Home language maintenance and development among Chinese families across the three social levels

Maintaining home languages can support cognitive, literacy and bilingual development. However, in Australia, there is a steady language shift rate among Chinese migrants. Former studies indicate that factors at the micro (families and individuals), meso (schools and communities) and macro (government and international organisations) contribute to families’ beliefs, practice and strategies of home language maintenance and development (HLM & D). To better support HLM & D, the current study investigates Chinese families’ perceptions, practice and experiences of learning and using Chinese in Australia. Based on Spolsky’s Language Policy Framework as a theory, the research collects quantitative and qualitative data using online surveys and semi-structured interviews from people with Chinese backgrounds across Australia. The findings indicate that Chinese families are willing to support HLM & D among the next generations. Their experiences indicate that there is a lack of support from the meso and macro levels. Furthermore, the families’ language policies of HLM & D are influenced by factors from meso and macro levels. The research calls for collaboration among families, schools, communities and governments, regarding sources, activities and teaching programs. Further studies can collect longitudinal data to assess HLM & D stages or develop a corpus study.