The dissertation focuses on the Chinese literacy experiences of different generations of Thai Chinese families in Thailand, spanning periods characterized by varying ideologies toward the Chinese language, which have either constrained or facilitated its acquisition. This qualitative work examines how evolving national policies and international…

In China, little research has been done regarding literacy in the minority languages. The Nuosu people, a thriving minority ethnic group in China, are proud of their language and its script. However, most Nuosu do not use Nuosu script in their daily lives. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand and explain Nuosu people's…

This dissertation examines individual, constricted agency in a multilingual environment within the context of a language discussion group and the form of social capital possessed by their Mexican Indigenous diasporic community living on the California Central Coast. The research is based on participant-observation ethnographic work with a language…

There is difficulty in defining the profile of a Heritage Language Learner (HLL) due to the experiences with language that individuals face in their social and academic world. There are questions centered on whether a categorical distinction between the native speaker and the native user can be upheld; this is inherently problematic when there is…

This ethnographic study documents the ways four Indonesian-Muslim families who migrated to the United States used online digital telecommunication technology in socializing children into languages, literacy, and religion. Within the primary framework of language socialization, I used multiple theoretical lenses (i.e., transnationalism, cultural…

This study examines the educational and societal experiences that lead students to maintain or lose their heritage language to see how these experiences affect the language choices that young Latino/a adults are making after high school. Examining the experiences that lead language learners to lose or maintain their native language is important…

This dissertation reports findings from a study documenting the use of multimedia technology among Indigenous language communities to assist language learners, speakers, instructors, and institutions learn about multimedia technologies that have contributed to Indigenous language revitalization, education, documentation, preservation, and…