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Raising Children Bilingually in Mixed Marriages Raising Children Bilingually in Mixed Marriages: Stories of Four Vietnamese-Caucasian Families by Ha Lam A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved November 2011 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Terrence Wiley, Co-Chair Nicholas Appleton, Co-Chair Joseph Tobin ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY December 2011 ABSTRACT This study examines the experiences of parents in mixed marriages (Vietnamese married to non- Vietnamese) raising their children in the United States. Specifically, this study focused on what factors influence parents' development of family language policies and patterns of language use. While research has been done on language policy and planning at the macro-level and there are an increasing number of studies on family language policy at the microlevel, few studies have focused on couples in mixed marriages who are heritage language speakers of the language they are trying to teach their children. This study used both surveys and interviews to gather data about parents' beliefs and attitudes towards bilingualism and the heritage language (HL), strategies parents are using to teach their children the HL, and major challenges they face in doing so. There were three main findings. First, parents without full fluency in the HL nevertheless are able to pass the HL on to their children. Second, an important factor influencing parents' family language policies and patterns of language use were parents' attitudes towards the HL—specifically, if parents felt it was important for their children to learn the HL and if parents were willing to push their children to do so. Third, proximity to a large Vietnamese community and access to Vietnamese resources (e.g., Vietnamese language school, Vietnamese church/temple, etc.) did not assure families' involvement in the Vietnamese community or use of the available Vietnamese resources. The findings of this study reveal that though language shift is occurring in these families, parents are still trying to pass on the HL to their children despite the many challenges of raising them bilingually in the U.S. i DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, An Lam and Nu Loi, who did not have the opportunity for higher education themselves but always pushed me to do my best in my studies. Daddy, I did it! I will be thinking of you as I walk across the stage to receive my diploma. I wish you could be here to celebrate with me and watch the boys grow up. Many thanks to my husband, Trevor Martenson, for supporting me in this journey—we met when I was in my second year of my PhD program. Two moves from coast to coast and three children later, I’m finally finishing! Isaiah, you will be forever loved and remembered. Samuel and Paul—my hope is that you will be able to speak and know some of your heritage language and culture despite your mother’s limited proficiency. But most of all, my greatest hope and prayer for you is that you will pursue God all the days of your lives. Many thanks to my siblings who never asked, “When are you going to finish?” Especially Phuong, who gave me my first laptop; Tan, who gave me my first printer; and my brothers, who provided technology help when needed. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Terry Wiley, my advisor and chair, thanks for seeing me to the end of my graduate school journey. Thank you for building me up as a scholar—helping me to get my first publication, helping me to do my first conference presentation, and taking our class on an incredible “field trip” to the Navajo Reservation and CA. Nick Appleton, I will always be forever grateful that I had to do a TA-ship and it landed me at your door. Thank you for mentoring me to teach SPF 301 and agreeing to be on my committee. You have been an immense support. Thank you for your open door policy. I hope that I am able to do as good of a job as you of balancing family, work, publishing, teaching, and mentoring. Joe Tobin, thank you so much for your input and helping me to do the study I wanted. Thank you for showing me the beauty and depth of anthropology and ethnography. Teresa McCarty, thank you for your help with methodology. Carole Edelsky, thank you for walking with me on part of this journey. Arnie Sanders, thank you for always believing in my potential and helping me to believe in myself. You started the ball rolling all those years ago when I came to your door as a scared high school senior for my Scholars Day Interview. Even to this day, your ENG 221 Writing Tutoring class stands out as one of my favorites, most challenging, and most rewarding. I am very grateful to the Gates Millennium Scholarship program for providing funding for one year of my master’s program and five years of my PhD program. It was this funding that provided the push I needed to start my doctoral studies. iii Additionally, I am very thankful for the funding I received from ASU’s College of Education (Dean’s Fellowship and the Daisy M. Jones Endowed Scholarship for the 2006-2007 academic year) and the Preparing Future Faculty Emeriti Fellowship during the 2004-2005 academic year. Lastly (but definitely not least!), many thanks to the people who completed the online survey and the interview participants who took time out of their busy lives to share their stories with me— without you, there would be no study. I think of you often as I try to speak Vietnamese with my children. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................................................................vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Rationale for the Study..................................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem............................................................................................................3 Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………………….7 The Present Study…………………………………………………………………………………...8 Terms and Definitions…………………………………………………………………………...10 Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………12 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 14 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................14 Language Policy and Planning................................................................................................14 Family Language Policy.............................................................................................................18 Family Language Dynamics.....................................................................................................22 Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………53 3 BACKGROUND OF VIETNAMESE AMERICANS IN THE UNITED STATES................. 54 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................54 Studies of Vietnamese in the U.S. ..........................................................................................54 Characteristics of Vietnamese in the U.S...........................................................................56 Unique Characteristics of Vietnamese in the U.S...........................................................64 Summary...........................................................................................................................................66 4 METHODOLOGY.................................................................................................................................... 68 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................68 Positionality of the Researcher..............................................................................................69 v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER Quantitative, Qualitative, or Mixed Methods?..........................................……….......74 Participants…………………………………………………………………………………………..78 Data Collection………………………………………………………………………………………81 Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………………………...87 Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………88 5 FAMILY VIGNETTES............................................................................................................................ 89 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................89 Background of Families and Vignettes...............................................................................89 Summary........................................................................................................................................115 6 SURVEY FINDINGS............................................................................................................................ 116 Introduction .................................................................................................................................116 Background of Survey and Interview Participants ...................................................116
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