining their children's bilingual proficiency. The results of the study may help Chinese parents by providing some guidelines to support their children's Chinese learning. The study also raises issues for the public as well as educators to pay greater attention to and provide more support for immigrant families' struggles to provide immigrant children with heritage language education.