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Article published In:
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 45:3 (2022) ► pp.272–298

Korean Bibimbap mothers’ family language policies (FLPs) for their children’s bilingualism in Australia

ORCID logo | University of New South Wales
| Griffith University
| University of New South Wales
The influential role of parents has long been acknowledged as a key contributor to children’s bilingual development. Parents’ home-based informal efforts to foster children’s bilingual abilities are described as family language policies (FLPs). The important connection between bilingualism and FLP has been established, but to date there are few studies concerning Korean immigrant families in Australia, highlighting their unique cultural values. According to traditional Korean cultural values, mothers play a central role as An-hae (the sun inside) to facilitate their children’s language development (Kim, 2006). This study aimed to create a clearer picture of Korean mothers’ beliefs about bilingualism and their FLPs. The participants were six Korean mothers with their children attending a community language program in Sydney. There are two data sets for this study: a six-weeks’ FLP daily log of each family and a focus group interview. A thematic analysis of these data revealed the richness and specificity of FLPs for bilingual development. This paper concludes with implications for a future research agenda.
Keywords: bilingualism, Korean Bibimbap mothers in Australia, family language policies (FLPs)
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Bilingualism, heritage language, and FLP
  • 3.Hyo and Korean immigrant families
  • 4.Collecting qualitative data
    • 4.1Participant summary
    • 4.2Family literacy logs and a focus group interview
  • 5.The richness, diversity, and specificity of FLP
    • 5.1Analysis of family literacy log (journal)
      • 5.1.1Speaking with the child in Korean at home every day
      • 5.1.2Book-reading and school-related tasks
      • 5.1.3Watching Korean TV programs
      • 5.1.4Sending a child to Korean community language school
      • 5.1.5Weekly tutoring/lessons/after-hours care
    • 5.2Analysis of the focus group interview
      • 5.2.1Beliefs about the benefits of raising bilingual children
      • 5.2.2Different expectations and practices around English and Korean
      • 5.2.3Identity and maintaining HL
      • 5.2.4Cultural values in particular concepts
      • 5.2.5The mothers’ roles and challenges in providing FLP
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1The mothers’ beliefs about bilingualism
    • 6.2The types of activities used as FLPs
  • 7.Implications
  • References
Published online: 21 January 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.20001.par
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