Literature Review - Part 3: Immigrant parent attitudes towards Korean heritage language maintenance

Becker (2013) examines parental attitudes towards Korean heritage language maintenance by conducting a case study of Korean parents in rural West Michigan, United States. Data was collected through interviews and observations. In efforts to maintain Korean heritage language to second generation immigrants, all participants spoke only Korean to children at home, only using English words when needed. Most parents reported that their children began to speak mainly English after entering American schools starting from Kindergarten. Overall, the participants believed heritage language maintenance possessed great value and would help their children connect with Korean culture (Becker 2013). The study by Becker (2013) reveals that most Korean parents in rural West Michigan showed an intrinsic support for heritage language maintenance. However, some parents stopped actively encouraging heritage language maintenance once children entered formal schools in their host country in order to boost English proficiency and integration into America. Furthermore, the lack of learning centers and appropriate awareness of Korean heritage language maintenance in America was voiced by parents. Without adequate resources, many parents were forced to give up their attempt in teaching heritage languages to their children, resulting in a loss of cultural identity within immigrant children as they lose the ability to understand their mother tongue. Finally, Becker (2013) also points to evidence suggesting that heritage language learning influences immigrants’ ties to cultural communities and members of the native Korean society. The immigrant children that remained closely connected with their native Korean extended family members showed high levels of maintenance in heritage language, while those that could not initiate a level of contact with other Koreans and Korean culture had difficulties maintaining proficiency in heritage language. In conclusion, Becker (2013) reveals the willingness of Korean parents to commit to heritage language learning along with the correlation between heritage language maintenance and connection to cultural identity.

Similarly, Jung (2016) examines how maintaining Korean language affects the cultural identity of Korean immigrant mothers and children. Two groups were analyzed during the study after being questioned in the narrative inquiry style: Korean mothers in the first group, and another group including Korean immigrant children along with their mothers.

References

Becker, D. J. (2013). Parents’ Attitudes Toward Their Children ’s Heritage Language

Maintenance: The Case of Korean Immigrant Parents in West Michigan. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=theses

Jang, S.-J. S. (2016). Social Capital and Cultural Identity for U.S. Korean Immigrant

Families: Mothers' and Children's Perceptions of Korean Language Retention. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://www.proquest.com/docview/1800272194/9A941F3AF2A14628PQ/1

Jeon, M. (2008, March 5). Korean heritage language maintenance and language ideology.

Brill. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://brill.com/view/journals/hlj/6/2/article-p206_4.xml

Kang, H. (2004). Heritage language maintenance, acculturation, and identity: Chinese and

Korean 1.5 generation immigrants in New Jersey. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1143819278&disposition=inline

Kim, J. (2011). Korean Immigrant Mothers’ Perspectives: The Meanings of a Korean

Heritage Language School for Their Children’s American Early Schooling Experiences. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://www.proquest.com/docview/864079246/fulltextPDF/9A941F3AF2A14628PQ/3?accountid=41837

Kim, M. (2015). Running head: Heritage language loss in Korean immigrants heritage ...

Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/bitstream/handle/1993/30381/Kim_Minji.pdf?sequence=1

By Anthony Perez

Editor Suhh Yeon Kim