Exploring Dual-Language Immersion and Family Language Policy: Hmong and English Bilingual Children Agency

• In Event: Exploring Identity in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Educational Contexts

Abstract

Concerning the growing field of family language policy (FLP) and the growing number of Hmong and English dual language immersion (DLI) programs, this multiple case study aims to investigate how bilingual children in these programs conceptualize language and demonstrate agency. As traditionally monolingual institutions shift, adopt a more bilingual approach and offer bilingual education, that will inevitably change how students view the importance of their heritage language and how parents choose to use language in the home. Adopting an ecological approach to account for the different spaces the children move through and their strategies, this study draws from interview data with multiple family members, natural language video recordings, children illustrations and pictures, language portraits and online resources.

Author

• Lee Her, Lehigh University
  Presenting Author