Abstract
This paper aims to reveal different stakeholders’ beliefs and opinions on
heritage language maintenance and complementary schools in the
Netherlands, namely those of parents, educators, and students. A case
study was conducted at a Chinese school in the south of the
Netherlands. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with
21 respondents (N = 21) consisting of nine parents, eight educators, and
four students. The results reveal that (1) Chinese parents value their
children learning both Dutch and Mandarin due to economic, sociocultural,
and identity factors; (2) Heritage language maintenance is perceived by parents and educators as vital in ethnic grouping (sense of belonging), connection with the heritage culture, and for instrumental purposes. They also recognise Mandarin as a new diasporic linguistic standard replacing Cantonese; (3) Chinese parents view complementary schools as a platform to strengthen their ethnic
bonding and community formation. Despite students’ perceptions of heritage language maintenance do not align with adults’ (parents and educators) views, their identity construction in complementary schools is in line with adults’ expectations.
heritage language maintenance and complementary schools in the
Netherlands, namely those of parents, educators, and students. A case
study was conducted at a Chinese school in the south of the
Netherlands. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with
21 respondents (N = 21) consisting of nine parents, eight educators, and
four students. The results reveal that (1) Chinese parents value their
children learning both Dutch and Mandarin due to economic, sociocultural,
and identity factors; (2) Heritage language maintenance is perceived by parents and educators as vital in ethnic grouping (sense of belonging), connection with the heritage culture, and for instrumental purposes. They also recognise Mandarin as a new diasporic linguistic standard replacing Cantonese; (3) Chinese parents view complementary schools as a platform to strengthen their ethnic
bonding and community formation. Despite students’ perceptions of heritage language maintenance do not align with adults’ (parents and educators) views, their identity construction in complementary schools is in line with adults’ expectations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-15 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 22 Oct 2024 |
Keywords
- Heritage Language Maintenance
- Chinese complementary schools
- Family Language Policy
- identity construction
- Chinese community in the Netherlands
- the Chinese community in the Netherlands
- Heritage language maintenance
- family language policy
