“No more Korean at Home.” Family language policies, language practices, and challenges in Korean immigrant families: Intragroup diversities and intergenerational impacts

Abstract

Abstract This ethnographically informed sociolinguistic study examines family language policies (FLP) for language learning at home. It explores the cases of Korean immigrant families with different transnational life trajectories. Despite the fast-growing research interests in FLP, intragroup diversities of Korean immigrant families and their daily interactions are not yet widely discussed. The goal of this study is to explore intergenerational impacts and intragroup diversities among Korean immigrants. Throughout two years, I conducted interviews with the short-term and long-term stayers of the 1st generation and families of the 1.5 generation. I collected language profiles and background questionnaires besides family interactions. The findings demonstrate the intergenerational impact of intragroup diversity on language use, attitudes toward bilingualism, and future orientation. This study reinforces the understanding of how the linkages between transnational life experiences and language choices at home are interwoven, and how they may or may not conflict with immigrant families’ language practices.