positive attitudes are not enough

8/12/2019 Positive Attitudes Are Not Enough

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Positive attitudes are not enough: Minoritylanguage survival in the Canadian Prairies

Jaya Nagpal & Elena Nicoladis

University of Alberta - Canada

Abstract

We compared French speaking and South Asian (SA) immigrant families having preschool children in an nglish speaking region in Canada! "ith regard to the parents# attitudes to"ards minority language ($%) maintenance! $% use at home! ande&posure of children to $% media' arents in both groups had positive attitudes abou

language maintenance! ho"ever! SA parents "ere less hopeful that their children"ould retain their $% and pass it on to their ne&t generations' SA parents made lesseffort to communicate "ith their children in the $% and provided less $% media forchildren at home! in comparison to their French counterparts' We discuss the results"ith respect to the relative position and utility of maintaining these minoritylanguages in Canada and ho" these factors might influence parents# language choices

Key words %anguage maintenance! %anguage shift! $inority languages'

IntroductionWith a surge in immigrants from all parts of the "orld in recent decades! Canada has become an increasingly multicultural and multilingual nation (Statistics Canada!*++,)' espite government policies that support the retention of their culture andlanguage by minority groups ( d"ards! .//01 2oels 3 Cl4ment! .//0)! and positiveattitudes to"ards multiculturalism in the population (5erry! .//*1 5erry 3 6alin!.//7)! minority groups have been sho"n to lose their language over the course of afe" generations (Fishman! ./8*1 9eltman ./0:1 ;len 3 e


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group families' @n this study! "e compare $% retention in a native French-Canadiangroup to a South-Asian (SA) immigrant group in an nglish-speaking region ofCanada'

French and nglish "ere recogni ed as the official languages of Canada in ./0* "iththe adoption of Canadian Charter of Bights and Freedoms! "hich providedconstitutional guarantee for language e>uality and $% education ($cBae! .//0)'Within the frame"ork of official bilingualism! Canada has a policy of officialmulticulturalism! "hich encourages ethnic groups to maintain their culture anddevelop as distinct groups and discourages assimilation' he government of Canada(./8.) emphasi ed the importance of languages in achieving the ob?ective of amulticultural society through its commitment to preserve the use of languages otherthan French and nglish! and to strengthen the status and use of official languages ofCanada (2oels 3 Cl4ment! .//0)' Besearch has sho"n that there is acceptance ofmulticulturalism and high tolerance for diverse cultural groups among the Canadian population as a "hole (see 5erry 3 6alin! .//71 6alin 3 5erry! .//7)' As a generalrule! studies done "ith immigrant families have sho"n that parents hold positiveattitudes to"ard maintaining their $% (Arnberg! ./081 %ao! *++D1 Stoessel! *++*1

annenbaum 3 =o"ie! *++:)' While parents in immigrant families reali e the need tolearn the ma?ority language by their children in order to adapt and succeed in thesociety! they also have positive affect to"ards their ethnic language "hich they "antto pass on to their children (Stoessel! *++*1 Wyat-5ro"n! .//7)'

espite government policies that support the preservation of non-official languages!general positive attitudes to"ards multiculturalism in the population and positiveattitudes for $% survival among parents in minority group families! most immigrantgroups sho" a decline in the use of their ethnic language in the second and thirdgeneration (Castonguay! .//01 E#5ryan! Beit ! 3 6uplo"ska! ./8,)'

Language shift

%anguage shift has been defined as a shift from the habitual use of one language toanother language and includes both intergenerational and intragenerational shift( e9ries! .//D)' @mmigrant groups in 2orth America have typically follo"ed a three-generation model of Anglici ation that "as formulated by


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(Fishman! .//.1 ortes 3 Bumbaut! *++,1 Alba! %ogan! %ut 3 Stults! *++*1 Wong-Fillmore! .//.) and urope ( &tra 3 9erhoeven! .///) and a similar trend has beensho"n for $%#s spoken by immigrant groups in Canada (Castonguay! .//0)'

%anguage shift is not inevitable and can be buffered by a number of factors in theenvironment' he language behavior of people can be placed on a continuum frome&clusive use of the $% to an e&clusive use of nglish! "here most people lie in bet"een (Stoessel! *++*)' @n the absence of ade>uate interaction opportunities in $%in the host culture! parents in immigrant families play a critical role in $% learning oftheir children (%ao! *++D1 %i! .///)' Speaking the $% to their children at home! providing $% media (Flege! eni-6omshain 3 %iu! .///)! providing access toinstitutions that use $%! and enrolling children in $% programs are ?ust some of the"ays in "hich parents can prevent the language shift to nglish (6ondo! .//01 ortes3 =ao! .//01 se! *++.)' =aving opportunities to interact in the $% "ith familymembers! relatives and other people in the outside community can reduce languageshift in immigrant communities (=ulsen! e bot! 3 Weltans! *++*1 ortes 3 =ao!.//0)' Fe"er opportunities for $% interaction and lack of media in $% have beensho"n to bring about rapid language shift (e'g' the utch in 2e" Gealand) (=ulsen!

e bot! 3 Weltans! *++*)' Community organi ations like churches! clubs! and otherethnic group associations also play a significant role in language maintenance bymotivating people to use the $% in various conte&ts (=inton! .///1 ak! *++:)'

Ene notable e&ception to the general rule of language shift is French in nglish-ma?ority parts of Canada! such as the rairies' Across Canada! the French speaking population is concentrated in Huebec! parts of Entario and 2e" 5runs"ick! "hereasmost of the other regions in Canada are primarily comprised of nglish-speaking population (Statistics Canada! *++,)' @n Anglophone regions in Canada! a large proportion of children in French speaking families are bilingual in French and nglishand French is the language commonly spoken in families (Aunger! .///)' French hassurvived in the rairies for "ell over .++ years! due to the e&istence of French-language institutions! a strong francophone identity and preference for bilingualism(Aunger! .///)'

While studies have reported parents# positive attitudes about maintaining their $% in

subse>uent generations! there is little research about "hat parents do to maintain their$%' @nformation about the language-use and behaviors in families can provide insiginto "hat role the family plays in language maintenance in $% groups' he purposeof this study "as to compare French-speaking parents living in Canada! "ith parents"ho immigrated from a South Asian country to Canada' We are interested in theirattitudes to"ards maintaining their $%! use of $% at home as "ell as e&posure to $%


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media at home' 5efore turning to the specific research >uestions! "e briefly describethe linguistic conte&t of the community in "hich the study "as carried out'

The study

his study "as carried out in the city of dmonton! Alberta! Canada! a city in theCanadian rairies' dmonton is primarily an nglish-speaking region in Canada"here the mother tongue of 80I people is nglish! but //I of the population canspeak nglish' French is the second most common language and is spoken by 8'8I people and *':I have French as their mother tongue' Ef the total population of

dmonton! .'/I are of South Asian origin and are likely to have a South Asianlanguage as their mother tongue' ue to many languages spoken in South Asia!census data puts South Asian languages in the category of Jother languages#1 but .':Iof people in dmonton reported un?abi (language spoken in parts of @ndia and

akistan) as their mother tongue (all population statistics taken from StatisticsCanada! *++,)'

As mentioned earlier! French is an official language in Canada! and occupies a highestatus than other $%s' 9arious provisions facilitate learning French outside of home'

here are five elementary schools and t"o high school programs in dmonton aimedat teaching native French-speaking children' @n addition! dmonton has severalFrench immersion programs! aimed at immersing nglish-speaking children inFrench' $ore than .7 schools in dmonton offer French immersion programs(http KKdistrictsite'epsb'caKrootKSho" rogram rofile'cfmL rogramM@ N7)' @n the

nglish language schools! French is often taught as a core sub?ect for one period in aday or for several hours in a "eek' here are also facilities for preschool children inFrench (one day-care centre and several French day-homes1 as "ell as several part-time preschool programs)' he University of Alberta also houses the Campus St' uire functional bilingualism inFrench and nglish'

@mmigrants from South Asia do not necessarily share a single common language'Some of the languages include =indi! Urdu! un?abi! 5engali! elugu and $arathi'

here are no schools or preschools in South Asian languages that "e kno" about'=o"ever! due to a high number of immigrants from South Asia in dmonton! there issome support for learning South Asian languages in the community' he publiclibrary stocks children#s books in =indi! 5engali! Urdu! and un?abi(http KK"""'epl'caK %$aster'cfmL@ N5@%@2;UA%C=@+++.)' here are at leastt"o $% Saturday schools for learning SA languages managed by South Asiancommunity organi ations' @n addition! there are some informal activity classes for
http://districtsite.epsb.ca/root/ShowProgramProfile.cfm?Program_ID=5http://www.epl.ca/EPLMaster.cfm?ID=BILINGUALCHI0001http://www.epl.ca/EPLMaster.cfm?ID=BILINGUALCHI0001http://districtsite.epsb.ca/root/ShowProgramProfile.cfm?Program_ID=5


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children "here they can learn about their culture! traditions and religion and these areavailable in both nglish and South Asian languages' 5ilingualism is a part of life inSouth Asia and South Asians are likely to hold positive vie"s about bilingualism!ho"ever there are not many obvious economic benefits of kno"ing SA languages!compared to French in Canada'

ue to the distinctly different histories and status of French and South Asianlanguages in Canada! the benefits and thus the e&pectations for maintaining $%#smight be different' =o"ever! previous research has sho"n that parents in mostimmigrant groups e&pect and strive to maintain their $% in the ne&t generation'

Research questions

@n this study! "e "ill ask parents about language use in the day-to-day familyinteractions and e&posure to $% media for children at their homes' We compare t"ogroups O French and SA immigrant groups in Canada! in order to understand some othe reasons for the success of French groups (relative to South Asians) in languagemaintenance in Canada' 5ecause there are French immersion schools but there are noschools for SA languages in dmonton! "e assumed that there "ould be differences inlanguage attitudes and usage in families "ith school-aged children' For this reason!"e focused on the parents of preschoolers! bet"een * and 7 years of age'

he research >uestions for the study are as follo"s

o parents in French and South Asian families consider it important for theirchildren to speak the language as adults and pass it on to their childrenL 5asedon the results of previous studies! "e e&pect that parents in both groups "ill"ant to retain their $% in subse>uent generations'

o parents in French and South Asian families use! and encourage theirchildren to use their $% at home "hen interacting "ith other family membersLEur sample comprises of *-7 year old children and so their language choicesmight be less affected by the outside community' @n the absence of influence othe outside community in children#s language choices! "e "ill e&pect that parents from both groups "ill encourage the use of $% in the day-to-dayfamily interactions' Since most South Asians reported to be fluent in their $%!"e e&pect that they "ill use their $% as the main language of communicationat home'

@s there a difference in French and South Asian groups in the choice oflanguage of media! like 9! books and videos for childrenL $ore e&posure to$% at home is related to higher rate of $% survival in minority groups (Flege!

eni-6omshian 3 %iu! .///1 atterson! *++*) and one of the reasons for the


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failure of SA parents to maintain their $% could be the lack of e&posure to $%media at home'

Methods

Participants

he sample comprised of parents of *-7 years old children from :D French speakingand :. South Asian immigrant families' $ost >uestionnaires "ere completed by themothers "ith the e&ception of 7 >uestionnaires that "ere completed by fathers in ourFrench sample and : that "ere completed by fathers in our SA sample' @n the Frenchgroup there "ere .0 boys and .8 girls and the average age of the children "as :'7years (S N +'0 years)! and the average age of parents "as :7'7 years (S N D'+years)' All e&cept for t"o mothers in the French sample "ere married and they "ereliving "ith their spouses' All French participants "ere Canadian citi ens and "ere born in Canada' For the French group! the mother tongue of participants "as eitherFrench or nglish! but only D7'7I of parents had the same mother tongue as theirspouse' =o"ever! at least one of them had French as hisKher mother tongue' @n theFrench group ,+'+ I of mothers and :,'DI of fathers "ere fluent in French! .D':I ofmothers and 7.'7 I of fathers "ere more fluent in nglish and the remaining "erefluent in both nglish and French' $ore mothers (7,I) than fathers (:*':I) usedFrench more fre>uently and :0'*I of mothers and ,8'8I of fathers reported to use

nglish more fre>uently for their daily interactions'

he South Asian group "as comprised of immigrants from @ndia (*7 participants) anfrom akistan (, participants)' @n the SA immigrant group there "ere .: boys and .0girls! the average age of children "as D': years (S N +'/ years) and the average ageof parents "as :*'7 years (S N *', years)' All e&cept one mother in the SA sample"ere married and living "ith their spouses' @n the SA sample most participants "ereCanadian citi ens (,*':I) (though not born in Canada) or permanent residents(:7'7I)' Enly one participant "as in Canada on a student visa' En average! mothershad been living in Canada for ,'+ years (S N *'7 years) and fathers had been livingin Canada for ,', years (S N :'. years)' he SA participants reported 8 differentlanguages as their mother tongue and none of them reported nglish as hisKher mothtongue' All parents in the SA sample had the same mother tongue as their spouse'$ost South Asian parents reported to be more fluent in their $% (88'D I of mothersand ,D'7I of fathers) and the remaining SA participants reported to be fluent in both

nglish and their $%' $ost SA participants (88'DI of mothers and ,D'7I of fathers)reported to use their $% more fre>uently than nglish and only :'*I of mothers and.,'.I of fathers said that they used nglish more fre>uently'


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articipants "ere contacted through daycares and also through sno"ball sampling'We gave the >uestionnaires! "ith clear instructions about ho" to ans"er the>uestions! and a consent form ("ith our contact information) to parents' We also provided a prestamped envelope addressed to the researcher so that parents couldreturn the completed >uestionnaire through mail' arents received a five dollarhonorarium for completing the >uestionnaire' We estimated that it "ould takeappro&imately half an hour for parents to complete the >uestionnaire' For the French participants! the >uestionnaires "ere available in French as "ell as in nglish! but forSouth Asian participants the >uestionnaires "ere available in nglish only' We didnot prepare >uestionnaires in $% for the South Asian groups as the participants speakmany different languages and it "ould have been difficult to construct >uestionnairesin all the different South Asian languages' Furthermore! most participants in the SAimmigrant group can easily understand! read! and "rite in nglish'

Questionnaire

@n the >uestionnaires! "e collected information about each parents# mother tongue! fre>uency and fluency of $% use (or nglish) as "ell as the number of years theyhave lived in Canada' o gain information about parents# e&pectations and hopes thatheir $% "ould be maintained in subse>uent generations! "e asked parents "hatlanguage they "ould "ant their children to use "ith their children and "hich languagethey thought their children "ould use "ith their children' We also asked "hatlanguage parents thought that their children "ould use as adults' For >uestions aboutlanguage use in the family! "e asked the respondents to fill out a chart detailing "hichlanguage is used by each family member to each one of the other family members' W provided parents "ith a list of activities for children and asked parents to report "hichactivities their children "ere involved in as "ell as the language used for eachactivity' @n order to fully understand children#s e&posure to media in the $%! "easked parents about the proportion of $% use in some common activities such as books! 9 programs! and videotapes (see Appendi& for the >uestionnaire)'

Results

Expectations

We compared the e&pectations about language maintenance in the t"o groups usingChi-s>uare tests' he results are presented in percentages to make it easier to comparthe t"o groups' 5oth groups of parents ans"ered similarly in response to the >uestionconcerning "hich language they "ould like their children to speak "ith their childrenneither group chose Jonly nglish#' A higher number of French parents than SA parents "anted their children to speak both languages to their children! "hich sho"s a preference for bilingualism in the French group! but the difference "as not significant


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(p N '.:)' here "as! ho"ever! a noticeable difference in the parents# ans"ers to"hich language they thought their children "ould speak' French-speaking parents"ere more likely to respond both French and nglish "hile SA immigrant parents"ere likely to respond nglish (p P '+.)' 2one of the SA parents and only fe" of theFrench parents "ere hopeful that their children "ould speak mainly $% as adults'=o"ever! most French parents thought that their children "ould speak both Frenchand nglish "hile most SA parents thought that their children "ould speak only

nglish ( able .)'

able .

Parents expectations about language use of children as adults

French South Asian ChiS>uare

$% ng 5oth $% ng 5oth

%anguage they "ould like :8'7 + 7,': 77'* + :.'+ D'. '.:

%anguage they think .8'/ :', 80', .+'+ ,+'+ :+'+ *.'.. '++Q

Speak as adults *'/ .8', 8/'D + ,+'+ D+'+ .*'7, '++*Q

2E For the language they "ould like their children to speak! the percentages do not add up to .++I as a fe" ofthe parents in both groups said that it is not important for them "hat language their children speak to their children'

Language use at home

We asked parents "hat language they use to speak to their parents and in "hatlanguage their children speak to them' @f more than one child "as in the house! "easked parents about "hich language they used to talk to each child and also about"hich language children used to talk to each other' We found that relatively more parents in French! than in SA families spoke to their children in nglish' =o"ever!across both groups! the trend "as similar and most parents spoke to their children intheir $%' here "as a difference in parents# choice of language "hile speaking "iththeir spouse in the t"o groups (Chi s>uare N *,'.*! p P '++.)' While all SA parentsspoke to each other in their $%! many parents in French families spoke to each otherin nglish or both in French and nglish e>ually ( able *)'

able *

Language choice of parents with their children


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French South Asian ChiS>uare

$% nglish 5oth $% nglish 5oth

$other 8*'8 .7'* .*'. ,D'7 /'8 *7'0 *'.D '::Father 7D'0 **', **', ,:': ,'8 :+'+ :'.* './

arents *,'8 7+'+ *:': 0/'8 + .+': *,'.* '++Q

A similar trend "as found for SA families' Children in both groups reported to usemore $% than nglish to communicate "ith their parents' =o"ever! "hen askedabout the choice of language for communicating "ith siblings! most French childrencommunicated to their siblings in French "hile SA children communicated to theirsiblings in nglish (Chi s>uare N .+'081 p P '++.) ( able :)' Children in SA familiesused more nglish "ith their parents! than their parents used for communicating "iththem ( able * and :)' hus! children from SA families had started to use nglish tocommunicate "ith their parents even though parents "ere using nglish to a lessere&tend in their interactions'

able :

Language choice of children in family communication

French South Asian

$% nglish 5oth $% nglish 5oth F

$other 8*'8 .*'. .7'* D7'* */'+ *7'0 7'.* '+0

Father 7D'0 :*': .*'/ D.'/ :*': *7'0 .'00 ':/

Siblings 8*'* 7', **'* :,'D 7D'7 /'. .+'08 '++Q

When parents "ere asked about the reasons for their choice of language ofcommunication "ith their children the t"o most common reasons given "ere concernof maintaining the $% (8*'*I SA and 8:':I French) and comfort (:/I SA and::':I French)' Enly a fe" French parents said that they "anted their children to be bilingual and that is the reason for encouraging them to speak in French in addition tospeaking in nglish'


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Language of media for children at home

We collected information about some of the activities at home that children engage inSA and French families' We asked parents about the language of the media present athome for children such as books! 9! videotapes! computer games and rhymes told tochildren' After comparing the responses of participants from the t"o groups! usingchi-s>uare analysis! "e found that children in both groups engaged fre>uently in theseactivities but there "as a difference in the language of these activities in the t"ogroups' @n French families! most of these activities "ere either in French or in both

nglish and French' @n contrast! most of these activities "ere in nglish in SAfamilies' Some activities like computer games are not available in SA languages andso none of the SA families in "hich children played computer games had these gamesin a SA language' We also asked parents about the percentage of books! videotapesand 9 #s for children that "ere in nglish' here "as a big difference in thelanguage choice for these activities in French and SA families' For books! 08I SA parents and only *,I French parents said that more than half of the books forchildren at their home "ere in nglish' A similar trend "as found for videotapes and

9 #s and 8:I SA and only *:I French parents reported to have more than half ofthe videotapes and 9 #s for children in nglish ( able D)' hese findings are particularly striking as these activities are easily available in the $% and forthemselves! parents in both groups! had these activities in both nglish and the $%' @fact more French parents! than SA parents! had these activities only in nglish forthemselves ( able 7)'

able D

Language of media for children

French South Asian

$% nglish 5oth $% nglish 5oth Fvalue

9 *+'8 ,'/ 8*'D + DD'0 77'* .D'8D '++Q

9ideotapes :+': :'+ ,,'8 :': ::': ,:': .D'0D '++Q

5ooks :*'D + ,8', + 8+'+ :+'+ :0'+* '++Q

Bhymes 7,'8 :': D+'+ + ,D'+ :,'+ :+'D, '++Q

able 7

Language of the media for adults


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French South Asian

$% nglish 5oth $% nglish 5oth Fvalue

9 + :7'7 ,D'7 + :'D /,', /', '++Q9ideotapes :'. D,'/ 7+'+ .+'8 + 0/': .8'8/ '++Q

5ooks .D'8 .8', ,8', D'* D.'8 7D'* D'08 '+/

Language of activities outside home

We collected information about chidren#s language use in activities outside theirhomes' We found that! French children "ere involved in more activities outside ofhome than SA children' his "as despite the fact that the average age of SA childrenis slightly higher than that of the French children in this sample' When asked aboutthe language choice for these activities! for SA families (e&cept for a fe" classes andsports activities)! the activities "ere in nglish' A fe" parents in SA families reportedthat their child participated in sports and classes "ith their $% friends' 5esides thereported activities mentioned in this study the SA kids "ere not involved in any otheractivity in $%' $ost of the French children! on the other hand "ere involved in one ormore activities in French outside of home'

Discussion

his study compared the motivation for and efforts made to"ards maintaining $% in both French and SA immigrant families in Canada' We investigated attitudes to"ardsmaintaining $% by studying parents# choice of language for communication andchoice of language of media for children' he results sho"ed that "hile both groupsheld positive attitudes about teaching their $% to their children! and "anted it tosurvive even in the ne&t generation! South Asians "ere less hopeful than FrenchCanadians of their success in maintaining their $%' We also found that despite their positive attitudes to"ards $% maintenance! SA parents provided less $% e&posure totheir children through media and activities outside of home! compared to their Frenchcounterparts' We discuss some of the probable reasons for the above results based on previous research findings and the relative status and utility of learning French andSA languages in Canada'

As for the finding regarding parents# e&pectations about $% survival! "e found thatsimilar to previous research in the area of language maintenance ( se! *+++1 ark 3Sarkar! *++8)! parents in both groups "anted their children to learn their $%' $ost ofthem said that they "anted their children to pass on the language to subse>uent


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generations and speak to their o"n children in their $% in future' Similar to otherfindings in this area (Stoesell! *++*)! participants in this study also mentioned the benefits of speaking $% for maintaining contact "ith relatives in their home countryas an important motivator for maintaining their $%' French parents also held positivevie"s about maintaining their $% in subse>uent generations' =o"ever! the t"ogroups differed in their e&pectations about "hether or not their children "ould be ableto successfully learn their $% and "hether it "ould be maintained in subse>uentgenerations' $ost French parents in our study "ere hopeful that their children "ould be proficient French speakers as adults and "ould use French for communicating "iththeir children' En the other hand! the SA parents thought that their children "ouldmainly speak nglish as adults and "ould communicate primarily in nglish to theirchildren! "hen they became parents in future' SA parents# e&pectations are in tune"ith the finding that $% is typically lost in subse>uent generations (Fishman! ./8*19eltman! ./0:)' Since our sample comprised of parents of pre-school children! parents "ould not have e&perienced the language shift to nglish "hen children startto attend nglish language schools (Stoessel! *++*) and therefore this e&pectation isdue to other factors'

Ene reason for SA parents# pessimistic vie" on $% maintenance in their children can be that these parents have "itnessed the shift to the ma?ority language that occurs inother children' his language shift is particularly seen "hen these children attendschool and as a result engage in more activities outside of home' ven "hen the parents did not have any school-aged child! they are in contact "ith other $% families"ho are e&periencing this phenomenon of language shift' A second reason can be

found in the lack of language support programs for children in dmonton' he French participants! on the other hand are hopeful that they "ill be able to maintain their $%"ith support of learning resources provided in the outside community'

he t"o groups differ in their efforts provided for maintaining the $% in theirchildren' arents in both groups generally talk to their children in the $%! "hichcorresponds "ith their motivation to teach their $% to their children' =o"ever! many parents in both groups use nglish to communicate "ith their children' French participants use nglish to communicate "ith their spouse! either because their spousedoesn#t speak French or because heKshe is more proficient in nglish than in French

All SA participants! on the other hand! had a $% as their mother tongue and this "asthe common language for the mother and the father and all of them used the $% tocommunicate "ith each other' his demonstrates that many parents in SA families aremaking an effort to s"itch to nglish "hen communicating "ith their children eventhough they prefer to talk in their $%! as they "ould "ith their spouse even "henthey are fluent nglish speakers' En the contrary! many French parents are making aneffort to s"itch to French! even "hen it is not the language they choose "hen talking


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to their spouse' he trend to"ards language shift in SA families is also obvious in thechoice of language children use "hen talking to their siblings! "hich is usually

nglish' Children in French families seem to be retaining the $% and choose to talk inFrench to their siblings' hus despite a great amount of $% e&posure in both Frenchand SA families! a subtle indication of the e&pected language shift in SA families ca be found in children#s language preference in their interactions "ith family members'

arents give in to their language choice and further bring about this language shift byspeaking in nglish to them'

5esides differences in the choice of language of communication in French and SAfamilies! "e also found differences in the t"o groups in the e&posure to $% mediasuch as '9'! books! rhymes! and videotapes' arents in SA families select nglishlanguage books! videotapes etc' even though they are available in SA languages in

dmonton' ven for simple activities such as nursery rhymes! "hich are available inthe $%! most parents in SA families still use nglish' =o"ever! for themselves! SA parents use more $% media (such as videotapes! '9')! "hich reiterates the fact thatthe choice of nglish language media for children is not because of the lack ofavailability of $% media' French parents provide $% media to their children muchmore than the SA families' he use of nglish alongside their $% is understandable!due to the easier access to nglish language media! but the effort to provide e&posurto $% media in French families marks a clear difference in the strategy to retain the$% in the t"o groups'

Community and social net"orks affect language choices in $% families ($ilroy!./081 Stoessel! *++*)' %anguage retention can be an arduous task for families "henthere is the absence of community support for learning a language' here isformidable community support for learning French for children in dmonton andmost parents in this study presented opportunities to their children for e&posure toactivities in French outside of home' he choice of nglish for outdoor activities bySA families is understandable due to lack of availability of outdoor activities in SAlanguages' From these data "e are unable to ans"er the >uestion "hether SA parents"ill select nglish even if these activities are available in SA languages' We are alsonot a"are of "hether parents in SA families are making efforts to provide facility forlearning $% in schools in Alberta as there are provisions in place "hereby school

boards can contract a person or agency for $% education as is needed in thecommunity (Canadian ducational Association! .//.)' @t is likely that if there isenough interest for providing learning in SA languages outside of home! communityresources for this purpose can be generated' We also collected data on a fe" Chinesefamilies' Chinese is the largest minority group in dmonton and the number ofChinese speakers in dmonton is t"ice that of native French speakers' here are threeChinese and five elementary schools in dmonton' Similar to SA participants "e


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found that most Chinese parents e&pected to send their children to nglish schoolsand "ere less hopeful that they "ould be able to prevent language shift in subse>uentgenerations'

he results from this study sho" that despite positive attitudes to"ards languagemaintenance! the SA families e&ert less effort! compared to their French counterpartto pass the $% to their children' Ene reason "hich gives French an edge over other$% in Canada is the utility of French as a result of its official status in the country' Enthe other hand! due to high linguistic diversity in South Asia! any South Asianlanguage provides facility to communicate only "ith a select group of people! "ho arelikely to be bilingual in nglish' With the spread of nglish in South Asia and thelessening of contact "ith the home country in subse>uent generations for immigrants! parents might perceive learning a SA language for their children as something that isnot as useful' =o"ever! "e "ould e&pect that the lack of incentive for learning a $%"ould influence the motivation of parents to pass it on to their children! "hich "asnot the case for the SA parents in our study' erhaps the responses are influenced bythe value of maintaining one#s $% but the motivation of parents to help their childrenad?ust and succeed in the ma?ority culture becomes a primary concern for parents inSA immigrant families (;ros?ean! ./0*)' As parents e&pect their children to becomesuccessfully ad?usted adults in an nglish speaking society! they are less confidentthat their child "ill be able to retain the $% as an adult' French parents on the otherhand! see the value of bilingualism in French and nglish for success in the ma?orityculture even "ithin a primarily nglish speaking region in Canada and thus areconfident of retention of French by their children (Aunger! .///)'

he findings from this study indicate that one of the reasons for a higher rate oflanguage shift in SA families! compared to French families! can be due to the day-to-day language behaviors at home' While both groups held positive attitudes about $%retention! French parents made efforts to retain their language by providing $%media' his study highlights the need to collect information about the day-to-day behaviors in addition to information about attitudes related to $% maintenance sinceattitudes might not be clearly reflected in language behaviors and language choices'While efforts to provide community support for $% learning are re>uired to ensureopportunities for learning language outside of home! a useful first step "ould be to

create a"areness among parents about the benefits of bilingualism for their children'

References


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Alba! B'! %ogan!


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;overnment of Canada' (./8.)' Statement to the =ouse by the rime $inister! 0Ectober ./8.! in response to the recommendations of the Boyal Commission on5ilingualism and 5iculturalism! 5ook @9!The !ultural !ontribution of the 1ther

Ethnic 2roups&

=ulsen! $'! e 5ot! 6'! 3 Weltens! 5' (*++*)' 5et"een t"o "orlds' Socialnet"orks! language shift! and language processing in three generations of utchmigrants in 2e" Gealand' ,nternational *ournal of the (ociology of Language .7:!*8 O 7*'

6alin! B' 3 5erry!


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heritage language A case study of 6orean-Canadian immigrants' Language !ultureand !urriculum *+ (:)! **: O *:7'

atterson!


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%ac&ground Infor#ation

Age (in years) MMMMMMMMMMM ;ender $ale MMM Female MMMM

$arital status (check one) @mmigration status in Canada (check one)

MMM Single MMM Canadian citi en

MMM $arried MMM %anded immigrant

MMM Common-la" MMM 9isa student

MMM ivorced MMM Befugee

MMM Wido"ed MMM Ether

lease "rite do"n the ages and check off the gender of your children

Age MMMMMM $ale MMMM Female MMMM






,f your spouse has regular contact with your children please answer the following questions for both you and your spouse& ,f he7she does not please answer the questions only for yourself&

What isKare the mother tongue(s)L ou our spouse

What other languages are spokenL

What is the most fluent languageL

What language do you use most oftenL

What is the country of birthL

@f you "ere born outside of Canada! ho" long have youlived in CanadaL

@f you "ere born outside of Canada! ho" long have youlived outside of your country of birthL

Where "as your mother bornL


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=o" long has your mother lived in CanadaL

Where "as your father bornL

=o" long has your father lived in CanadaL

lease check off all the people "ho live in the same house "ith you

MMMM our spouse or spousal e>uivalent

MMMM All of your children

MMMM Some of your children

MMMM our mother or stepmother

MMMM our father or stepfather

MMMM our maternal aunt or aunts

MMMM our paternal aunt or aunts

MMMM our maternal uncle or uncles

MMMM our paternal uncle or uncles

MMMM our maternal grandmother

MMMM our paternal grandmother

MMMM our maternal grandfather

MMMM our paternal grandfather

MMMM our sister(s)! half-sister(s) or stepsister(s)

MMMM our brother(s)! half-brother(s) or stepbrother(s)

For each person "ho lives in the house! please fill up the table about the choice of language in the table'

&ample

S Father $other lder child Child Ethers -

Father - =indi =indi =indi -

$other =indi - =indi =indi -

Child nglish nglish - nglish -


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A

6

Child nglish =indi nglish - -

Ethers - - - - -

-

S

A

6

B

Father $other lder child Child -

Father

$other

Child Child

Why do your family members speak the language(s) they do "ith each otherL

=o" do you feel about your family members# language choiceL

Children's proficiency

)or any questions on this questionnaire involving children please answer them with respect to your oldest childbetween the ages of two and five years& That child is 88888888 years old&

oes your child attend any of the follo"ing childcare facilities or activities outside the homeL @f yes! please give thappro&imate number of hours per "eek and the language(s) spoken there'

es or noL @f yes! appro&imate number ofhours per "eek

%anguage(s) spoken

aycare

reschool


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lay group

5abysitter

;randparents or otherrelatives

After school care

Sports (e'g'! soccerteam! s"imminglessons)

Classes (e'g'! dancing!art)

Ether MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

@n your opinion! "hich language does your child speak betterL

=indi MMMMM nglish MMMMMM 5oth about e>ually "ell MMMMMM

@n your opinion! "hich language does your child understand betterL


@f your child already kno"s ho" to read! "hich language does heKshe read better inL

=indi MMMMM nglish MMMMMM 5oth about e>ually "ell MMMMMM oesn#t read yet MMMMMM

@f your child already kno"s ho" to "rite! "hich language does heKshe "rite better inL

=indi MMMMM nglish MMMMMM 5oth about e>ually "ell MMMMMM oesn#t "rite yet MMMMMM

When your child is an adult! in your opinion "hich language do you think heKshe "ill speak betterL


anguage and #edia

@f the follo"ing activities take place in your home! "hat language(s) isKare usedL

@f the activities do not take place! put an T in the bo&'

Children Adults

9

Badio


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5ooks

9ideotapes! 9 s

$usic (cassettes! C s)

Songs sung to children 2ursery rhymesKpoetry

ComputerK2intendo games

Ether media

About ho" often do you read to your childL

a' my child already kno"s ho" to read b' at least once a day

c' a fe" times a "eek

d' at least once a "eek

e' less than once a "eek

What are three of your child#s favourite booksL What language are they inL

5ook title %anguage

.' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

*' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

:' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Eut of the children#s books in your home! appro&imately "hat percentage are "ritten in nglishL

a' +I b' .-*7I

c' *7-7+I

d' 7+-87I

e' 87-//I

f' .++I

g' there are no children#s books in our home

o you have rules for your children#s television "atchingL

MMM es MMMM 2o MMMM 2ot relevant (heKshe does not "atch 9)


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@f yes! "hat are the rulesL

@f your child "atches 9! please name hisKher : favourite 9 sho"s

.' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM*' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

:' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

What do you think of 9 programming available for children in =indiL

o you have rules for your children playing computer gamesL

MMM es MMMM 2o MMMM 2ot relevant (heKshe does not play computer games)

@f yes! "hat are the rulesL

@f your child plays computer games! please name hisKher : favourite computer games and the language the gamesin

.' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM *' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

:' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

oes your child listen to musicL

MMM es MMMM 2o MMMM 2ot relevant

@f so! "hat language(s) is the music inL

@f your child "atches children#s videotapes or 9 s! "hat are three of your child#s favouriteL

.' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

*' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

:' MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM


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MMMM $y child does not "atch videotapes or 9 s

Eut of the children#s videotapes or 9 s in your home! appro&imately "hat percentage are in nglishL

a' +I b' .-*7I

c' *7-7+I

d' 7+-87I

e' 87-//I

f' .++I

g' there are no children#s videotapes or 9 s in our home

About the Authors


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Canadahone (80+) D/*-+.*D

Fa& (80+) D/*-.8,0elenan ualberta'ca

positive attitudes are not enough

Documents