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Identity Perception of Chinese Immigrant Youth at a Mandarin Bilingual School

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Identity Perception of Chinese Immigrant Youth at a Mandarin Bilingual School University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2018-07-19 Identity Perception of Chinese Immigrant Youth at a Mandarin Bilingual School Lai, Xingru Lai, X. (2018). Identity Perception of Chinese Immigrant Youth at a Mandarin Bilingual School (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/32654 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/107472 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Identity Perception of Chinese Immigrant Youth at a Mandarin Bilingual School by Xingru Lai A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH CALGARY, ALBERTA JULY, 2018 © Xingru Lai 2018 Abstract This study explored identity perception of youth from Chinese backgrounds in the context of a Mandarin/English bilingual education program in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The study was based on the theory proposed by Grosjean (2015) on bilingualism and biculturalism, together with bilingual identity negotiation framework by Fielding (2015). Six students from Grades 7 to 9 were individually interviewed about how they used languages and how they perceived their identities as a person from Chinese backgrounds in the Mandarin/English bilingual program. Results indicated that bilingualism is a dynamic process. Some participants in this study started with one language as the dominant language, but after a transition period, the first language became the weaker language and the second language the stronger language. Meanwhile, results revealed their creative uses of languages. Most participants engaged in code- switching in their language use both in the interviews and in their home usage of languages. Through this program, they learned how to value their own languages and cultures as well as feeling proud of being Chinese. Implications of the study suggested the need to emphasize the importance of affirming identities in language learning for immigrant students. In order for students’ bilingual competence to develop, the immigrant students’ heritage background should be seen as a valuable resource and be fully respected. ii Acknowledgements Completion of this research would not have been possible without the support, guidance, and encouragement of numerous individuals. I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Sylvie Roy, who always provides me assistance and suggestions throughout my research. I have been lucky to have a supervisor who responded to my questions and queries so promptly. Besides my advisor, I would like to thank the rest of my committee members, Dr. Roswita Aleida Helene Dressler, and Dr. Olive Chapman for their encouragement, insightful comments, and careful attention to detail. I am grateful to all participating students, their teachers, the principal of the school, and the school board for their keen cooperation with my research. The research was an immeasurable learning experience to understand the implications of Mandarin bilingual education and a precious opportunity to examine what I learned from University of Calgary. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family: my parents, Yonghui Lai and Xiaoyue Chen for supporting me financially and spiritually throughout my life. Without them, it could not be possible that I could have gone this far in my research. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements....……………………………………………………………………………iii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………………iv List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………viii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………… ix CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Research Purpose and Questions ................................................................................................ 2 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................. 3 Chinese immigration to Canada .............................................................................................. 3 Mandarin-English bilingual program in southern Alberta. ..................................................... 6 Chinese in Calgary. ................................................................................................................. 8 Research Journey ...................................................................................................................... 11 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................................... 12 Organization of the Thesis ........................................................................................................ 13 Use of Terms as Related to My Study ...................................................................................... 14 Immigrant youth. .................................................................................................................. 14 Culture. ................................................................................................................................. 14 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................ 16 Bilingual Education .................................................................................................................. 16 Definition .............................................................................................................................. 16 Types of bilingual education. ................................................................................................ 16 Research on Mandarin Bilingual Program ................................................................................ 19 iv Research on identity .............................................................................................................. 21 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 23 The bilingual person ............................................................................................................. 23 Becoming bilingual ........................................................................................................... 25 Acting bilingually .............................................................................................................. 27 Monolingual mode ........................................................................................................ 28 Bilingual mode .............................................................................................................. 28 The bicultural person ............................................................................................................ 29 Becoming bicultural .......................................................................................................... 31 Acting biculturally ............................................................................................................ 33 Monocultural mode ....................................................................................................... 33 Bicultural mode ............................................................................................................. 34 Bilingual bicultural ............................................................................................................... 34 Bilingual identity negotiation framework ............................................................................. 35 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 38 Research Purpose ...................................................................................................................... 38 Philosophical Foundation.......................................................................................................... 38 Research Design ........................................................................................................................ 39 Qualitative study ................................................................................................................... 39 Case study ............................................................................................................................. 40 Data Collection Procedures ....................................................................................................... 40 Research site ......................................................................................................................... 40 Focal participants .................................................................................................................. 41 v Participants selection. ........................................................................................................... 41 Participant Demographics ........................................................................................................
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