K. Language Maintenance
in Canada
Mihyon Jeon
York University
Content
 Koreans in Canada
 Language ecology and policy in Canada
 Study




Research question
Method
Participants
Results
 Conclusion
Koreans in Canada
 141,895 Koreans in 2006 (Statistics Canada)
 Out of 5 million visible minorities (16.2 % )
 34% of Koreans came to Canada between 2000 and 2006
 223,322 in 2009 (South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Trade)
 Cf. 1.7 million (0.6% of American populations)
Koreans in Canada: Generational
breakdown
Koreans
total population of
ethnic origin
 First generation: over 90%
 First generation: 23.9%
 Second generation: 8.3%
 Second generation: 15.6%
 Third generation: 0.8%
 Third generation: 60.5%
Language ecology of Canada
 Two official languages: English and French
 Breakdown of mother tongues speakers
 58%: English
 22%: French
 The remainder
 Indigenous languages
 Heritage languages including Korean
Language policies
 Official Language Act of 1969
 Made English and French Canada’s official languages
 Equality of status and equal rights and privileges
 Cultural Enrichment Program (1977)
 Support for the teaching of non-official languages
 Public resistance to the establishment of heritage language
classes at public expense
 Some heritage language classes: partially publically funded
Language maintenance and shift
 language shift within three generations (Fishman, 1989)
 Native language speaking first generation
 Bilingual second generation
 Dominant language speaking third generation
 Recent trend: language shift within two generations
(Wiley, 2001)
Language shift
 Communication problems b/t parents and children
 Alienation of children from parents
 Loss of language resources
Three factors of language
maintenance
 Societal factor
 Social institutions and media
 Contact factor
 Individuals’ daily interactions with language
 Interpersonal contact & non-interactive contact through media
 Attitudinal factor
 Individual beliefs about language: socially constructed and
shared
The study: Research question
 How do societal, contact and attitudinal factors relate
to Korean language maintenance/shift among Korean
Canadians?
Methods
 Survey
 137 second and 1.5 generation Korean Canadians in the
Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
 50 born in Canada (out of 116)
 64 born in Korea; 2 in the third country
 average length of stay in Canada: 10 years
 3 undergraduate research assistants: as a focal point
Survey
 (1) English and Korean language proficiency
 (2) demographic details
 (3) use of Korean and English
 (4) media and literacy exposure
 (5) Korean language education
 (6) language attitudes toward Korean, English, and
bilingualism
Results: Korean and English
proficiency
 Self-assessment of four skills of Korean & English: 5
point Likert scale
 How well do you speak Korean/English?
 1 for not well at all; 5 for very well
 Cloze test
 A paragraph with ten blanks with four answer keys for each
question: one for Korean and the other for English
language proficiency: self
assessment
Korean
English
 Listening: 3.94 (SD=1.096)
 Listening: 4.68 (SD=.564)
 Speaking: 3.37 (SD=1.270)
 Speaking: 4.58 (SD=.748)
 Reading: 3.21 (SD=1.439)
 Reading: 4.58 (SD=.678)
 Writing: 2.93 (SD=1.29)
 Writing: 4.25 (SD=.730)
Language proficiency: Cloze test
Korean
 2.20 (SD=2.495)
English
 5.95 (SD=2.879)
Parental education level
Parents’ occupation
Parental education level and K.
language proficiency
 the fathers’ education level showed a slightly higher
correlation with their children’s Korean language
proficiency (Pearson correlation= .290, p < 0.01) than
did the mothers’ education level (Pearson correlation =
.248, p < 0.01).
Family language use &
proficiency
 7 point Likert scale
 1 for exclusively English; 2 almost always English; 3 mostly
English; 4 Korean and English equally; 5 mostly Korean; 6
almost always Korean; 7 exclusively Korean
 Language use at home & Correlation b/t language use
and Korean language proficiency
 Most Korean with first born child; least with third born
 Mostly English among sibling
Table 1. Language use at home & Correlation between family language use and Korean
language proficiency
The speaker
Mother
Mother
Father
Child 1
Child 2
Child 3
Grandmother
Grandfather
Mean
(SD)
Corr.
N
Mean
(SD)
Corr.
N
Mean
(SD)
Corr.
N
Mean
(SD)
Corr.
N
Mean
(SD)
Corr.
N
Mean
(SD)
Corr.
N
Mean
(SD)
Corr.
N
Father
6.5
(0.99)
.283**
119
6.48
(1.05)
.323**
116
4.96
(2.02)
.605**
119
4.77
(2.13)
.627**
102
4.03
(2.15)
.639**
30
6.90
(0.54)
.045
27
7.00
(0.00)
5.02
(2.02)
.614**
117
4.81
(2.17)
.600**
101
4.00
(2.17)
.587**
30
6.90
(0.54)
.045
27
7.00
(0.00)
17
17
The person spoken to
Child 1
Child 2
Child 3
5.54
(1.67)
.591**
117
5.53
(1.61)
.584**
116
3.09
(2.26)
.627**
101
2.84
(2.38)
.600**
30
6.83
(0.58)
.131
27
6.85
(0.36)
.413
16
Exclusively English=1, exclusively Korean=7
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 -tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2 -tailed).
5.40
(1.73)
.651**
103
5.36
(1.71)
.629**
103
3.19
(2.26)
.654**
103
2.81
(2.4)
.603**
30
6.83
(0.58)
.131
27
6.85
(0.36)
.413
16
4.75
(1.78)
.697**
29
5.00
(1.68)
.557**
29
2.69
(2.21)
.693**
29
2.65
(2.19)
.674**
29
6.94
(0.24)
.138
14
6.60
(0.95)
.165
9
Grandmother
6.86
(0.6)
0.074
32
6.96
(0.18)
.046
31
6.18
(1.72)
.356*
32
6.00
(1.94)
.357*
32
5.52
(2.26)
.306
16
Grandfather
6.92
(0.40)
.153
22
6.91
(0.41)
.145
21
6.00
(1.96)
.551*
21
5.92
(2.14)
.498*
21
5.16
(2.58)
.562
9
7.00
(0.00)
17
7.00
(0.00)
17
Language use in other domains
 the domain of relatives: 4.53 (SD=2.04)
 Mostly English in other domains




church: 2.96 (SD=1.79)
friends: 2.00 (SD=1.60)
doctor’s office: 1.24 (SD=1.61)
restaurant: 1.89 (SD=1.24)
 Pattern of language shift from Korean to English
Media exposure
Media exposure and proficiency
Before
During
TV
Corr.
.689**
.739**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
.000
N
119
118
Radio
Corr.
.724**
.689**
Sig.
.000
.000
N
113
115
Movie
Corr.
.670**
.677**
Sig.
.000
.000
N
118
117
Music
Corr.
.689**
.713**
Sig.
.000
.000
N
119
117
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
After
.480**
.000
118
.397**
.000
115
.689**
.000
118
.371**
.000
118
Literacy practice
The Internet
Magazines/ newspapers
Non-fiction books
Novels/ fiction books
Dictionaries
Textbooks
Religious texts
Letters/cards
Diaries
Written homework
Messages/e-mails/MSN
Mean
3.00
2.79
2.64
2.57
2.28
1.82
2.32
2.78
2.29
1.89
2.57
Standard Deviation
1.94
1.77
1.85
1.86
1.67
1.47
1.88
1.83
2.07
1.62
1.76
# Missing
5
4
4
5
4
4
4
5
7
4
4
Literacy practice and proficiency
Corr.
Sig. (2-tailed)
The internet
.663**
.000
Magazines/ newspapers
.611**
.000
Non-fiction books
.597**
.000
Novels/ fiction books
.590**
.000
Dictionaries
.474**
.000
Textbooks
.323**
.000
Religious texts
.550**
.000
Letters/cards
.663**
.000
Diaries
.672**
.000
Written homework
.368**
.000
Messages/e-mails/MSN
.617**
.000
**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
N
118
119
119
118
119
119
119
118
117
119
119
Media exposure & literacy
practice
 More expose to English media than to Korean media
 Use more English than Korean in literacy practice
 Strong correlation b/t Korean proficiency and media
exposure/literacy practice in Korean
Korean language education
 71.3% (92 out of 129): their parents taught them Korean
 Why?
 Maintaining Korean ethnic identity
 Communication with family members
 Better job opportunities
Korean language education
 How?




Parents spoke to children in Korean (50%)
Sent children to Korean language school (37%)
Sent children to Korea (20%)
Read to children in Korean (19.4%)
 Effective?
 Yes
 t (49.20)=2.211, p=0.032.
Korean language school
 54% (27 out of 50) 2nd generation
 66.6% (14 out of 21) 1.5 generation Korean Canadians
who came to Canada before the age of 8
 Average length of attendance: 3 years and 8 months
 Average 1.7 days and 4.7 hours per week
 Types: 41 public schools, 13 non-profit organization, 22
religious organization (21 church; 1 Buddhist temple)
 Effective:
 Yes
 t (79.844)=2.542, p=0.013
Language attitudes
 5 point Likert scale: 1 for strongly disagree; 5 for
strongly agree
 13 questions for Korean; 12 questions for English; 2
questions for bilingualism
 Results I: attitudes and correlation
Table 3. Attitudes toward Korean, English and Bilingualism & Correlation between attitudes and
Korean proficiency
Survey questions
Korean
English
Bilingualism
1. Korean is important for academic success.
2. If I speak Korean, I can get a better job.
3. Korean is highly regarded internationally.
4. In this country, Korean is well represented in the
media (e.g., newspapers, TV, radio, etc).
5. Korean is a beautiful language.
6. I feel comfortable when I speak Korean.
7. I am proud to speak Korean.
8. The Korean language is an important part of my
identity.
9. Children of Korean heritage should learn Korean.
10. I want to speak Korean fluently.
11. If I cannot speak Korean, it is shameful.
12. For cultural reasons, Korean families should
maintain the Korean language.
13. I think that Korean will always be spoken in this
country.
Mean
14. English is important for academic success.
15. If I speak English, I can get a better job.
16. English is highly regarded internationally.
17. In this country, English is well represented in
the media (e.g., newspapers, TV, radio, etc).
18. English is a beautiful language.
19. I feel comfortable when I speak English.
20. I am proud to speak English.
21. The English language is an important part of my
identity.
22. I want to speak English fluently.
23. If I cannot speak English, it is shameful.
24. In this country, I should only speak English.
25. To become Canadian, I need to speak English
fluently.
Mean
26. Becoming bilingual is beneficial for me.
27. Learning two languages (e.g., Korean and
English) confuses me.
Strongly disagree=1, strongly agree=5
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 -tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2 -tailed).
M
SD
N
Corr.
3.28
3.63
2.95
2.50
1.28
1.19
1.12
1.26
130
130
129
130
.321
*
.232
*
.221
.148
4.20
3.45
4.16
4.18
1.07
1.40
1.16
1.16
130
129
128
130
.434
.783 **
**
.510
**
.555
3.98
4.53
3.45
4.22
1.17
0.89
1.45
0.97
130
129
130
130
.454
**
.256
.236 *
**
.355
3.78
1.10
130
.324 **
4.77
4.73
4.74
4.76
1.17
0.67
0.74
0.72
0.71
7.38
132
132
132
132
.243 **
**
.290
*
.185
.147
4.01
4.46
4.39
4.11
1.12
0.71
0.92
1.00
132
132
132
132
.087
.395 **
.167
.135
4.50
4.17
2.77
3.91
0.93
1.12
1.55
1.23
130
132
130
131
.233
.027
-.122
-.049
4.55
2.70
0.95
0.84
1.45
5.41
132
132
.322
-.070
**
**
**
*
**
Attitudes and Proficiency
Korean
English
 Comfort: p=.783, p <0.01
 Comfort: p=.395, p <0.01
 K as part of identity: p.555
 Better job: p=.290
 K pride: p=.510
 Academic success: p=.243
 beautiful language: p=.434
Language attitudes and
proficiency
 positive attitudes toward both English and Korean
 attitudes toward English (4.27) is slightly higher than
Korean (3.71).
 Relationship between attitudes toward Korean and
Korean proficiency: particular strong and convincing
 Relationship between attitudes toward English and
English proficiency: weak
Attitudes and proficiency
 Comport in speaking English & Korean proficiency
 Pearson correlation = -.371, p<0.01
 English identity & Korean proficiency
 Pearson correlation = -.280, p<0.01
Language use and language
attitudes
 Mother and children
 First born: Pearson correlation = .402, p< 0.01
 Second born: Pearson correlation = .396, p< 0.01
 Third born: Pearson correlation = .702, p< 0.01
 Father and children
 First born: Pearson correlation = .378, p< 0.01
 Second born: Pearson correlation = .386, p< 0.01
 Third born: Pearson correlation = .564, p< 0.01
 Between siblings
 First born and second born: Pearson correlation = .645, p<
0.01)
Language use and language
attitudes
 Between siblings
 First born and second born: Pearson correlation = .645, p<
0.01)
 First born and third born: Pearson correlation = .693, p<
0.01
 Between parents
 No significant effect on child’s language attitudes
Conclusion
 Pattern of language shift from Korean to English
 Overwhelmingly strong correlation between Korean
language proficiency and;
 Korean language use in the family and in different domains
 exposure to Korean media and literacy practices in Korean
 Korean language education and attendance to Korean
language school
 Positive attitudes toward Korean