The Role of Language in the Wellbeing of Migrants: East Asian Communities in Germany

ISBN-13: 9780367458676 / Angielski / Twarda / 2022 / 182 str.

Zi Wang

Opis

This book examines the correlations between language behaviour and happiness amongst communities of migrants, and asks whether language can affect wellbeing. It will be of interest to scholars and students of area studies, education, international migration, sociology of language, and wellbeing research.

Recenzje

"This book provides a close-up look at the interplay of language education and migrants' wellbeing in the Chinese and Japanese communities in Germany. Based on rich empirical data, Zi Wang shows how both heritage language skills and a proficiency in German foster migrants' quality of life and upward mobility. A must-read for academics and policymakers."

Gabriele Vogt, Professor of Japanese Studies, LMU Munich, Germany

"This book is unique in its focus on the interface between migration, language and wellbeing. Using mixed methods, Zi Wang unveils the rich and complex life experiences of the Chinese and Japanese-speaking migrant communities in Germany, exploring the impact of their multilingual living on happiness, life satisfaction, emotions, understanding of good life. This is a major contribution to the interdisciplinary field of migration and diaspora studies as well as multilingualism research."

Li Wei, Director and Dean, UCL Institute of Education, UK

"When looking at language and migration, it is about time that we move from attaining proficiency, to caring about the wellbeing of our diverse communities. Only then will we be able to design truly equitable policies and practices. This daring and insightful book contributes significantly to this new perspective, and is a real trend-setter!"

Eva J. Daussà, University Lecturer, University of Groningen, The Netherlands

"This thought-provoking book will make you reconsider your knowledge of language and migration. Unlike previous studies, Zi Wang brilliantly approaches this issue from a viewpoint of 'wellbeing'-essential for everyone's life-making this a must-read for anyone seeking to learn how language illuminates one's life in a migration context."

Makiko Fukuda, Associate Professor, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain

Spis treści

1. Language and migrants’ wellbeing: An overview 2. Language, nation states, and minorities 3. Migration-induced diversity and a framework to study language and wellbeing of migrants 4. Europe’s top migrant destination and two dynamic East Asian communities 5. Effects of host country language skills on migrants’ wellbeing 6. Effects of heritage language skills on migrants’ wellbeing 7. Heritage language maintenance in educational contexts: The role of community-based heritage educational organisations 8. Language ideologies in current policies: Issues and benefits of mainstreaming migrant multilingualism 9. Epilogue: Migration and wellbeing from the language perspective

O autorze

Zi Wang is a Marie Curie Fellow at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO) in Paris, France. His research on comparative education, language, migration, and wellbeing has received funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG research grant) and the European Commission (Marie Curie Individual Fellowship).