Children’s agency in language choice: a case study of two Japanese-English bilingual children in London

Abstract

This paper examines how children exercise their agency vis-à-vis their mother's beliefs and practices of bilingualism, especially code-switching, at home and elsewhere. The data were mainly collected through audio-recordings of family conversations both with and without the presence of the researcher and semi-structured interviews conducted during 19 visits to two families with Japanese-speaking mothers and 12-year-old English-Japanese bilingual children. An analysis of the data reveals that, despite there being a difference in language practices and backgrounds, both children discursively negotiate and construct their bilingual positions at home through their flexible use of the two languages. Furthermore, their language practices are not a passive response to their mothers' beliefs, but an exercise of their agency through contestation, negotiation and redefinition of the mothers' beliefs. In particular, this study has identified two types of agency: (1) construction of the positive self-image and negotiation of the parent-child relationship through the active use of English; and (2) resistance to the mother's monolingual policy through a flexible use of the two languages. The data also provide insight into the situated and multidimensional nature of agency by showing changes in the children's practices depending on the context, such as in conversations with the researcher.

‘Ikke snakke norsk?’ – Transnational adolescents and negotiations of family language policy explored through family interview

“…As indicated in Section 2, research in different places has shown that children frequently take on an agentive role in the formation of FLP's, often leading the family to a linguistic change (cf. Fogle and King 2013;Gafaranga 2010;Gyogi 2015;Tuominen 1999). In case of younger children, the resistance towards parental language management may be implicit and achieved through specific discourse strategies and metalinguistic commentary; older children, however, may engage in elaborate and explicit discussions of FLP's and become the decision makers in matters of language practices at home themselves, as the data presented in this article seem to suggest.…”

Siblings' play and language shift to English in a Malay‐English bilingual family in Singapore

“…Positioning the analysis of everyday family interactions, ‘the warp and woof of human sociality’ (Garrett & Baquedano‐López, , p. 342), within the larger sociopolitical structures yields a more nuanced picture of language shift to English within families. Contributing to the body of literature on the children's language socialization and their agentive roles in shaping FLP (Fogle & King, ; Gyogi, ; Kheirkhah, ; Kheirkhah & Cekaite, ), we seek to illustrate that the home cannot be necessarily considered a ‘safe space’ for the maintenance of ethnic languages in Singapore any longer. We rather, argue, that we need to re‐examine the different instances of language socialization taking place through various activities among family members (Wei, ; Wei & Hua, ) as well as the ‘porosity’ of the home domain with respect to forces from outside the family (Canagarajah, , p. 171; Van Mensel, , p. 238).…”

Contemporary perspectives of the child in action: an investigation into children’s connectedness with, and contribution to, the world around them

“…They recognize their agency, capacity to initiate and lead learning, and their rights to participate in decisions that affect them, including their learning" (DEEWR, 2009, p. 9). The notion of agency aligns with the concepts of autonomy, identity development and self-efficacy (Duff, 2012;Gyogi, 2015). Agency is recognized as an internal construct concerned with an individual's ability to steer their own life (Caiman & Lundegård, 2014).…”

“…At its core, agency is the ability to be active, to participate, to be in control, to initiate change and to make meaning in relation to one's own life. Literature suggests that the development of agency occurs as an internal capacity impacted by sociocultural contextual factors, such as the practices within a particular early childhood setting, as well as through spontaneous, everyday interactions (Gyogi, 2015). When children develop agency, it can make learning more meaningful and successful (Gyogi, 2015).…”