Developing in Two Languages Korean Children in America

by Shin, Sarah J.

• ISBN13: 9781853597466
• ISBN10: 1853597465
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-12-16
• Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Summary

Immigrant parents are frequently advised by teachers, doctors and speech therapists to stop speaking the native language at home so as not to confuse children with input from two languages. However, this view is not supported by empirical linguistic and social evidence. This book sheds light on some of the common myths around being bilingual and explores the processes of dual language development among Korean children growing up in the United States. The book sensibly argues that the bilingualism of linguistic minority children is a resource to be cultivated, not a problem to be overcome. In addition, it explores various educational, social and economic pressures which hamper intergenerational transmission of heritage languages, and discusses factors that contribute to successful bilingual raising of children in spite of these pressures. A welcome addition to the growing literature on bilingual development, this book offers useful suggestions for parents, teachers and policy makers who are interested in promoting the development and maintenance of bilingual competence in linguistic minority children.

Author Biography

Sarah J. Shin is Assistant Professor of Education and Co-Director of the MA Program in ESOL/Bilingual Education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(2)
`Model Minority'?	3	(2)
The Plight of Immigrant Parents	5	(4)
Data Sources	9	(1)
Organization of the Book	10	(3)
The Development of Childhood Bilingualism	13	(28)
Definition of Bilingualism	15	(1)
Communicative Value of Codeswitching	16	(6)
Bilingual Acquisition	22	(6)
Language Attitude and Socialization	28	(3)
Bilingual Education: Transitional versus Maintenance	31	(1)
Effects of Bilingual Education	32	(3)
Effects of Bilingualism on the Child	35	(1)
Language Shift and Maintenance	36	(1)
The Hidden Costs of Mother Tongue Loss	37	(2)
Summary	39	(2)
Koreans in the United States	41	(26)
A Brief History of Korean Immigration to the United States	42	(3)
Social and Demographic Characteristics of Korean Americans	45	(11)
The Social Networks of Korean Americans	56	(3)
Current Immigration Trends	59	(1)
Structure of the Korean Language	60	(5)
Summary	65	(2)
Methods	67	(15)
Spontaneous Speech Data	67	(6)
Bilingual Acquisition: Grammatical Morpheme Data	73	(3)
Bilingual Acquisition: Experimental Data on Plural Marking	76	(3)
Survey Data	79	(1)
Interview Data	80	(2)
Codeswitching as a Communicative Resource	82	(25)
Overall Rate of Codeswitching	83	(2)
Participant-related versus Discourse-related Codeswitching: An Example	85	(4)
Participant-related Codeswitching	89	(8)
Discourse-related Codeswitching	97	(7)
Children's Preference for English	104	(1)
Summary	104	(3)
Dual Language Development	107	(21)
Acquisition of Grammatical Morphemes in English	108	(5)
Experimental study on Plural Marking	113	(6)
Language Choice and Language Competence	119	(5)
Summary and Discussion	124	(4)
Pressures for Language Shift	128	(21)
Survey Respondents' Background	129	(1)
Effects of Schooling on Language Shift	130	(1)
Language Use in the Immigrant Family	131	(2)
Language Attitude of Parents	133	(3)
Literacy Practices at Home	136	(3)
Parents' Attitude and Behavior toward Bilingual Development	139	(1)
Factors that Contribute to Language Shift in the Family	140	(7)
Summary	147	(2)
Developing and Maintaining Heritage Languages	149	(17)
Intergenerational Transmission of Heritage Languages	154	(2)
Heritage Language Education	156	(6)
The Road to Bilingualism	162	(4)
References	166	(13)
Appendixes	179	(10)
Abbreviations	179	(1)
Transcription Conventions	180	(1)
Yale System of Romanization	181	(1)
Questionnaire for Parents	182	(7)
Author Index	189	(3)
Subject Index	192