Chinese Immigrant Families’ Aspirations for Home Language Retention and Children’s Early Bilingual Education in New Zealand’s Social Spaces

Abstract

New Zealand has a large population of immigrants, 27.4% of its residents were born overseas, and the country is home to more than 160 languages (Statistics New Zealand, 2019). The enrolment of Chinese children in early childhood education (ECE) settings has increased significantly over the years. These children are likely to use English as an Additional Language (EAL). The New Zealand early childhood curriculum promotes many language discourses, including embracing children’s home languages in ECE settings (Ministry of Education, 2017). Previous research suggests that children with an EAL background should be encouraged to use home language at home and ECE settings (Podmore et al., 2016). This presentation will use findings from a qualitative study to illustrate nuanced relationships between dominant language discourses in New Zealand ECE and Chinese immigrant families’ aspirations for children’s language learning. The study analysed institutional documents to identify language discourses promoted in New Zealand ECE. It also used individual interviews with a group of Chinese immigrant parents to investigate their aspirations for home language retention and children’s bilingual learning. The two data sets revealed (mis)alignments between institutional and parental aspirations. This presentation will use theoretical constructs of social spaces to highlight complex relations between public and private spaces concerning the role of home language and bilingual learning in New Zealand ECE and the importance of developing policies and pedagogies that support interactions and learning across the two spaces.