Older Chinese Migrants in Auckland City: Language, Coping Strategies, and Well-Being

Abstract

This study examines the language challenges, life routines and well-being of older Chinese migrants in Auckland, New Zealand. The study has three objectives: (1) to explore the specific language challenges participants encounter in their daily lives; (2) to identify the impact of these language challenges on their overall well-being (physical, psychological, and social well-being); (3) to uncover the coping strategies they employ to cope with the language challenges and support their well-being. The qualitative study design draws on data compiled over a period of six months from 18 older Chinese immigrants living in Auckland. The research instruments encompassed a combination of a questionnaire, two rounds of interviews, and three rounds of go-alongs. The data were analysed using a hybrid approach of thematic analysis and content analysis facilitated by NVivo 12. The study identified three domains in which the older migrants encountered language challenges: interpersonal communication, instructive activities of daily living (hereafter IADL) for participants' ability to function in society (e.g., taking a walk, shopping, banking), and civic engagement (e.g., political elections). I established that language challenges within IADLs exhibited a stratification of complexities related to the venues' specificities and tasks involved. Language challenges were found to have negative effects on participants' physical (e.g., the considerable stamina needed for routine matters such as taking a bus), psychological (e.g., embarrassment, emotional suppression, loneliness, social anxiety), and social (e.g., limited social interaction opportunities, social isolation) well-being. Finally, the study identified three aspects of coping strategies that participants developed to respond to these language challenges, namely problem-focused coping (e.g., taking English courses, using technology), emotion-focused coping (e.g., seeking support from family members, ethnic communities, institutions), and meaning-focused coping (embracing the mindset of “let-it-be” and “no-difference”). The employment of these strategies sustain participants' overall well-being. The study concludes with theoretical, methodological, and practical implications.