Language, Culture and Curriculum ISSN: 0790-8318 (Print) 1747-7573 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rlcc20 Why ethnic minorities want to develop their heritage language: The case of Korean‐Americans Grace Cho , Kyung‐Sook Cho & Lucy Tse To cite this article: Grace Cho , Kyung‐Sook Cho & Lucy Tse (1997) Why ethnic minorities want to develop their heritage language: The case of Korean‐Americans, Language, Culture and Curriculum, 10:2, 106-112, DOI: 10.1080/07908319709525244 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/07908319709525244 Published online: 14 Sep 2009. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 919 View related articles Citing articles: 5 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rlcc20 Why Ethnic Minorities Want to Develop Their Heritage Language: The Case of Korean-Americans Grace Cho University of Southern California School of Education, 602 Waite Phillips Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90080-0031, USA Kyung-Sook Cho Pusan National University of Education, 263 Koje-dong, Yonje-ku, Pusan, 607-736, South Korea Lucy Tse Loyola Marymount University, School of Education, 7900 Loyola Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90045-8425, USA Heritage language (HL) education has gained attention in recent years, although little is known about the students who enrol in such programmes. This study examines one group of adults attempting to develop their HL proficiency in order to discover their motivation for studying the language and the challenges they encounter. Twenty-four Korean-American students enrolled in beginning to advanced levels of Korean in one heritage language programme were surveyed. The results indicated that the respondents have both family- and career-related reasons for developing their HL, including the desire to improve communication with parents and relatives, to develop closer association with the Korean-American community, and to expand career options. These adults also reported a number of obstacles to achieving higher levels of HL proficiency, including low levels of language confidence and unrealistic expectations of other HL speakers. The results are discussed and implications are presented for heritage language education. Introduction The heritage language (HL) is the language associated with one's cultural background and it may or may not be spoken in the home. Classes in a variety of HLs are becoming increasingly more popular in private community schools as well as in colleges and universities, sometimes called 'native speaker' courses. Students with various levels of proficiency enrol in these courses in order to develop their HL or regain proficiency they once had as a child. The existence of HL courses is one indication of the speed with which language minority (LM) families and communities are shifting to English and leaving behind the heritage language. Fishman (1991) has documented the steady move to the dominant language across a number of language 0790-8318/97/02 0106-7 $10.00/0 LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CURRICULUM © 1997 G. Cho et al. Vol. 10, No. 2,1997 106 Heritage Language 107 communities and Wong-Fillmore (1991) has shown the shift to English in the US Wong-Fillmore found in her study of over 1100 families from a number of language backgrounds (Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Khmer, and Vietnamese) that children shift to English shortly after entering Englishlanguage schools. Not only are language minority families shifting to the dominant language, they are doing so with remarkable speed. Pease-Alvarez (1993) examined the language use of 64 Spanish-English bilingual children ages 8 and 9 and found that shift occurs even with first-generation students. There is also evidence indicating that by the time LM students reach high school, many possess limited oral proficiency and even lower levels of literacy (Garica & Diaz, 1992; McQuillan & Tse, 1995). Although there has been growing discussion of heritage language education (e.g. Merino et ah, 1993), little empirical information is available. This study provides a unique perspective on HL development by looking at a group of learners who, as adults, are trying to regain proficiency in the HL. This investigation focuses on the motivation behind these adults' attempts to acquire the HL and the challenges they face. The findings are discussed in terms of language acquisition and implications for heritage language programmes. The Study Twenty-four Korean-American students enrolled in a private Korean language programme were asked to complete a survey with biographical, language ability, and attitude questions. The results described here are part of a larger study to examine the motivations and challenges in acquiring the HL among Korean-American adults. In this article, we will concentrate on the responses given to two open ended questions. The first question asked the respondent to tell why they are interested in learning the Korean language. The second question asked the subjects to recount their experiences in interactions with other Koreans as they related to the respondent's own Korean language ability. All of the 24 respondents included in the analyses were English dominant adults who were either born in the US (n=8) or had immigrated before age 6 (n=16). The current ages of the respondents ranged from 16 to 29 and they were enrolled in beginning through advanced-level courses. Reasons for studying Korean Communication with family and community The Korean-Americans in the study wanted to develop their Korean for a number of reasons, many of which related to their family and community. A majority of them felt that their limited proficiency in Korean kept them from developing closer and more meaningful relationships with their relatives 108 Language, Culture and Curriculum and especially with their parents. James, who rates his Korean proficiency as 'poor', explained that I want to be able to communicate with parents more. I usually speak to my parents with simple terms such as 'I'm hungry', 'what is for dinner', etc. I feel that I'll have a better relationship with my parents if I at least converse with them. A US-born respondent, Harry, echoed these sentiments: 'I feel handicapped not being able to speak Korean with my parents, relatives and whoever else'. Carol commented that she felt 'uneasy' at home because 'my parents do not totally understand me when I speak English'. She adds 'I want to be able to express myself in Korean to those who are close to me and part of my family. Because my parents' generation is more comfortable with Korean [I] believe it is up to me to learn Korean to be able to strengthen my relationships with my parents, aunts, uncles and other relatives. Jacky, age 20, also has this 'language barrier' in her family. As a result, she notes that 'I rarely speak to my grandparents, and my father and I don't get along because of this barrier'. These respondents see any limitations they have in the HL to be obstacles to communication with members of their family and which limit the extent of their relationships with members of the community. Korean as part of heritage and identity A number of the respondents were motivated to acquire the HL because they felt that because they were Korean-American, the HL was part of their heritage — a heritage they did not want to lose. Tim, who arrived in the US with his family at age 2, wrote that 'I want to learn Korean because being Korean I feel I should know my own language and knowing more language makes me a more of a diverse person'. Jeannine also felt this way, stating that '...I am Korean-American, therefore I should at least learn my native language'. Sarah, a 16-year-old respondent, wrote that she wanted to learn Korean 'because I am Korean and I feel that learning/speaking Korean is part of being Korean'. Even though these Korean-Americans were born or raised in the US, they described the language as an integral part of their Korean identity. Aaron, who immigrated to the US at age 1, explained that learning the HL was important because 'it's my ethnicity, culture and heritage. My self-concept, identity is inextricable from the ability to comprehend and communicate in Korean. I have more to lose by not trying to learn Korean'. Cindy commented that she wants to develop the HL because of her pride in her identity. She stated that '[although I was born in the US, I acknowledge and I am proud of the fact that I am a Korean. As a Korean-American, I feel that it is necessary to be able to speak, understand, read and write the Korean language'. Several of the respondents mentioned that their interest in the HL developed Heritage Language 109 in recent years. Joyce, who was raised in a predominantly White community, recalled attending college and befriending other Korean-Americans, which she said prompted her 'desire to learn more of the culture and language'. Garrett, who also grew up in a 'very Caucasian neighbourhood' and is now 27, also developed a desire to acquire the HL only a few years ago. Because of the integral part of the HL in their self-concepts, a few of the respondents also felt that they needed to improve their own HL proficiency in order to pass it on to their children. Tim, who has 'average' proficiency in the language, fears that his own relatively low ability in Korean is a precursor to the language being lost in future generations. Evelyn, age 18 and US-born, wrote that '[w]hen I raise my future children, I want them to be able to speak Korean. I see too many second generation children who only speak English'. She plans to visit Korea in the near future in hopes of strengthening ties to the home country. Job opportunities In addition to wanting to communicate with family, friends, and community, and a desire to hold on to the Korean heritage, a number of the respondents mentioned career benefits of being bilingual as a reason for their desire to acquire the HL. Luke, 20, wrote that in addition to wanting to be closer to the Korean community, he is developing his Korean so that he can 'become more marketable in the business community'. Another respondent, Tammy, who has poor to average Korean proficiency, mentioned that she participates in Korean beauty pageants and she feels at a substantial disadvantage during the interview portions of the competitions because of her limited HL ability. Ralph also wanted to improve his Korean for career-related reasons: 'I intend to have a large number of Korean clients in the future and fluency in Korean is obviously an essential part of that'. Those interested in working with the Korean community believed that Korean proficiency would help them in their work as well as give them more legitimacy. Jeannine, 17, is the president of a Korean-American student association and feels that 'it would look really bad if the president didn't know how to speak Korean'. Jack, age 28, also felt this way and stated that T am interested in working with Korean families and thus it is vital for me to improve Korean language skills'. Obstacles to acquisition Despite these strong motivations for acquiring the HL, these respondents face some difficult challenges. Nearly all of the respondents — from those with 'very poor' to 'good' self-reported proficiency — showed a lack of confidence in their own language ability. 'Frustration', 'shame', and 'embarrassment' were all words that many respondents used to describe their own ability and the interactions they have had using the language. Those with low levels of Korean had perhaps the highest level of insecurity. Evelyn, who wanted to learn the HL so that she could speak to her grandmother, 7 70 Language, Culture and Curriculum wrote that '[i]t's often embarrassing when I do not understand simple questions people ask me'. Robert made similar comments, noting that 'it's frustrating when you try to speak it in public and nothing comes out right', and Curt mentioned often stuttering in Korean when he gets frustrated, which results in embarrassment and loss of confidence. Steve is studying the HL because 'in all honesty, I have always been embarrassed by my inability to communicate in my parent's native language', and hopes that someday, he would 'no longer be embarrassed when encountering other Koreans'. Steve's lack of confidence in his Korean ability may have been compounded by his years of studying in Korean language school. He explained that the teachers expected students to have basic proficiency in the language before enrolling and because he was a beginner, all he 'could do [was] endure the 1-2 hours and go home more frustrated'. Julia also found other's reactions to her limited Korean to be discouraging. She recounts being the subject of jokes while working at an Asian airline because of 'my accent and my lack of vocabulary'. Even those who reported that others, such as friends and family members, considered them quite proficient were not immune to low levels of HL confidence. Some mentioned not knowing the subtleties of the language as in Jeannine's case. She immigrated at age six and can 'speak, read and write' Korean but her ability is 'much less than the students of Jr. High school in Korea'. Although she has developed 'average' literacy in Korean and 'very good' listening and speaking ability, she still believes that her Korean is inadequate. Harry, who has 'average' ability, also had this type of self-doubt: 'With relatives I would be in a situation where I didn't know the polite form for vocabulary so I would not say much'. Ji Young had similar experiences, feeling that '[w]hen speaking to older Koreans, I often speak to them disrespectfully...[I] don't know how to speak to my peers in Korean, most interactions are with my parents or other family. I can get my ideas across, but not perfectly'. Aaron, age 29, felt that not being able to speak Korean fluently when in a situation where I was expected to resulted in feeling insecure, shame and general uneasiness. I think it's a cultural stress problem as well as a psychological (i.e. unable to express yourself). Discussion The comments of these Korean language students reveal that there are a number of both personal and professional reasons for developing their HL. At the same time, they may have unrealistic standards for success. For example, Jeannine, who was raised in the US since age six and had developed advanced levels of Korean, criticises herself because her Korean is lower than that of junior high students in Korea, although she has never lived in Korea and attended English language schools all her life. These standards, together with high expectations of other HL speakers such as family members Heritage Language 777 and teachers (Tse, 1996), made it difficult for HL students to recognise their own successes and many become discouraged with what they see as sub-standard levels of proficiency. It is likely that HL programmes that help dispel these notions and stress the successes of these students will have a better chance of succeeding and improving students' confidence in their own ability. It is clear that many of these students believe that improving their HL ability will improve their family relationships. Wong-Fillmore (1991) has documented the adverse effects of children not speaking the language of their parents. As with the respondents in this study, little meaningful communication occurs between parents and children, resulting in a distance between generations that our respondents clearly regret. Feeling successful in acquiring the HL may also be important for group membership reasons. These Korean-Americans may be in Ethnic Emergence, a stage of ethnic identity development where many become interested in embracing their ethnic heritage and see learning about the heritage culture and language to be part of getting closer to the ethnic group. During this period, ethnic minorities may want to join the ethnic homeland group (Koreans) or the ethnic minority American group (Korean-Americans) but see that they must first have proficiency in the language to be considered a legitimate member. Not being accepted because of not having the requisite membership badge of language may have negative self-esteem consequences. Several researchers have pointed the way to successful heritage language programmes (McQuillan, 1995; Krashen, 1996). For example, McQuillan (1995) has observed that providing students with high interest reading materials in low anxiety environments produces positive results in terms of language acquisition and improved confidence and attitudes. In his Spanish for native speaker courses, he promoted free voluntary reading of magazines, comic books, children's stories, and novels, among other texts. Students in his classes found these readings to be comprehensible and enjoyable sources of input and they developed a habit of reading which continued well after the course had ended. Dupuy and Krashen (1995) have noted the importance of creating language courses without 'false beginners' and 'false intermediates' who have proficiency beyond that of the other students. These more advanced students make the less proficient students in the class feel inadequate. HL acquirers may be especially sensitive to these situations since the teacher and they themselves may already have unrealistic expectations of their performance. Providing classes rich in meaningful input and low in stress and frustration is likely to help students develop their HL proficiency and their feelings of efficacy. References Dupuy, B. and Krashen, S. (1995) From lower-division to upper-division foreign language classes: Obstacles to reaching the promised land. Unpublished manuscript. 7 12 Language, Culture and Curriculum Fishman, J. (1991) Reversing Language Shift: Theoretical and Empirical Foundations of Assis- tance to Threatened Languages. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Garcia, R. and Diaz, C. (1992) The status and use of Spanish and English among Hispanic youth in Dade County (Miami) Florida: A sociolinguistic study, 1989-1991. Language and Education 6,13-32. Krashen, S. (1996) Under Attack: The Case Against Bilingual Education. Culver City, CA: Language Education Associates. McQuillan, J. (1995) How should heritage languages be taught?: The effects of a free voluntary reading program. Foreign Language Annals 29 (1), 56-72. McQuillan, J. and Tse, L. (1995) Child language brokering in linguistic minority communities: Effects on cultural interaction, cognition, and literacy. Language and Education 9 (3), 195-215. Merino, B, Trueba, H. and Samaniego, F. (1993) Toward a framework for the study of the maintenance of the home language in language minority students. In B. Merino, H. Trueba and F. Samaniego (eds) Language and Culture in Learning: Teaching Spanish to Native Speakers of Spanish. Washington, DC: The Falmer Press. Pease-Alvarez, L. (1993) Moving in and out of bilingualism: Investigating native language maintenance and shift in Mexican descent children. (Research Report No. 5). Santa Cruz, CA: National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning. Tse, L. (1996) (Re)Discovering the ethnic culture: The role of the heritage language in ethnic emergence. Unpublished manuscript. Wong-Fillmore, L. (1991) When learning a second language means losing the first. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 6, 323-46. 
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