Chinese heritage speakers as language brokers in internship abroad
Focusing on four Chinese heritage speakers seeking internships while studying in China, this ethnographic
multi-case study reveals how their linguistic ideologies can shape their life and work abroad. Drawing upon the theory of language
ideology, findings show that heritage speakers were perceived as model Chinese speakers in the classroom, and their bilingual
upbringing was also considered an asset by Chinese multinational companies. While the bilingual identity afforded them initial
access to internship opportunities, in the workplace they were assigned language tasks (e.g., translation) rather than
responsibilities aligned with their academic training. As this distribution of labor foregrounds heritage speakers’ bilingual
identity, it places them into the peripheral role as language service providers in the corporate realm. By describing these
perplexing experiences, our results provide a more nuanced understanding of heritage speakers’ experiences abroad and unpack the
linguistic expectations and implications for those who seek internships while studying abroad.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Literature review
- 2.1Language ideologies in SA contexts
- 2.2Heritage speakers study and work abroad
- 3.Methodology
- 3.1Research context
- 3.2Focal participants
- 3.3Data collection
- 3.4Data analysis
- 4.Findings
- 4.1Within program: Heritage speakers as “good language users”
- 4.2Navigating into the workplace: Internship opportunities favoring heritage speakers
- 4.3During internship: Heritage speakers as “translators” but not “real” professionals
- 5.Discussion and implication
- 6.Conclusion
- Note
-
References