ABSTRACT

Given the vitality, migration patterns, and transnationalism of large numbers of speakers of Chinese languages over many centuries, education in Chinese as a heritage language (CHL) in diaspora communities, with its attendant desires, efforts, and successes, on the one hand, and challenges and disappointments, on the other, is not a new phenomenon or aspiration. Indeed, it may be idealistic to imagine that successive generations living in non-Chinese ethnolinguistic, sociocultural, and geopolitical contexts will either want to or manage to retain proficiency and affiliation with their heritage languages (HLs) and cultures in the midst of other languages and cultures, each with a different social and political status in their communities. For centuries, parents have asked themselves such questions as: Why do so many children in the Chinese diaspora not learn, use, or retain Chinese—and, more specifically, the language and cultural traditions of their parents or grandparents? Why do some Chinese dialects and writing systems have greater legitimacy, power, or utility than others? And what accounts for changes in their status over time? Which approaches to Chinese teaching and socialization are, or should be, adopted at home and in community schools to support children’s (or parents’) Chinese linguistic and cultural traditions without undermining their success in the dominant language and culture (and thus status and opportunities) in society? And what kinds of instructional materials are—or should be—used to represent language and literacy forms, ideologies, genres, topics, and interests?