Article In:
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics: Online-First Articles

Parental ideologies in heritage language maintenance

The case of Korean interlingual families in New Zealand

ORCID logo | University of Auckland
 | University of Queensland
This study explores the role of parental ideologies in heritage language (HL) maintenance among three interlingual families in New Zealand. This study draws on data from semi-structured interviews with Korean immigrant mothers and non-Korean fathers. A thematic approach was used to analyze the data. The findings in this study revealed that the three families placed great value in Korean HL maintenance. All three family language policies (FLPs) centered around a “One Person, One Language” approach, with the mothers using Korean. However, there were still wide-ranging variations in their FLPs. Moreover, the mothers’ attitudes toward HL learning were related to their perceptions of their children’s identities, which affected their HL-teaching strategies. The mothers’ HL maintenance efforts were possible because of their partners’ support. However, their husbands’ positive attitudes were also clearly associated with heteronormative gender roles and a related ideology of parenting. The findings suggest that even in positive FLP contexts, there is thus still a role for a more holistic and critical approach to HL maintenance.
Keywords: family language policy, interlingual families, One Person One Language (OPOL), language ideology, identity, New Zealand
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Family Language Policy
  • Studies on immigrant parents’ attitudes toward HL maintenance
  • The study
  • Data collection and analysis
  • Family language policy: One Person, One Language approach
  • Parental perceptions of their children’s identity and HL
  • Different strategies for HL teaching
  • Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • Author queries
  • References
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
References (40)
References
Barron-Hauwaert, S. (2004). Language strategies for bilingual families: The one-parent-one-language approach. Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brown, C. L. (2011). Maintaining heritage language perspectives of Korean parents. Multicultural Education, 19 (1), 31–37.Google Scholar
Clyne, M. (1991). Community languages: The Australian experience. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2013). Negotiating family language policy: Doing homework. In M. Schwartz & A. Verschik (Eds.), Successful family language policy: Parents, children and educators in interaction (pp. 277–295). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018). Family language policy. In J. W. Tollefson & M. Pérez-Milans (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of language policy and planning (pp. 420–441). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Danjo, C. (2021). Making sense of family language policy: Japanese-English bilingual children’s creative and strategic translingual practices. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24 (2), 292–304. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
de Bres, J. (2015). The hierarchy of minority languages in New Zealand. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 36 (7), 677–693. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dumanig, F. P., Maya, K. D., & Thilagavathi, S. (2013). Language choice and language policies in Filipino-Malaysian families in multilingual Malaysia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34 (6), 582–596. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fishman, J. A. (1991). Reversing language shift: Theory and practice of assistance to threatened languages. Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fogle, L., & King, K. (2013). Child agency and language policy in transnational families. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 19 1, 1–25. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gomes, R. L. (2020). Talking multilingual families into being: language practices and ideologies of a Brazilian-Norwegian family in Norway. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural development, 43 (10), 993–1013. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Guardado, M. (2017). Heritage language development in interlingual families. In P. P. Trifonas & T. Aravossitas (Eds.), Handbook of research and practice in heritage language education (pp. 503–519). Springer.Google Scholar
Huang, H. & Liao, W. (2024). Maintaining a minor language or a heritage language? A case study of maintaining Chinese with preteenagers in Australian interlingual families. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 27(3), 360–373. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jee, M. J. (2022). Korean parents’ attitudes toward their children’s maintenance of heritage language in Australia. In H. Cho & K. Song (Eds.), Korean as a heritage language from transnational and translanguaging perspectives (pp. 46–66). Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kang, H-S. (2013). Korean-immigrant parents’ support of their American-born children’s development and maintenance of the home language. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41 1, 431–438. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2015). Korean families in America: Their family language policies and home-language maintenance. Bilingual Research Journal, 38 (3), 275–291. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Koelewijn, I. M., Hoevenaars, E., & Verhagen, J. (2023). How do parents think about multilingual upbringing? Comparing OPOL parents and parents who mix languages, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Korean Education Centre in New Zealand. (2024). The status of Korean heritage language schools. Retrieved 5 June, 2024, from [URL]
Kwon, J. (2017). Immigrant mothers’ beliefs and transnational strategies for their children’s heritage language maintenance. Language and Education, 31 (6), 495–508. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2020). Negotiating family language policy and ideologies of multilingualism: Perspectives of a Korean mother and a Korean American child in a multiracial family. Language Arts, 97 (6), 351–362. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lanza, E., & Gomes, R. L. (2020). Family language policy: Foundations, theoretical perspectives and critical approaches. In A. C. Schalley & S. A. Eisenchlas (Eds.), Handbook of home language maintenance and development (pp. 153–173). De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Liang, F., & Shin, D.-S. (2021). Heritage language maintenance of Chinese immigrant families: Perceptions, practises, and challenges. Bilingual Research Journal, 44 (1), 23–38. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
May, S. (2023). Linguistic racism: Origins and implications. Ethnicities, 23 (5), 651–661. [URL]
May, S., & Hill, R. (2018). Language revitalization in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In L. Hinton, L. Huss, & G. Roche (Eds.), Routledge handbook of language revitalization (pp. 309–319). New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Park, M. Y., & Choi, L. (2022). Identity, heritage language use, and study abroad: A study of a mixed-heritage Korean New Zealander. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 19 (3), 286–306. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Park, M. Y., & Chung, K. (2022). Identity and Heritage Language Learning: A case study of mixed-heritage Korean university students in New Zealand. Multilingua. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Park, S. M., & Sarkar, M. (2007). Parents’ attitudes toward heritage language maintenance for their children and their efforts to help their children maintain the heritage language: A case study of Korean-Canadian immigrants. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 20 (3), 223–235. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Piller, I., & Gerber, L. (2021). Family language policy between the bilingual advantage and the monolingual mindset. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24 (5), 622–635. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Romanowski, P. (2021). A deliberate language policy or a perceived lack of agency: Heritage language maintenance in the Polish community in Melbourne. International Journal of Bilingualism, 25 (5), 1214–1234. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ro, Y. E., & Cheatham, G. A. (2009). Biliteracy and bilingual development in a second-generation Korean child: A case study. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 23 (3), 290–308. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rocha, Z. L., & Webber, M. (2018). Mana Tangatarua: Mixed heritages, ethnic identity and biculturalism in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Routledge.Google Scholar
Romanowski, P. (2022). Paternal agency in heritage language maintenance in Australia: Polish fathers in action. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25 (9), 3320–3332. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rosa, J. & Flores, N. (2017). Unsettling race and language: Toward a raciolinguistic perspective. Language in Society, 46 1, 621–647. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shin, S. J. (2010). “What about me? I’m not like Chinese but I’m not like American”: Heritage-language learning and identity of mixed-heritage adults. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 9 (3), 203–219. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shin, S., & Joo, A. (2019). Parental attitudes towards heritage language resources in the Australian Korean community. In S. C. Shin (Ed.), Korean heritage language maintenance, learning and development: Australian practices and perspectives (pp. 118–143). Sotong.Google Scholar
Spolsky, B. (2004). Language policy. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Spoonley, P. (2015). New Diversity, Old Anxieties in New Zealand: The complex identity politics and engagement of a settler society. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 38 (4), 650–661. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tsushima, R., & Guardado, M. (2019). ““Rules … I want someone to make them clear”: Japanese mothers in Montreal talk about multilingual parenting.” Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 18 (5), 311–328. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Venables, E., Eisenchlas, S. A., & Schalley, A. C. (2014). One-parent-one-language (OPOL) families: is the majority language-speaking parent instrumental in the minority language development? International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 17 (4), 429–448. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zhang, D., & Slaughter-Defoe, D. T. (2009). Language attitudes and heritage language maintenance among Chinese immigrant families in the USA. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 22(2), 77–93. DOI logoGoogle Scholar