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Raciolinguistic ideology in first-year university (non)heritage Chinese classes

  • Sharon Chang EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: February 3, 2021

Abstract

This qualitative case study explores how raciolinguistic ideology of Chinese heritage is collectively shaped in first-year non-heritage Mandarin classes in one US university, but individually told by two minoritized (ethnolinguistically marginalized) heritage learners and two non-heritage learners. Their experiences in learning Mandarin Chinese as a non-heritage language elucidate how Chinese language learners negotiate their ethnolinguistic identities in the transnational world. The stories of four Chinese language learners demonstrate how their raciolinguistic ideology is collectively shaped by a complex racialization process while negotiating their race, ethnicity, culture, language, and transnationality. The present study challenges the raciolinguistic ideologies of the institutionalized norms of defining heritage and non-heritage learners as learner-trait terms. Implications for researchers and practitioners of Language Learning Centers beyond US higher education are drawn.


Corresponding author: Sharon Chang, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, E-mail:

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Published Online: 2021-02-03
Published in Print: 2020-12-16

© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Articles
  3. Celebrating CercleS: introductory notes to 30 years of professional activity in the field of language learning and teaching
  4. Voices from current and past CercleS Presidents
  5. Plurilingualism, learner autonomy and constructive alignment: A vision for university language centres in the 21st century
  6. Recent developments concerning the use of English for teaching and research purposes
  7. The underlying action-oriented and task-based approach of the CEFR and its implementation in language testing and assessment at university
  8. The language centre as a laboratory for innovation
  9. The development of a Language Centre. An example of best practice in a historical perspective
  10. Voices from European Language Centres and beyond
  11. Academic, cultural and social growth through the language of websites: A challenge for European University Language Centres
  12. An evaluation of culture teaching and learning in a Uniwide Language Program: Teachers and students’ perspectives
  13. Learner autonomy, self-regulation skills and self-efficacy beliefs – How can students’ academic writing skills be supported?
  14. Enhancing assessment in the recognition of prior learning with digitalisation
  15. The university language centre as an open-badge issuer: New directions in ESP assessment and accreditation
  16. Cognitive test anxiety in high-stakes oral examinations: Face-to-face or computer-based?
  17. Exploring the relationship between motivations, emotions and pragmatic marker use in English-medium instruction learners
  18. Raciolinguistic ideology in first-year university (non)heritage Chinese classes
  19. Reports
  20. Taking research from periphery to core in a Caribbean Language Centre
  21. Integrating entrepreneurial working life skills with foreign language teaching – two cases from the University of Oulu
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