Bilingual Proficiency Development and Translanguaging Practices of Emergent Korean-English Bilingual Children in Korea

Abstract

With the rise of globalization, transmigration becomes more commonplace. Globalization is often accompanied by multiculturalism that constitutes an important fabric in societies and countries around the world. This has been the case in South Korea. Multiculturalism has resulted in many shifts and challenges within the Korean family dynamics. Multilingualism is an important characteristic that uniquely identifies many multicultural families. Regardless of the unique traits of each multicultural family, what seems to be the common denominator within these families of emergent bilingual children is that translanguaging is practiced for various purposes both inside and outside the home environment. Through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and narrative frames, this qualitative case study explores Anglophone fathers’ perceptions of their bilingual children’s language proficiency, the translanguaging practices of Korean-English bilingual families in Korea, and the impact of translanguaging practices on bilingual children’s self-identity development. Three conclusions can be drawn based on the results: Parents of emergent bilingual children generally value high proficiency in both languages, translanguaging is often practiced for communicative purposes, and translanguaging has an important effect on emergent bilinguals’ self-identity development. Implications are drawn regarding the importance and necessity of translanguaging practices both inside and outside of the home environment.