2007/11/13 by Seong Man Park, Mela Sarkar · 205 citations
Social Sciences · #Diaspora, migration, transnational identity #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Multilingual Education and Policy
paper · doi:10.2167/lcc337.0
published in Language, Culture and Curriculum 20(3), 223-235 (Informa UK Limited)
openalex publication_date 2007/11/13 · crossref created 2007/11/13 · crossref issued 2007/12/01 · crossref published 2007/12/01 · crossref published-print 2007/12/01 · crossref deposited 2019/05/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02 · crossref indexed 2026/08/05
In this study we explore Korean immigrant parents’ attitudes toward heritage language maintenance for their children and their efforts to help their children maintain Korean as their heritage language in Montreal. Some implications for mainstream school policies and classroom practices are touched on briefly. Data were collected from nine Korean immigrant parents who had a child (or children) between the ages of 6–18 in 2005, using a questionnaire and interviews. The interviews asked about Korean immigrant parents’ attitudes toward heritage language and cultural identity maintenance for their children and attitudes toward the Korean language, the Korean community, and the Korean churches; four items designed to obtain information about parents’ efforts to help their children maintain the heritage language both at home and outside of the home were also included. The findings suggest that Korean immigrant parents are very positive toward their children’s heritage language maintenance. Korean parents believe that their children’s high level of proficiency in the Korean language would help their children keep their cultural identity as Koreans, ensure them better future economic opportunities, and give them more chances to communicate with their grandparents efficiently.