1999/2000 PCERII Funded Research Abstract

This study proposes to examine the ethnic language maintenance and ethnic identity among Chinese-Canadian adolescents in Calgary using a comparative, multivariate approach. More specifically, the study attempts to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the major factors that motivate Chinese-Canadian adolescents to enroll in ethnic language classes?
2. Are there differences between Canadian-born and foreign-born Chinese adolescents in terms of their motivations to study their ethnic language? What are the experiences of these adolescents in attending ethnic language classes?
3. What are these adolescents’ attitudes towards ethnic identity, language, and culture?
4. What are the relationships between ethnic language retention and ethnic identity among these Chinese-Canadian adolescents?
5. Do Chinese-Canadian adolescents who attend ethnic language classes demonstrate a stronger ethnic identity than those who do not?

A random sample of 400 Chinese adolescents who are enrolled in ethnic language classes organized by the Chinese language schools and community organizations in Calgary will be drawn. In-depth interviews will also be conducted with a sub-sample of students (10% of total sample size or N=50). These interviews will provide greater depth of understanding of the ethnic language learning experiences of the respondents. A comparison group (i.e., Chinese-Canadian adolescents who do not enroll in ethnic language class) will be drawn from various community organizations (20% of the original sample or N=80) so as to compare their degree of ethnic language retention and ethnic identification with those who are enrolled in ethnic language classes.