Heritage language anxiety and major language anxiety experienced by Korean immigrants in Australia

Abstract

This study investigated the levels of heritage language anxiety (HLA) and major language anxiety (MLA) experienced by three generations of Korean immigrants (i.e. first, 1.5 and second generations) in their daily life contexts (i.e. with family members, with friends and with/around native speakers) in Australia. The study also examined the language background variables (i.e. age at exposure to Korean/English, self-rated Korean/English proficiency, and frequency of Korean/English use) and their relationships with HLA and MLA. All three generations showed relatively low levels of HLA in their daily life contexts and rated their Korean proficiency as high, implying that Korean language or HL has been well maintained by Korean immigrants in Australia. While the first-generation Korean participants expressed moderate to high levels of MLA, the 1.5- and second-generation groups showed very low levels of MLA. Self-rated language proficiency and frequency of language use showed strong and significant correlations with language anxiety. Pedagogical implications for heritage language (i.e. Korean) learning for 1.5- and second-generation Koreans, as well as major language (i.e. English) education for the first-generation Koreans, are discussed.

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