言語少数派の親子をつなぐことばの育成をどのように支援するか―「親の愛情」に着目した生態学的アプローチ―

抄録

This paper explores support methods for language minority families. Language minority parents have difficulty raising children, but parents can fully educate their children through their mother tongue if children keep the language. From a language ecology standpoint, it is said that an environment where parents can fully use the power of their native language can make a better environment for their child’s development. All parents, including minority parents, love their children, which can contribute to the education of their children.

This case study is on two elementary school students and their mothers, who participated as native language supporters at an L1 class. In the study, with the encouragement from a Japanese supporter, the two mothers explained the themes of the texts: family bonds and parents’ love for their children, referring to their own experience of raising their daughter. From a language ecology standpoint, the analysis of the conversation and writings showed that the mothers could enthusiastically speak their mind through their mother tongue. It also showed that the response from the children brought out the mothers’ valuable words and their love for their daughters, indicating that the language ecology between a parent and child comes from a relationship with mutual encouragement. Additionally, the two children’s L1 proficiency arose from the continuous L1 classes. The love shared by mother and child will potentially contribute to the development of their personality.

The results illustrate that a social environment be should made available, where parents can raise their children by making the most of their mother language, and where children can continue to learn the language with which they can connect with family.