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Heritage learners studying abroad
Edited by Angela George
[Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 8:2] 2023
► pp. 291–313

Chinese heritage speakers as language brokers in internship abroad

ORCID logo | Stony Brook University
| University of Arizona

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.

Keywords: heritage speakers, identity, study abroad, language ideology, Chinese, internship
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
Published online: 5 October 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.22004.wan
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