Preserving Chinese Language in an English Context

Yan Hai Ya Fang

◆Abstract：In a monolingual-oriented society as US， it is hard for Chinese Language Schools （CLS） to seek support from outside world. The external forces as legislation， educational policy， the national ideology are against multilingualism， but Chinese family and communitys determination in maintaining their mother tongue is strong. This mismatch is the root for understanding the dilemma of the Chinese immigrant youth trying to maintain Chinese in US.

◆Keywords：heritage language loss; CLS; multilingualism; Chinese immigrant family

Problems of primary language and related self-esteem and identity matters have been overlooked. Chinese Language Schools （CLS） provide a culturally unified context， where Chinese culture is practiced and Chinese identity is enhanced. Isolation from public schools and lack of public support have been major reasons for its limited success.

1History

1.1Ethnic Language Loss in the U. S.

The process of language loss is accelerating and “bilingualism is often just a brief phase between monolingualism in the native language and monolingualism in English” （Crawford， 2004， p. 13）. Chinese Language is also in danger of being lost. Most children at the CLS experience language shifts from Chinese to English and then to Chinese as a second language and subtractive instead of additive bilingualism. However， little attention has been paid to heritage language loss issues for Asian Americans， who are perceived as a problem-free minority group.  The term "model minority" describes Asian Americans as ethnic minorities who， despite marginalization， have achieved success. This narrative portrays Asian Americans as a phenomenally successful minority group who function well in American society， being immune from cultural conflict and discrimination.

1.2Chinese Language School （CLS）

Unlike other ethnic language schools， early CLS did not function well because of the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and its resulting discriminatory practices against the Chinese.The development of CLS have undergone cycles of decline， revival， and rapid growth. According to National Council of Associations of Chinese Language Schools， 47 states have CLS， and the Chinese students enrollment is over 10， 000. The primary goals of the traditional CLS were to teach basic culture and language， but todays CLS strives to help immigrant families in pushing their children to excel in American public schools， to get into colleges， and attain high professional status; the teaching of Chinese language and culture as the core of the curriculum， has been replaced by a more comprehensive， well-rounded curriculum. Some CLS has no board of directors， the principal， who has the most power in school administration， is advised and assisted by the advisory committee and the parent association in these schools.

2Literature Review

2.1Why is Chinese Language Loss Happening？

Politics and Policy of Language. The political systems in the U. S. are not promoting the growth of minority and immigrant languages and are not developing a multicultural society; language is used as a means of controlling students ideologically to exercise authoritative or dominating influence over people of color （McCarty， 2005）.  Promoting English is an ideology： to be American， you must speak English （Wong-Fillmore， 2000）. Schools are examples of institutions， and curricula， tests， and similar components are products of this society. The implicit message is that speaking a non-English family language is a handicap （Martin， 2003）. Although the civil rights case “Lau v. Nichols” in 1974 laid the foundation that ones language is closely intertwined with ones national origin， and that language-based discrimination is a form of national origin discrimination， the case is being undone by law. Little by little， its foundation has been weakened. Proposition 63 in 1986 banned the use of languages other than English in public life; proposition 187 in 1994 was designed to deny illegal immigrants social services， health care， and public education.

Limited Success of CLS. The growth of ethnic-language schools in the Chinese immigrant communities has not led to significant or satisfactory improvements in Chinese-language proficiency; Chinese immigrant children， who study at CLS lack clear objectives and motivation; some Chinese adolescents question the necessity of going to CLS and practical value of Chinese language proficiency; reasons why some children are reluctant to go to the CLS are： they have to sacrifice weekends; there are a lot of tests and homework; they feel the rewards of learning do not justify the pain; such intergenerational conflicts caused by different perceptions on preserving heritage language have resulted in family disharmony （Tannenbaum & Howie， 2002）.

Parents and Family Relations. Immigration involves adjustments at many levels as well as real losses： loss of significant people and culture， loss of internal sense of harmony， loss of familiarity， and loss of ones mother tongue （Tannenbaum & Howie， 2002）. The immigrants face the complicated task of trying to maintain their mother tongue and the challenge of communicating with their children in this language. Parents of balanced bilingual students， tend to have higher education and hold professional jobs more than parents of pseudo-bilingual children; students from higher socioeconomic status families not only acquire English more rapidly， but also have higher home-language proficiency （Krashen， 2005）; children of immigrants with a low SES need to deal with more life problems and bear a much greater burden （Guardado， 2006）.

2.2How to Preserve Chinese？

CLS as a Unified Culture Environment. CLS fulfills the need to socialize regularly with people of their own ethnic background， helps the children learn language and culture， and offers opportunities of leaning Chinese Martial Arts， cooking， calligraphy， and Chinese brush paining as well （Yan， 2003）. CLS offers Chinese immigrant children an alternative space where they can express their feelings about growing up in immigrant families and provides unique opportunities for immigrant children to form different peer networks.

Committed Parents. Both Chinese-dominant and English-dominant parents strongly support Chinese-English bilingual education. Parents in favor of raising children to be bilingual have a strong sense of identity and emphasize family communication in their mother tongue and they want their children to be proud of their own identity and regard bilingualism as a gift （Guardado， 2006）.

3Conclusion

Chinese language loss is not happening accidentally. The external force perceived as socio-political status has been the driving power. The overall political agenda is aimed to build a European culture and English-only society. Boards of administration in CLS need to reach out to local university educational department and seek chances to build connections in a way that will benefit both sides. CLS should ask the local university language and educational departments for help and to find out in what ways they may collaborate.

References

[1]Crawford，J.（2004）.Educating English Learners：Language，Diversity in the Classroom.CA：Los Angele.Bilingual Education Services，Inc.

[2]Guardado，M.（2006）.Engaging language and cultural spaces：Latin American parents' reflections on language loss and maintenance in Vancouver，Canadian. Journal of Applied Linguistics，9（1），51-72.

[3]Krashen，S.（2005）.Ameliorating effects of high socioeconomic status：a secondary analysis.NABE Journal，29 （1），185-196.

[4]Martin，D.（2003）.Constructing discursive practices in school and community：bilingualism，gender and power. International Journal of Bilingual Education & Bilingualism，6（3/4），237-252.Retrieved September 24，2008，from Academic Search Complete database.

[5]McCarty，T.L.（ed.）.（2005）.Language，Literacy，and Power in Schooling.Mahwah，NJ：Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp.317.

[6]Tannenbaum，M.and P.Howie.（2002）.The association between language maintenance and family relations：Chinese immigrant children in Australia.Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development，23，pp.408-424.

[7]Wong Fillmore，L.（2000）.Loss of family languages： should educators be concerned？ Theory into practice，39（4）.pp.201-210.

[8]Yan，R.（2003）.Parental perceptions on maintaining heritage languages of CLD Students.Bilingual Review，27（2），99-113.