Practices and Perspectives on Heritage Language Maintenance With Digital Technology Among Japanese Immigrant Families in the United Kingdom

Abstract

This paper examines the level of engagement in heritage language (HL) maintenance using digital technology among Japanese immigrant families in the United Kingdom. It does so with reference to the theoretical concepts of Capacity Development, Opportunity Creation, and Desire.
The data were drawn from semi-structured interviews and unstructured observations of eight pairs of nine to eleven-year-old Japanese immigrant children and their parents at their homes in London and Bristol. The findings demonstrate positive perceptions towards the usage of information communication technology (ICT) for HL maintenance among families, although this continues to be viewed as supplementary in nature. It also provides details on the use of informal and formal HL learning and the background to HL maintenance among those families. It also highlights the need for increased parental involvement and greater consideration of the challenges involved in encouraging children to engage with HL interaction, even in the presence of ICT. The discussion also addresses the importance of considering immigrants from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, quantitatively verifying the impact on HL learning with ICT with respect to its validity and user access, and encouraging the corresponding development of the IT, education, and animation industries.



Author Information
Hikari Namai, University of Bristol, United Kingdom

Paper Information
Conference: ECE2020
Stream: Design

This paper is part of the ECE2020 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Namai H. (2020) Practices and Perspectives on Heritage Language Maintenance With Digital Technology Among Japanese Immigrant Families in the United Kingdom ISSN: 2188-1162 The European Conference on Education 2020: Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-1162.2020.27
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-1162.2020.27


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Posted by James Alexander Gordon