2001 Articles

The Effect of Environmental Factors on Bilingualism Among Chinese and Korean Americans

Shum, Lisa L.

For parents of immigrant children in the United States, the desire for their children to assimilate into the American culture and to learn English as quickly as possible is often mingled later with the frustration of not being able to communicate with their own children in the heritage or native language. While some immigrant children lose almost all ability to communicate in the heritage language, others grow up to be bilingual adults who are able to successfully maneuver between the two cultures. This paper will aim to explore some of the factors which have led some first and second generation Asian Americans to maintain the use of their heritage language and interest in their heritage culture. Specifically, factors such as exposure to the heritage language, personal motivation and family attitudes will be discussed.