Creating Culture? The Social Inclusion or Isolation of Mandarin Immersion

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Abstract

Historically the responsibility to become an English-speaking American has always lied with the immigrant. English is the lingua franca of America and immigrants that do not speak it are routinely encouraged to follow linguistic norm, often at the expense of their mother tongue. Collectively, Americans do not have much incentive to adopt another language or culture. Recently however, Americans of all races and ethnic groups are choosing to forego convention and embrace foreign languages and cultures by investing their children in bilingual education at early ages. Americans are choosing Dual Language Immersion Programs as one source of cultural and linguistic transmission. Dual Language Immersion Programs are elementary school programs where children learn a foreign language and culture through a traditional elementary school curriculum. The growing number of language immersion programs and their locations outside ethnic enclaves, suggests that they hold some attraction to Americans of various backgrounds. Framed by Asian educational achievement, school choice, and intergroup contact theory, this paper examines a Mandarin Chinese Immersion Program operating within a traditional, English-only public elementary school setting. It asks: what are the experiences and motivations of individuals affiliated with Mandarin Immersion and in what ways do group boundaries manifest within an elementary immersion environment? Using an ethnographic approach of interviews and classroom observations, the study finds that immersion creates more intimate student relationships that lead to greater school involvement. As states and district offices throughout the country began implementing steps towards students receiving The Seal of Biliteracy, this study teases out the benefits, challenges, and symbolic boundaries, of second language learning.

Author

• Edward Watson, University of California - Irvine