Family Language Policy in the Context of Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 Policy : A Comparative Analysis of Two Mothers’ Approaches at Home

Author: Wei-Hua Lan (Department of English, National Taiwan Normal University)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 69, No. 1
Date：March 2024
Pages：241-261
DOI：https://doi.org/10.6209/JORIES.202403_69(1).0008

Abstract：
Family Language Policy (FLP) is a private practice with public ramifications (Spolsky, 2012). This study employs Spolsky’s framework to explore the language choices and home language planning strategies of two Taiwanese mothers holding contrasting attitudes toward Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 Policy. Both mothers, whose children were between 5-8 years old at the time of the study, participated in in-depth interviews. Furthermore, the study documented their daily conversations and shared reading session recordings for analysis. Although both mothers were from Taiwanese families, one mother chose the Taiwanese dialect and another chose Mandarin Chinese as the main language of the family. These choices illuminate contrasting perceptions of the social language context in Taiwan. Specifically, the mother who opted for Taiwanese perceived Mandarin Chinese as a hegemonic language that posed a threat to their Taiwanese mother tongue, whereas the other mother felt that her child should be raised to speak Mandarin Chinese, long entrenched as Taiwan’s national language. The results reveal contrasting beliefs toward the Taiwanese government’s policy of bilingualism between Mandarin Chinese and English: One followed the policy, whereas the other perceived it as a threat to preserving her Taiwanese heritage. The two mothers’ ideologies, deeply rooted in their personal histories and experiences, were significantly influences on the FLP that they set. Because Taiwanese dialect–only and English language–only environments do not exist in Taiwan, both mothers sought external support to bolster their children’s language proficiency. However, both mothers shared a common concern regarding the effectiveness of a bilingual policy in a country where families exist in a monolingual home environment. This study traces the nuanced dynamics of family language planning in the context of Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 Policy. Illuminating the complex interplay between individual beliefs, broader societal norms, and language practices enables a deeper understanding of how family-level decisions shape a child’s linguistic development in a multilingual context.

Keywords：bilingual education, bilingual policy, Family Language Policy

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