Wo Ai Ni Mommy: conversation analysis of a documentary case study of a Chinese transnational adoptee’s American identity development

• Chang, Sharon ^[1] ; Huang, Cindy J. ^[1]
  1. [1] Columbia University

     Columbia University

     Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: International journal of bilingual education and bilingualism, ISSN 1367-0050, Vol. 29, Nº. 4, 2026, págs. 545-567
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2025.2588695
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Chinese transnational adoptees who are also deemed English learners in the United States face challenges in their language and identity development. To better understand the role of symbolic resources in the Chinese transnational adoptee’s English language learning, this qualitative case study of the documentary ‘Wo Ai Ni Mommy’ scrutinized Fang Sui Yong’s adoption journey in language learning through the lens of investment theory and language ideology. This study used Conversation Analysis to examine Fang Sui Yong’s English language learning with significant communication partners in sites of struggle. Findings indicated that Fang Sui Yong employed her symbolic resources to navigate her cultural identity shaped by language ideology through slowly prioritizing her new American identity in sites of struggle. This study explores the implications of subtractive bilingualism and Americanization for transnational adoptees, providing suggestions for educators working with transnational adoptees who are English learners to provide sites of possibility for additive bilingualism and positive ethnoracial identity development.

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