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4 Family language policies in Thailand: Multiliteracy practices and Global Englishes

  • Kamolwan Fairee Jocuns and Andrew Jocuns
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Acquisition and Variation in World Englishes
This chapter is in the book Acquisition and Variation in World Englishes

Abstract

Elective English bilingualism has become popular among Thai families in Thailand who seek to have an educational edge amidst a deficient public education system. Our interest in this study is in how Thai families with varying degrees of proficiency in L2 English introduce bilingual practices among children under the age of 5. While there has been a lot of research regarding English in Thailand there has been little research attention paid to Thai/English bilingualism especially among Thai families who have acquired English as an L2. To fill this gap this research is developed from two questions: 1) What are the practices that are salient within family language policies promoting elective bilingualism with English in Thailand? 2) How do these family language polices reflect practices that are inclusive or exclusive of a global variety of English in Thailand? To answer these questions we had five Thai families participate in semi-structured interviews and a journal task. The variety of practices that emerged illustrates how family language policies among Thai families reveal a nexus of practice that is inclusive of Thai English that includes: translanguaging, co-reading, role play, and others.

Abstract

Elective English bilingualism has become popular among Thai families in Thailand who seek to have an educational edge amidst a deficient public education system. Our interest in this study is in how Thai families with varying degrees of proficiency in L2 English introduce bilingual practices among children under the age of 5. While there has been a lot of research regarding English in Thailand there has been little research attention paid to Thai/English bilingualism especially among Thai families who have acquired English as an L2. To fill this gap this research is developed from two questions: 1) What are the practices that are salient within family language policies promoting elective bilingualism with English in Thailand? 2) How do these family language polices reflect practices that are inclusive or exclusive of a global variety of English in Thailand? To answer these questions we had five Thai families participate in semi-structured interviews and a journal task. The variety of practices that emerged illustrates how family language policies among Thai families reveal a nexus of practice that is inclusive of Thai English that includes: translanguaging, co-reading, role play, and others.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. 1 The current role of children and adolescents in World Englishes research 1
  4. Part I: Language in the family
  5. 2 Language among Trinidadian-heritage children raised in diaspora 13
  6. 3 Language use patterns and strategies for children’s English language development: Insights from Chinese descendant mothers in multilingual Malaysia 37
  7. 4 Family language policies in Thailand: Multiliteracy practices and Global Englishes 59
  8. 5 Parental language ideologies and children’s language use in Singapore – raising speakers of “Standard” English? 83
  9. Part II: Language acquisition and language learning in multilingual contexts
  10. 6 Syntactic and lexical complexity in CLIL and EFL written production: Evidence for ELF as a WEs paradigm in Turkey 111
  11. 7 Investigating child language acquisition from a joint perspective: A comparison of traditional and new L1 speakers of English 133
  12. 8 Speech rhythm in Cameroon English: A cross-generational study 159
  13. 9 From second to first language: Language shift in Singapore and Ireland 177
  14. Part III: Attitudes and identity
  15. 10 Children’s language attitudes in a World Englishes community: A focus on St. Kitts 205
  16. 11 Youth identity as linguistic identity: Political engagement and language acquisition and use in Hong Kong 227
  17. 12 Varieties of English and Third Culture Kids in Hong Kong 255
  18. 13 Variation and change in the NURSE vowel in Trinidadian English: An apparent-time analysis of adolescent and adult speakers 279
  19. 14 How linguistically tolerant or insecure are school-aged children? A matched-guise, gamified approach for 6- to 12-year-olds in Canada 307
  20. 15 Caught between languages and cultures: Exploring linguistic and cultural identity among Maldivian adolescents 335
  21. Part IV: Summary and discussion
  22. 16 Conclusion and envoi: Language acquisition at the intersection of sociolinguistics and World Englishes research 361
  23. Index 379
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110733723-004

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. 1 The current role of children and adolescents in World Englishes research 1
  4. Part I: Language in the family
  5. 2 Language among Trinidadian-heritage children raised in diaspora 13
  6. 3 Language use patterns and strategies for children’s English language development: Insights from Chinese descendant mothers in multilingual Malaysia 37
  7. 4 Family language policies in Thailand: Multiliteracy practices and Global Englishes 59
  8. 5 Parental language ideologies and children’s language use in Singapore – raising speakers of “Standard” English? 83
  9. Part II: Language acquisition and language learning in multilingual contexts
  10. 6 Syntactic and lexical complexity in CLIL and EFL written production: Evidence for ELF as a WEs paradigm in Turkey 111
  11. 7 Investigating child language acquisition from a joint perspective: A comparison of traditional and new L1 speakers of English 133
  12. 8 Speech rhythm in Cameroon English: A cross-generational study 159
  13. 9 From second to first language: Language shift in Singapore and Ireland 177
  14. Part III: Attitudes and identity
  15. 10 Children’s language attitudes in a World Englishes community: A focus on St. Kitts 205
  16. 11 Youth identity as linguistic identity: Political engagement and language acquisition and use in Hong Kong 227
  17. 12 Varieties of English and Third Culture Kids in Hong Kong 255
  18. 13 Variation and change in the NURSE vowel in Trinidadian English: An apparent-time analysis of adolescent and adult speakers 279
  19. 14 How linguistically tolerant or insecure are school-aged children? A matched-guise, gamified approach for 6- to 12-year-olds in Canada 307
  20. 15 Caught between languages and cultures: Exploring linguistic and cultural identity among Maldivian adolescents 335
  21. Part IV: Summary and discussion
  22. 16 Conclusion and envoi: Language acquisition at the intersection of sociolinguistics and World Englishes research 361
  23. Index 379
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