u.s. government critical language initiatives: a chinese...

Lecture Note: Dr. H. Lin Domizio 1

U.S. Government’s Critical Language Initiatives: A Chinese Case

Mother Tongue Maintenance, Foreign Language Education

Public Lecture: November 3, 2007

H. Lin Domizio, Assistant ProfessorDept. of Foreign Languages and Literatures

San Francisco State University


Overview

1. Historical Moments of Chinese Heritage Schools

chronology, historical developments, organizations, functions, threat/ endangeradvice for preservation/maintenance, US government’s national policy

2. National Security Language Initiatives: StarTalkfederal grant project (NSLI): 21st century trend


Introduction

For centuries, America has been regarded as “the Promised Land” and it is also considered as a melting pot nowadays.

To parents who are immigrants of a given country, heritage schools serve not only as a symbol of _(Chinese)___identity and ethnic pride, but also as a bridge linking past to future generations.


Introduction

Commonalities and dissimilarities can be found through the knowledge between socio-historical development of both Chinese schools and bilingual and foreign language educational policies.

Chinese immigrant groups brought with them rich linguistic and cultural resources.

Connect the heritage community and the formal education system.

Establish a more coherent and comprehensive language maintenance and enhancement policy.

Articulation is the key for close collaboration.


Historical Development of Chinese Heritage Language Schools

Revolutionary War1790 – Chinese Students (majority in Hawaii)California Gold Rush in 1849Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 because of American Depression in the 1870s

Suspending Chinese immigration for 10 years1884: US Supreme Court: wives of Chinese labors could not enter US.

Forcing Chinese to settle in urban Chinatown1943: Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed.

Chinese Schools and families were formed for the needs of community



Three major types of Chinese Schools in US1. Traditional Chinese schools in and around Chinatowns

in large cities2. Chinese schools in the suburbs3. Chinese schools established by mainlanders – recent

immigrants from Mainland China – since 1980sThese systems are independent of one another and usually do not interact

Earliest Chinese language schools began in 1848West Coast New York and Chicago under the leadership of a Chinese envoy and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association



Residents of most Chinatowns had traditionally come from Guangdong.

Chinese schools taught in Cantonese mainly.Small numbers taught in Hakka or Taishanese.

Holy Redeemer Church, Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), Chinese Christian Church in Philadelphia

Providing education as well as recreation for the Chinese children and youths who lived in those ghettos.

19th Century: Chinese schools were bilingual because Chinese children were not allowed to attend public schools.These heritage schools remained open but were changed into after-school programs and weekend schools when public schools began to accept Chinese students.Jade Snow Wong 1945



1965 Immigration Act by President JohnsonAbolished racial discrimination against all immigrants and re-opened the doors for the Chinese.

Third wave: consists two groupsRefugees and boat people from Southeast Asia

Ethnic Chinese, life-shattering experiencesChinatown Asiantown: Southeast Asian policies between 1978 and 1984.

Many local Chinese schools have expanded their language services to include instruction in these languages and English as a Second Language.

Professionals or students and their families who came from People’s Republic of China (PRC) before and after the Tian’anmen Incident in 1989.

Chinese Student Protection Act



Chinese immigrants are not a monolithic group as perceived in mainstream society.

Differ tremendously based on geographic and cultural origin, length and generations of stay in the US.

The continuous influx of Chinese newcomers further increase the complexity of Chinese communities in the United States Consequently

The types of Chinese schools that each Chinese community establishes and operates vary.


Organization and Curricula of Modern Chinese Schools

Modern Day and most commonly discussed Chinese schools are those established by the second wave of Chinese immigrants.

Most of whom came from Taiwan or Hong Kong.Focus on second wave because:

These schools have wrested with the struggles of mother tongue and heritage culture maintenance and language shift.They outnumber both the traditional Chinatown and PRC Chinese schools.They are well established with regional associations and a national council as their umbrella organization.They are ready to reach out to the formal education system.

Sending their students to the Chinese language courses in high schools or universitiesTrying to establish formal Chinese language coursed in public and private schools

We can discern and trend and discuss issues of articulation between ethnic language schools and the formal education system.


Organization and Curricula of Modern Chinese Schools

Each Chinese school is unique, most usually consistAdministrative body overseeing the daily operation of the schoolA faculty devoted to the teaching of Chinese language and cultureAn executive board making policies and supervising implementation

Ten regional Chinese School AssociationsAlso reflects the demographics of Chinese immigrants in the US.

Metropolitan Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, and the Greater Washington, DC area

National Council of Associations of Chinese Language Schools (NCACLS)

1995 survey: 82,675 students and 5,540 teachers in 634 Chinese schoolsMost of the regional associations offer annual meetings for

Students to showcase the fruit of their learningFor teachers to develop professionallyFor administrators to share their experiencesTo quarterly newsletters and annual journals

Both NCACLS and regional associations hold speech or writing contests and provide various scholarships for achievement in Chinese language and culture


Primary Functions of Chinese Schools

In Chinese immigrant communitiesCultural and socialEducational role

Chinese schools are a place for ethnic Chinese youth to learn the “home” language and culture in a “host” society.They are also mother tongue maintainers and speech/discourse communities (Hymes 1974: 47-51) in which Chinese language and culture are practiced.Heritage schools

Fulfill the need for Chinese immigrants to socialize regularly with people of their own ethnic background“because I can see my friends here”“because my parents send me here”

Chinese schools have become an extended family.Vital sense of cultural and ethnic prideDay care centers for some parents with young children


Primary Functions of Chinese SchoolsHeritage language must be lived, not learned as a school subject. (Walton 1995)Danger of “overschooling” may turn the study of mother tongue into endless drills (Walton 1995)“lifeblood”: to transmit linguistic and cultural knowledge across generations (Walton).

“the effort to counteract slippage in a number of speakers and to guarantee to expansion of a repertoire already attained (Marshall 1994, 24)”

Chinese schools are the major institution set up by Chinese immigrants to maintain their mother tongue and cultural heritage.Language shift: “the gradual displacement of one language by another in the lives of the community members (Dorian 1982: 46).”

If some language other than the ethnic language “proves to have greater value, a shift to that other language begins (Dorian 1982: 47).Conklin and Lourie’ (1983) typology of language retention and language loss supports this point

Advanced level of educationHigh social and economic mobility in mainstream occupation


Primary Functions of Chinese SchoolsReversing language shift (RSL): assistance to speech communities whose native languages are threatened because their intergenerational continuity is proceeding negatively withfewer and fewer users or uses every generation (Fishman 1991, 1)

Intergenerational=transmission pursuitLanguage socializationIdentity socializationCommitment socialization

Schools are an essential and necessary bridge between “the weak side” and “the strong side” approaches to RLS, they are not sufficient.

Weak side: use of an ethnic language within the confinement of the ethnic community and familyStrong side: use of the ethnic language along with the dominant language in public spheres such as mass media, government, and education


Chinese community: its native language will become an important and common foreign language to be studied in formal educational settings.Factor of language loss:

second wave of Chinese immigrantsLargely consists of highly educated and socially mobile professionalsLack of opportunities to speak, read, or write Chinese for communication

Unstable bilingualismEthnic community schools, “loci of community, viability, creativity, and identity”A speech community

Constitute the most important learning environment that is regularly available for an ethnic and non-ethnic student of Chinese.

Primary Functions of Chinese Schools


Foreign language was often offered in the form of bilingual education.

E.g.: English-German dual-language schoolsSubstantial numbers of German-speaking children enrolled

Last two decades of the 19th century: decline of bilingual education as anti-immigration sentiment roseXenophobia: Americanization Movement and WWI

Lasted until WWII when the severity of the American deficiency of foreign language capacity was exposedThe negligence lasted into the 1950sForeign language enrollment in high schools (Ravtich 1983, 68)

1910: 83.3%1915: 77.0%1955: 20.6%

Interest in foreign languages was rekindled in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik

Language orientations and language Policies Since the 1960s



Language OrientationLanguage-as-problem (Ruiz 1988)

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 1965Title VII Bilingual Education Act 1968Secretary of Education Hufstedler’s, “the Lau regulations are not designed to maintain any language or subculture in the United States.” (Hufstedler 1980, 67).

Language-as-right (Ruiz 1988, 10-13; Phillipson, Rannut, and Skutnabb-Kangas 1995)

Human/civil rights1974 court case

Chinese Children in the San Francisco area ( Lau vs. Nichols, 1974)The supreme Court recognized students’ rights to receive education in their own language“ for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education (414 U. S. 563, 1974)



Language OrientationLanguage-as-resource (Thompson 1973, 227; Ruiz 1988, 14-18)

Basically refer to the role of non-English languages in the United States, coincides with the concerns for foreign language educationPresident Jimmy Carter’s Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies in 1979

The country was seriously deficient in foreign language capacity and advocated the re-establishment of language requirements at the university level (Ruiz 1988, 15)Foreign language crisis by Simon: emphasizing the usefulness of foreign languages in the areas of international relations and trade.



A Nation at Risk (Gardner, et al. 1983)National Commission on Excellence: placing the study of foreign language and culture as one of the five basic components in educationPresident Clinton 1994

Goal 3 of Goals 2000-Educate America Act, P.L. 103-2271992 and 1995 Foreign Languages Assistance Act/Programs (FLAP)

Chinese as one of the critical languages to be established and taught in American public schoolsEstablished about two dozen Chinese language programs in K-12 schools throughout the nation.



Fishman repeatedly argues that ethnic languages are national resources that must be preserved (1972a; 1972b).Ruiz popularizes the notion of language orientations (1984).Hernandez-Chavez (1978, cited in Ruiz 1988, 15) warns that neglecting to maintain non-English language will result in a serious pattern of language loss over just a few generation.Five capacity-building sectors (Brecht and Walton 1994: Walton 1996)

The governmentThe private providerThe home countryThe education systemThe heritage sectors

Establishment of National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTLs) from Brecht and Walton’s projects to link the five sectors

orchestrates various ethnic languages into a united voice.



Economic development of the Pacific RimRegions such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore

How to ensure the acquisition of Chinese by American student of all levels

Carnegie Foundation Program in the 1960sIntroduced Chinese into American high schools and universities

Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation began its own initiative in 1982

Selected sixty high schools nationwide and made a ten-year commitment to those programsEstablished the Secondary School Chinese language Center at Princeton University

1996“A Principal-Led Chinese Language Initiative for ChildrenA Guide for Elementary School Chinese Programs (Wu, et al. 1996)



Establishment of teacher training institutes by the Critical Language and Area Studies Consortium (CLASC)Guide for Basic Chinese language Programs (1996)Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century in 1996Because there are so many students crossing bridges from one sector to another, as Walton has suggested (1995), we need to address the issue of articulation.Articulation starts with parental desire to encourage their children and gain recognition for the study of Chinese.“Multicultural education” component initiated in the 1980s has encouraged educational institutions to value Chinese schools as cultural informants.



Brecht and Walton (1994) propose:These two systems are more closely connected than they appear to be, and that aligning their curricula can assist student progress

Chinese schools themselves constitute a context where the Chinese language and culture may be learned and practiced though real-life interaction.Issues:

How to enhance the role of Chinese schools in the overall context of the teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture in the U.S..How to expand the functions and domains of Chinese in such a discourse community, rather than denigrate teachers of Chinese schools as amateurs deficient in their pedagogical skills


Language Planning:Articulation between Chinese Schools and the Formal Education System

Language planning: deliberate efforts to influence the behavior of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional allocations of their language codes (Cooper 1989, 45)A body of ideas, laws and regulations (language policy), change rules, beliefs, and practices intended to achieve a planned change (or to stop change from happening) in the language us in one or more communities” (Kaplan and Baldauf 1997, 3)Results of deliberate efforts involving various organizations in the Chinese teaching field, government, private foundations, research agencies, various levels of educational institutions, and the Chinese communities themselves.

Effects of articulationSocial, economic, political, and cultural as well as linguistic implications for Chinese communities and societyThe goals of language maintenance, language shift, and language spread that different constituents hold in the process.


Language Planning: Articulation between Chinese Schools and the Formal Education System

Articulation usually refers to two dimensionsVertical connection among all levels from K-16How different systems can collaborate in order to build the foreign language capacity of the nation

If Chinese schools are indeed cultural and linguistic resources of the country, how does the education system capitalize on its wealth

Articulation between Chinese schools and the formal educational system on the nation level

The issue from a theoretical base are we able to include consideration of all factors important to articulation


Language Planning:Articulation between Chinese Schools and the Formal Education System

Six dimensions (Hornberger 1994, 78)Two approaches of language planning:

Policy planning (on form)Cultivation planning (on function)

Standard language vs. literary language (Ricento and Hornberger 1997)Three types of planning:

Status: Aspects of language planning which reflect primarily social issues and concerns and hence are external to the languages being planned (Kaplan and Baldauf 1997, 30).

Uses of language (Hornberger 1994, 78)Corpus (Kloss 1969): aspects of language planning which are primarilylinguistic and hence internal to language (Kaplan and Baldauf 1997, 30).Acquisition (Cooper 1989): language in education policy

Users of language (Hornberger)


Articulation Goals: Chinese Schools and the Society-at-LargeHornberger’s (1994) Integrative Framework of Language Planning

Foreign language

-acquisition

Mother tongue/Second Language

-maintenance-reacquisition-shift

In educationWhithin Chinese communities

Limited functions in-literature-religion-mass media-work

Acquisition planning(about users of language

──StandardizationStandardization-corpus-auxiliary code-graphization

Corpus(about language)

SpreadInter-lingual communication-Intra-national (domestic)-International

MaintenanceInter-lingual Communication-Intra-national (domestic)-International

Status Standardization

Status standardization

Status planning(about uses of language)

American Schools/SocietyChinese SchoolsAmerican Schools/Society

Chinese Schools

Cultivation Planning( on function)

GOALS

Policy Planning (on Form)

GOALS

Approaches

TYPES


Making the Case for ChineseFactors are critical to Articulation: what, who, for whom, how, and why

WhoImportance of combining both top-down and bottom-up movements

For WhomHow mother tongue maintenance can be the foundation for spreading foreign language studyHow children of both the language minority and language dominantgroups can benefit from collaborationsWhen every student is bilingual, the nation benefits.

HowVertical and inter-institutional directions.Discussions must include

how to teach and place heritage speakers in institutional Chinese programsHow capitalize on the wealth of Chinese schools and bring them in as partners to regular school programs


Making the Case for Chinese

Factors are critical to Articulation: what, who, for whom, how, and why

WhyWith institutional support, programs for mother tongue maintenance and reverse language shift will be more effectively implemented (Fishman 1991).With the heritage sector serving as the pool of teachers and the site of speech communities, the teaching and learning of Chinese and other less commonly taught languages will become more feasible.

ConclusionBeginning of an important and challenging task of trying to link two systems of educationArticulation of the heritage and education sectors promised opportunities and a better society


APPENDIXStatus of the Chinese Language and Its Speakers in the Historical Contexts of the United States

1908, the Emperor of China establishes Ta Ching Sh-Yan (Chung Wah School) and other schools in the San Francisco Area

1904-1908

Carnegie Foundation Program

1960s

Americanization Movement (Farrell 1980)

1884-1890

1848, the earliest Chinese schools are set up to serve the needs of Chinese laborers and their children in Chinatowns of large cities on the West Coast

1840s-1860s

Early 1970s: Second wave of Chinese schools established

1965-1972

Status of Chinese Immigrants and Their

language

Chinese immigration

Demographics

Educational Policies –

Especially Foreign Language

U.S. Immigration

Policies

Time Period


Whiz kids in math, science, and technical fields; hard-working, intelligent, honest, brave; family-oriented; cultural values; elite universities; model minority

China’s Cultural Revolution ends

Suburbs and university campuses

1974: Lau v. Nichols, prohibits discrimination based on language in the nation’s schools

“Language as a right”

1979: President’s Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies (Carter), reestablishing language requirements at the university level

U.S. withdraws from Indochina and opens doors to refugees

1975-1979


language

Chinese immigration

Demographics

Educational Policies –Especially Foreign

Language

U.S. Immigration

Policies

Time Period



Illegal boat-people, refugees vs. suburbanites;

The have-nots vs. the made-its

The beginning of economic reform in China

The rise of the Pacific Rim, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Korea

Third wave of immigrants begin to come in; many are ethnic Chinese and settle into Chinatowns/asiantowns

1982: Geraldine R. Dodge Foundations Initiative, introducing Chinese into 55 high schools, a 10 year commitment

1983: A Nation at Risk ( the National Commission on Excellence)

1986: The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) releases the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines

1980: Refugee Act establishes refugee procedures

1981; Separate quota established for Republic of China (Taiwan)

1980s


language

Chinese immigration

Demographics


Language

U.S. Immigration

Policies

Time Period




Chinese as an important international language

Recognition of ethnic community schools as important educational resources

1993 & 1995: Foreign Language Assistance Act, designating Chinese as one of the five critical languages along with Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Russian to be learned by American students in the K-12 system

“Language as a resource”

Expansions of Hong Kong quota (to 10,000; then to 20,000 in 1995)

1990s


language

Chinese immigration

Demographics


Language

U.S. Immigration

Policies

Time Period


1993: National Council of Associations of Chinese Schools is established

PRC (People’s Republic China) Chinese schools formed

1996: 9,456 student in K-12 schools (ACTFL); 16,816 in higher education (Chu 1996)

Suburbs and university campuses;

Chinatowns; rural areas

The National Standards for Foreign Language Project begins, completed in 1996

Articulation of all levels of Chinese programs are sought as part of the national standards movement

1996: NEH’s Basic Chinese Project completes

1997: Dodge begins a Chinese project in 10 elementary schools in New Jersey

Chinese Student Protection Act, admitting 49,000 Chinese students and scholars stranded here after the Tian’anmen Incident in 1989

1994: Goals 2000 Educate America Act, P.L. 103-227, FL in Goal 3 (Clinton)

1990s


language

Chinese immigration

Demographics


Language

U.S. Immigration

Policies

Time Period



What role does language play in national security and intelligence?

In the words of Ellen Laipson, vice chair of the National Intelligence Council-"Foreign languages come into play at virtually all points of theintelligence cycle, from collection to exploitation, to analysis and production. The collection of intelligence depends heavily on language, whether the information is gathered from a human source through a relationship with a field officer or gathered from a technical system."Language skills and cultural knowledge of high sophistication are required for human intelligence (HUMINT) by both U.S. covert agents and by those who handle foreign operatives. Signals intelligence (SIGINT) must be translated and then analyzed. Law enforcement requires language skills for conducting interrogations, monitoring wiretaps, as well as processing intelligence.

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