Into the the Unknown: Exploring Motivation and Identity Development in Transracial Adoptee Heritage Language Learners

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Abstract

This study followed the Mandarin learning journey of a Chinese transracial adoptee, Jay, and explored factors, particularly the identity, influencing the motivation of her HL learning. Using the Grounded Theory approach, data from two intensive interviews were analyzed. We constructed a model that portrays an interaction between the adoptee’s Mandarin learning motivation and recursive identity development(i.e., insecurity, reconstruction, and establishment/compromise), directed by external influences and her internal appraisals across three age periods. Overall, our study helps fill the vast gap in research on adoptees’ identity development and HL learning motivation. The model emphasized the fluidity of identity construction. The differences revealed between Chinese HLLs and adoptee HLLs also allude to the complexity of the HLL population.

Authors

• Wenting Song, Florida State University

• G. Curt Fulwider, Florida State University

• Jeannine E. Turner, Florida State University