CONTRIBUTORY FACTORS TO LANGUAGE LEARNING AS PERCEIVED BY UNIVERSITY-LEVEL CHINESE HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Open Access
- Author:
- Li, Ming-Ying
- Graduate Program:
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 01, 2016
- Committee Members:
- Elizabeth A Smolcic, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Jamie Myers, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Meredith Christine Doran, Committee Member
Susan G Strauss, Committee Member
Susan G Strauss, Outside Member - Keywords:
- contributory factors
Chinese as a Heritage Language
Chinese heritage language learning
university-level - Abstract:
- Research has shown that heritage language learners (HLLs) have different characteristics and needs than foreign language learners (FLLs). Heritage language learners acquire or learn their heritage languages at home or at community-based schools whereas foreign language learners typically learn a language in the classroom setting. In recent years, U.S. colleges and universities have experienced a rapid rise in the number of learners who have studied their heritage language of Chinese in the classroom. However, there has been little empirical research from the perspectives of university-level Chinese heritage language learners about their learning experiences and needs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the factors that these learners perceive contributed to their heritage language learning, and how they influence that learning in both positive and negative ways. The research methods for this study included collecting data from six university-level Chinese heritage language learners’ written language autobiographies, conducting semi-structured interviews with each, member-checking the interviews, and holding focus-group interviews in order to investigate their perceptions of these factors. The results from this study showed that these students’ family cultural/linguistic background, early exposure to their heritage language, parental involvement in promoting their use of their heritage language, personal motivation, and the agentive role of the learners themselves in decision-making effectively promoted their heritage language learning. While the results from this study showed the importance of these contributory factors to heritage language learners, it is equally important to understand the cultural identities they have constructed during their heritage language learning process. Finally, I offered the study’s implications for foreign language instructors and areas for future research.