MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION STUDIES
MASTER'S THESIS
Title: Role of media in mother tongue learning of young children
in expat families
Presented by: Maliha Usman
Supervisor: Ulrika Sjöberg
School of Arts & Communication K3
Malmö University
Letter to examiner
Thank you for valuable feedback, helpful. In light of your comments, it felt like a huge undertaking to make major revisions in a few days, but I have tried to do my best. I have attempted to address all of your concerns in the following revisions.
The original thesis lacked coherence in language and part of it was because it was worked on in chunks over a two year period. This version hopefully will have dealt with that to a great extent. The entire thesis was read several times and meticulously edited. Where found, sentences were shortened and repetitions removed. Every effort was made to change the language throughout from personal to more academic. Each section has undergone many edits, which meant I managed to reduce the word limit from just under 17000 to about 14500 words. While many major revisions have been highlighted, it was not possible to highlight every small change that was made, but most of the sections have been heavily edited. As there has been a drastic reduction in words and restructuring of the thesis, I hope the thesis is reread before a final grade is decided.
In the background, a paragraph highlighting the bigger societal observation about this thesis was included. The research question was narrowed and made very specific so the thesis has a clear focus and only one new sub question is included.
The methodology section has been edited throughout to not just delete repetitions but also address concerns about the interview method. Many sections have been completely rewritten and more added in terms of the methods suitability for the research question. The concern about interview recordings has been given good thought and justifications laid out in detail.
The theory edits include additions in the introductory paragraph which narrows the focus and links with research questions. The entire chapter was proofread and extra words and repetitions were removed. Hall, Bourdieu and Säljö were compressed so that only elements relevant to the thesis are included and all extra information deleted. Justifications are included to highlight that the focus of the thesis is media and communication and not pedagogy.
I have also completely restructured the analysis to align with theory and research questions better in light of examiner comments. As with other sections, unnecessary elements were deleted and language simplified. The focus has deliberately shifted from culture to language learning and media in light of RQ. Editing this chapter was the hardest as after numerous readings of the text, I've lost the objectivity to critically see where theory is not linked with data! Every effort has been made to write a theoretical connection with every interview excerpt, some have been highlighted while others have been subtly inserted in text. This is to clarify my line of thought in connecting each theoretical concept with a data excerpt. I hope the final attempt shows progress.
Finally, the results were re-written in light of the theoretical concept. A separate section has also been made for the Discussion. I hope these last few days of intense editing will prove useful.
Abstract:
This thesis explores how young children’s media usage is effectively employed by the mothers to teach them about their culture and mother tongues while living away from countries of origin. The study is undertaken using a media studies lens with specific focus on the various media used by children at home. The aim is twofold. Firstly to address a knowledge gap and secondly, explore possible future study options. Interviews were conducted with mothers from seven families in Copenhagen and London. A range of analogue and digital media, specifically, books, TV and handheld devices was looked at in order to paint a holistic picture. Drawing on theories such as Silverstone’s domestication, Bourdieu’s “cultural capital'', along with Hall’s perspective on culture and Säljö’s on learning to explore the research questions. The results showed that choice of media by the mothers(whether analogue or digital) depended on many factors. And finally, families who achieved greatest success in teaching their children about culture/language are those that played around with different methods, providing a wide variety of learning experiences to the children, and above all, prioritised language learning through communication.
Key words:
LIST OF FIGURES
1.1. Introduction
p. 72. Background; Young children, media and globalisation
p. 93. Key issues in previous literature
3.1. Digital media and children p. 11 3.2. Culture, media and expat children p. 12 3.3. Media and children’s language learning p. 13 3.4. Parental mediation & language learning p. 15
3.5. Discussion p. 17
4. Theoretical Framework
4.1. Domestication Theory p. 18
4.2. Language, representation and cultural capital p. 21 4. 3. Sociocultural approach to learning p. 23
5. Methodology
5.1. Choice of interview method p. 24
5.2. Planning and preparation p. 24
5.3. The interview process p. 25
5.4. Visual data p. 26
5.6. Data analysis method p. 28 5.7. Limitations and ethical considerations p. 28
6. Analysis
6. 1. The importance of mother tongues in expat families; and its reinstation
through cultural codes p. 31
6. 2. Domestication of media in homes p. 37 6. 3. Maternal cultural capital and mediatised language learning p. 47 6.4. Learning in context of media infiltration p. 52
7. Concluding remarks
7. 1. Results p. 57 7. 2. Discussion and future research potential p. 59
8. References
p. 61Appendix A
p. 67List of Figures
Fig. 1.Russian children's book about village life and culture p. 34
Fig. 2. Russian book with audio chips that read out alphabets and simple words p. 35
Fig. 3. A Pakistani handicraft bag p. 35
Fig. 4. Traditional Pakistani food p. 35
Fig. 5. Mother Urdu2’s prayer mat p. 36
Fig. 6. A selection of phones and tablets to show protective casings p. 38
Fig. 7. Bedtime stories apps in parents’ phone p. 39
Fig. 8. Screenshots of mother Turkish’s phone p. 40
Fig. 9. Family Russian’s Ipad with Russian language apps and games p. 41
Fig. 10. Family Russian’s Ipad with Russian language apps and games p. 41
Fig. 11. Family Hindi’s tv in the family room p. 42
Fig. 12. Family Telugu’s television shelf p. 43
Fig. 13. Collection of family Hindi’s islamic knowledge books for children p. 45
Fig. 14 & 15. Excerpts from books teaching essentials of prayer rituals in Islam p. 46
Fig. 16. Turkish version of the popular board game, Monopoly p. 48
Fig. 17. Selection of Urdu story books from family Urdu1’s book collection p. 49
Fig. 18. Mother Urdu2’s child showing an Urdu story book. p. 50
Fig. 19. A few Turkish books from family Turkish1’s book collection p. 50
Fig. 20. Family Turkish1’s book cabinet with a mix of English and Turkish books p. 51
Fig. 21. Telugu alphabet wall poster p. 52
Fig. 22. Telugu writing practise book p. 53
Fig. 23. Telugu textbook showing words and images against alphabets p. 53
1.1. Introduction:
Digital technologies are an integral presence in the developed world and media infiltration, more specifically in young peoples’ lives continues to increase. While the online behaviours of older children and pre-adolescents has been under much academic scrutiny, the impact of digitalization and internet permeation in the lives of young children (0-8) has suffered from a gap in research (Holloway, Green & Livingstone, 2013). Even though this cohort has seen a substantial and increasing use of media use over the last few years (Ibid). Tapping into this age group, this thesis focuses on the language/cultural knowledge of expat children and the role played by media. It is a niche that is a rather unexplored area of media research which makes this thesis a timely and academically necessary study in media and communication.
The idea for this thesis was inspired by the DigiLitEY network (http://digilitey.eu/), for which I previously worked on a short paper as an intern at Malmö university. This thesis expands on that initial research. Being a media studies student, the role of media (analogue/digital) in expat children's language learning provided an interesting research topic. The thesis is based on a constructivist approach as it researchers why people do things and what governs their thought processes. In addition, it assigns value to context, culture, and the human element which are all relevant for this thesis. The data is from a selection of families based in Denmark and the UK who altogether speak a variety of languages.
The objective of this thesis is twofold. To address a knowledge gap and to contribute to future research by opening study options. The aim of the study is to explore the role of media in expat children’s (under ten) mother tongue learning. It is not to conclude and find out which media is most effective, but to paint a generic picture of the media based processes mothers employ for language learning. The main research question is:
What role does analogue and digital media play in helping expat mothers teach children their mother tongues?
How is domestication featured in the mother tongue learning process at home, and how does the maternal cultural capital contribute to effective learning?
2. Background; Young children, media and globalisation
While the introduction outlines the aim, purpose and motivations of this study, the background briefly contextualises the study within the broader issues of media studies and elaborates on some key terms. Media infiltration in young people’s lives has been likened to a “torrent whose strength continues to increase” (Roberts & Foehr, 2008, p.2). The early years provide a base for lifelong learning and it is therefore essential to prioritise media research in the lives of young learners ( http://digilitey.eu/about/background/). Although media consumption among children under ten years of age is increasing, yet there is not enough research to help understand its full scope in their lives (Holloway, Green & Livingstone, 2013). Media scholars have identified a need to prioritize research on the use and effects of digital media on primary school children and younger (Chaudron, 2015) (Liberman et al, 2009) (Livingstone & Haddon, 2008) (Livingstone & Bovill, 2001) (Walter-Laager et al., 2017). In addition, media usage in the context of young children’s language skills suffers from a great lack of research (Bittman et al., 2011), including that on cultural issues related to media migration because of globalisation and international migration (Rydin & Sjöberg, 2008). Historically, most research on children and digital media has been dominated by psychological perspectives (Buckingham, 2007). But now the focus has shifted to sociological accounts of children’s media interactions, including those influenced by globalisation (Ibid).
as families relocate, “cultural communities are no longer fixed in particular geographical spaces” (Rydin & Sjöberg, 2008, p. 9). Cosmopolitanism celebrates globalisation and is about adopting “inclusive rather than exclusive” (Ibid, p. 105) methods and recognizing “ new structures and reconfigurations of culture arise(ing) from the blurring and transcending of nation-state boundaries” (Ibid). Both economically and culturally, media plays an important role in terms of globalisation (Ibid). It is instrumental in blurring of boundaries in a global world (Sjöberg, 2010) and brings with it a need for greater focus on multiculturalism and language diversity from a media studies perspective.
As more families relocate globally for work, lifestyle preferences or for other reasons, there is greater need to study the role of media in these situations. Expat families’ use of media is multifaceted as it is often a means of communication with countries of origin, their native cultures and mother tongues. They depend on media for staying in touch with family, communicating with friends, and keeping up-date with their country’s news. On a deeper level, expat families also depend on media to connect to their roots, listen to songs, watch tv in their own language and teach their children about their mother tongues. This thesis highlights that the influence of globalisation is limited to not just macro factors and big world issues of relocation, brain drain and talent reshuffling. But there are many processes in place at the micro level, within these global families; issues pertaining to evolution of cultures, bifurcated identities and of mother tongue learning at home. This makes the studies of children in ethnic minorities complex, especially as their media focus moves from global to local (Kondo, 2005).
where future relocations may take them. Therefore, for clarity, the data sample families are called expats based strictly on the dictionary meaning of the word. They all voluntarily chose to live and work outside their country of origin either temporary or permanently, and are therefore ‘expats’. For the purposes of this thesis, ‘media’ refers to both analogue and digital media that is available to the participant children in the study. ‘Culture’ in this thesis is used to understand the parents’ culture from their country of origin. When exploring the concept of ‘home,’ Salih (2001) defines it both as the physical space that families occupy and the symbolic manifestation of where they are. This thesis primarily focuses on the physical confines of each of the families’ homes that they inhabit in their countries of residence.
3. Key issues in previous literature:
This chapter looks at previous research surrounding children’s media usage beginning with a brief overview of their media usage. Then comes a look at the relationship between media and culture, followed by literature that throws light on mediated language learning, highlighting the value of parental mediation.
3.1. Digital media and children
Studying media and its effects is not a straightforward task. Because of its changing nature like a “ rapidly moving target” (Buckingham, 2013), and numerous devices of access, digital media holds “infinite diversity and creative potential” that makes studying it complex (Buckingham, 2013).In addition, media interrelationships are complex and it is not possible to isolate one media from another to study individual effectiveness (Lieberman et.al, 2009). According to the 2019 Ofcom report, the use of mobile devices in young children has increased, use of smart speakers among children aged 5-15 has doubled over the last year, children's media use is diversifying and newer platforms are gaining pouplarity (p.2). Therefore studying media is becoming an evolving topic.
Despite the seemingly obvious permeation of media in households in the developed world, digital media usage is neither consistent nor homogenous. Generally, households with children adopt more ICT and media goods, especially those that are cheap and targeted at the youth market (Livingstone, 2002). Children also often influence parents’ media adaptation and use (Nelissen, S. and Van den Bulck, J., 2018). But children’s social and media world are becoming increasingly unequal (Buckingham, 2013). Both Livingstone (2002) and Buckingham (2013) observe that those in households with greater disposable income are the “early adopters,” they have newer equipment and more opportunities to develop the skills to use that latest technology. Poorer children have limited access to cultural goods, “ they live
not just in different social worlds, but in different media worlds as well ” (Ibid, p.84). Despite
(Ibid). Compared to 2015, 5-15 year olds are more likely to watch even TV programs on mobile devices (Ibid).
While children’s media usage is surrounded by much debate, they usually highlight the negative aspects and more often focus on the adults' perspectives rather than the children’s (Johansen, 2016). Children are generally keen to adopt media in their learning while it is still an area of ambivalence for most parents (Livingstone & Blum-Ross, 2019). Therefore parental concern about online risks and associated concerns has increased. Compared to 2015, fewer parents now agree that the benefits of their children being online outweigh the risks than five years ago (Ofcom report, 2019, p. 3). However 77% feel they know enough to help keep their children safe online (Ibid).
3.2. Culture, media and expat children
As a result of scientific and technological advances, the term culture has now expanded to incorporate “digital culture” as a significant aspect of cultural studies (Gravis & Lemon 2015) (Ihmeideh & Alkhawaldeh, 2017). Concepts of culture intersect with those of educational philosophy and media studies (Ibid). Culture refers to the world of knowledge, ideas and objects that are a part of human activity (Grenfell et al., 2003) and as a cumulative resource of knowledge, experiences, beliefs, values, meanings, religion etc that belong to a significant group of people( Ihmeideh & Alkhawaldeh, 2017). They also define the process of ‘culturing’ as a continuous one without a definitive start and end age (Ibid) which makes it applicable to both adults and children. Children are born in their society's culture and become part of it (Ibid) and help further shape it.
Elias & Lemish (2008) undertook detailed studies to understand the role of media in immigrant families. They concluded that mass media provides immigrant families with a huge variety of “ inexpensive cultural resources and tools” that are used to maintain not just their shared cultural heritage but also internal family unity (Elias & Lemish, 2008). Media therefore plays a very important role to stay connected to the culture of origin while navigating through that of the newly adopted country. Mass media therefore serves as “ an axis around which there is a struggle between assimilation and cultural preservation” (Ibid). Lemish (2015) also states that online relationships play an important role in maintaining language and cultural links in immigrant families. Online communications through the internet and associated media technology are instrumental in maintaining links with their cultural identities, mother tongue and even family ties and seem to enrich the lives of children and ‘expand circles of potential’ of new ties (Ibid, p. 182). As children’s internet usage increases, they explore more possibilities, including those that strengthen their identity formation as immigrants (Ibid). For children living in developed countries, most experience a range of digital technologies as part of their early years’ experience and research demonstrates that children are avid users of technology in their home environments (Gravis & Lemon, 2015). This reflects many similar findings from my own research that are presented in the analysis.
3.3. Media and children’s language learning:
Livingstone & and Blum-Ross(2019) hypothesised after their study that although digital media is not principally essential for effective learning, it can make learning more accessible, diverse and more interesting for children (Ibid). Parents suggest that ICT helps their children learn more general skills and attitudes beyond academic learning, skills, like problem solving, motivation, curiosity etc (O’Hara, 2011).
This thesis looks at bilingual children. Previous research has labelled students who speak a variety of heritage languages as “emergent bilinguals” (Rowe, 2018). These bilingual learners, “draw on their linguistic repertoires, moving fluidly between named languages and varieties to meet communicative ends ” (Rowe, 2018). They are not just learning to read, write and speak English at school but they are developing their skills in their heritage or home language (Rowe, 2018). They carry a unique set of language skills. Media in the immigrant’s own language serves to “p reserve the immigrants’ cultural heritage and strengthen the sense of intra-group solidarity (Lee and Tse, 1994; Lum, 1991; Zilberg and Leshem, 1996, Ref in Elias & Lemish, 2008). It helps keep in contact with family and friends, “new communication technologies enable immigrant communities dispersed throughout the world to maintain ongoing contact with their country of origin ” (Elias and Zeltser-Shorer, 2006 Ref. in Elias & Lemish, 2008).
a “hybrid mix of education and entertainment that relies heavily on visual material, on narrative or game like formats ” (Buckingham, 2013). This method populates a pedagogy that is “less authoritarian and more interactive” (Buckingham, 2013). This encourages a new approach towards pedagogy, where media helps make learning fun, “the equation of learning with play, and both with pleasure… is a staple theme in marketing of educational media (Buckingham, 2013, p.110). Research shows that interactive media devices like tablets always have more impact on children’s vocabulary development as opposed to use of analogue media (Walter Laager et.al, 2016). Children who play with a tablet computer learned more and had a positive effect on vocabulary growth, both with and without adult accompaniment when compared with looking at static pictures (Ibid). Going further, research has even drawn connections between young children’s learning motivations and enthusiasm with interesting and appealing digital media (Liberman et al., 2009)(Livingstone & Blum-Ross, 2019).
The use of digital media for language learning is not undiscovered by academia. Young learners “thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards” (Prensky, 2001), which is an integral part of the nature of digital media, and especially game led learning. “ Playful exploration” with iPad can provide opportunities for children in engagement and interest rich learning (Gravis & Lemon, 2015).
While digital media certainly has its benefits, traditional analogue story book reading cannot be discounted as it is motivating for young children to look at books and pictures with their parents (Walter-Laarger, et.al. 2016). Well written and nicely illustrated books not just pique children’s interest but also make the reading more interesting for young learners (Smeets & Bus, 2013). The above literature highlights that different media effectively work together in unison to help in children’s learning.
3.4. Parental mediation & language learning:
the television generation (Buckingham, 2013). They embrace learning through many different forms and can exhibit high multitasking abilities (Prensky, 2001). Media studies research on parental influence often focuses on parents’ role as “ media mentors” (Donohue, 2016), where adults are encouraged to increase their own digital knowledge to be able to monitor the children’s media use(ibid). As parental involvement in at home education is increasingly encouraged, so is parental mediation (Buckingham, 2013). Their primary role is to be concerned with “hygiene factors'' online, to make the digital world a safe place for their children (Livingstone & Blum-Ross, 2019). Older peers and siblings are also seen to form part of this mediation culture to oversee younger siblings’ ICT usage at home (O’Hara, 2011).
While the monitoring of children’s use of digital media is a topic of much discussion, media researchers have also focused attention on the deeper impact of technology and media on children’s world (Donohue, 2016), and its role in improving communication and engagement between adults and children if used appropriately and innovatively (ibid). Studies conducted on different geographical locations have reinstated how media usage can encourage family interaction (Hoover et al.(2005), Lie & Sorenson(1996), Livingstone (2002). Berker & Yoon’s (2005) work on 40 Chinese families highlights the parent-child bonding facilitated via digital media. It was observed that ICT and other household media devices provided a “common ground for parents and children to interact meaningfully” (Ibid). Enjoying media
together, like television viewing helps recreate a family culture of shared viewing ( Alias & Lemish, 2008).
For many parents, their views on ICT and digital media will depend on their own educational, work and peer background (O’ Hara, 2011). This is reflected in their attitudes towards their children’s media habitus constructed at home, based on the parents existing cultural capital.
In a study conducted on modern language classrooms in the UK (7-11-year-old) (d’Almeida, 2016), the habitus of the children in their homes and within family life will have a huge impact on the cultural capital they gather during their language learning journey. Individual children’s language learning is “ constrained or aided by the forms of capital which they can access” (d’Almeida, 2016, p.18).
3. 5. Discussion:
4. Theoretical Framework
This chapter contains the theoretical framework including justifications of the chosen theories despite some commonly raised criticisms. The main research question aims to understand the role of media in language learning. The aim is not to rank the affordances of different media but construct an overall picture of how different media are employed by mothers. For this, Domestication theory is used as the main umbrella theory to understand media infiltration in homes and its effects. This gives the macro perspective by mapping out the media landscape of the homes. Bourdieu, Hall and Säljö are used to support domestication by understanding the micro processes; meaning of language, culture and the processes of learning. In unison, these theories help deconstruct the children’s mother tongue learning journey.
4.1. Domestication Theory
Domestication theory is used to understand the pervasive presence of analogue and digital media in households and how the infiltration of media is affecting aspects of family life . Its origins lie in anthropology and consumption studies (Haddon, 2011), where it questions how goods and possessions come into individuals lives and the meaning they carry (Ibid). It emerged in the early 1990’s (Haddon, 2011) where it is attributed to the work of Silverstone, Hirsch and Morley (1992). It allows a framework to study consumer patterns once technology is taken home, involving “c onsumer in appropriation, in taking technologies home… and making\not making them acceptable and familiar” (Silverstone, 2005, p. 229). The metaphor of domestication came from the notion of ‘domesticating’ ICTs when bringing them into the house, evoking a sense of ‘t aming the wild’ (Haddon, 2011). It likens wild animals and technology together, including their dangers, “In both cases, unconstrained, they pose threats and challenges” (Silverstone, 2005, p. 231).
into homes, there was a need to understand its impact and implications and domestication was the product of this change (Ibid).
The theory is most suited for my thesis as it lays the praxis of the ‘home’ being a significant space that merits a deeper understanding of technological infiltration. Domestication was an attempt to understand the “ nettle of socio-technical change …: in the intimate spaces of the home and household” (Silverstone, 2005, p. 231). Unlike other household items, media’s relationship with its users is more complicated (Hirsh & Silverstone, 2003, p. 155), therefore domestication aims to explore the processes in which individuals and households both encounter and deal with technologies, either embracing or rejecting them (Haddon, 2011). On top of that, media’s infiltration in modern life has altered the conventional dynamics of man-object relationship in households. “ “Households, we are told, are no longer what they were… they have become virtual, too” (Silverstone, 2005, p. 240). Households are now complex, more varied, which allows for not just flexible living, but also varied learning, therefore domestication helps me to explore these man/media relationships in the context of my target study group. This media man interrelationship defines the media ecology of households, which is the capacity of households to actively engage with media ( Hirsch & Silverstone, 2003). It means how media serves as an organizing force within families (Goggin & Hjorth, 2014).
“negotiations and considerations that led to the acquisition of technologies” (Haddon, 2011). The processes that the technology goes through to be adapted to everyday life traces its moral economy. It is the object’s journey from ‘ formal to moral economy’ where commodity becomes an object (Silverstone et. al., 1992).
Next, the user and their environment are changed and adapt to incorporate the new technology. This is called “I ncorporation,” and encompasses spatial location. It includes where the technologies are physically located around the home space (Haddon, 2011). “Objectifications” includes routines and time schedules and how technology use features in peoples’ schedules and routines (Haddon, 2011). ‘Conversion,’ covers how people, “mobilize ICTs as part of their identities ” (Haddon, 2011) concerning the display of technology, linking it to the outside world. Since conversion is the display of objects in the interplay with the public environment (Ibid), the choice was made to not include it in this theoretical framework or the analysis. This thesis’ focus is not how the families use media as ‘ currency of display’(ibid) in the outside world, but how media functions within the confines of their homes, hence the exclusion of conversion.
Uber domestication explains how the same technology within households also goes through transformation in use. Sometimes one technology replaces another or one media device slowly becomes less used as it seems outdated. Like dvds replacing videos (Berker et. al., 2005).
families, but also helped link the macro and micro aspects of their relationship with media, directly impacting their mother tongue learning.
4.2. Language, representation and cultural capital:
While domestication looks at the macro aspect of media, Hall is used to understand language and its link with culture in expat families. Hall (1997) defines culture as “ shared meanings” and calls language and representation, essential elements in the study of culture. Belonging to a culture is like belonging to the same “ conceptual and linguistic universe” (Ibid, p.20). People belonging to the same culture share the same way of interpreting the signs of language (Ibid, p. 19).
Language is how people “ make sense of the world” around them, and people communicate with others based on a language they understand (Hall, 1997). It is the “ representational system” which facilitates participants to build a “culture of shared understandings.” Language contains signs and codes that help its speakers organise and translate concepts (Ibid, p.29). There are “cultural codes” where objects and things function as signs and carry different meanings for different people. They are a result of social conventions. Hall’s use of language is all encompassing, it involves words, symbols and images. (Hall, 1997, p. 1). In addition to the written/spoken language, it includes visual images to express meaning (Ibid) as discussed in analysis. Hall (1997) explains that there is a language of fashion/clothes, even music; this expands the meaning of language, “ Any sound,word,image or object which functions as a sign ... is capable of carrying and expressing meaning is ... a ' language ' ” (Hall, 1997).
the representative codes of their language and consequently culture, making them “ culturally competent subjects” (Ibid) and members of that particular culture.
Bourdieu’s work is popularly known as a valuable resource in contemporary social theory research (Lizardo, 2004), applicable to many societies of the present world and used in various social sciences debates (Grenfell et.al, 2003). At the base of his theories lies a “philosophical perspective” and “practical methodology”, especially useful when studying children and pedagogy (Ibid). Therefore it lends itself well to this thesis, using the concepts of cultural capital and habitus.
Bourdieu expands the meaning of capital, by giving it a sociological dimension (Joy et. al, 2018). Capital assumes three other forms, of which cultural is used in this thesis. Cumulatively, these capitals are the basis of power and a source of wealth (Bourdieu, 1985) . Cultural capital comprises intangible assets like education, intellect, speech, etc.Differences in cultural capital and habitus begin in childhood and grow over time (Dumais, 2005). Individuals with higher cultural capital give their children an ‘initial stock’ which is further enhanced as they grow older (Bourdieu, 1984). Bourdieu links children’s home environment and learning (Bittman et al., 2011) (O’Hara, 2011) (d’Almeida, 2016); which makes the concept extremely relevant to my thesis. Habitus is a physical expression of cultural capital, referring to the built-in habits and skills that individuals possess due to life experiences and takes many shapes (Reay 2004). Habitus is an outcome of past experiences of every individual that governs their perceptions, thought and action (Bourdieu, 1984), including an individual’s ‘taste’ for cultural products. It is a fluid entity and represents how personal history shapes an individual’s perceptions. Bourdieu, habitus, i s a “set of unifying principles which underlie such tastes'' (Bennet, 2010, p. xix) These ‘principles’ organize how individuals perceive the social world around them and react to them (Lizardo, 2004). Habitus is society’s imprint on the individual (Bourdieu, 1990).
“by bestowing gravitas without doing any theoretical work” (Lizardo, 2004). Despite these criticisms, scholars have successfully applied Bourdieu’s principles of habitus, capital and fieldsto understand migrant/expat experiences (Joy et.al, 2018). His theories also lend well to contemporary studies dealing with both women and young children (Yoon et al., 2011) (Dumais, 2006), topics which clearly overlap the main concepts of my thesis. In particular, Bourdieu helped connect the data to the moral economy of the households as discussed in analysis.
4. 3. Sociocultural approach to learning
5. Methodology
This chapter presents the research method, its strengths/weaknesses, the research design and its description.
5.1. Choice of interview method
The main research question in this thesis focuses on mother tongue learning in light of media use within homes. To address that, an effective qualitative research method was needed that allows researchers to “ study and understand things in their environment” (Davies & Hughes, 2014) while working within the researchers personal strengths and background (Ibid). Bearing these two factors in mind, it was decided to hold one-2-one interviews with the mothers in each family. This decision is supported by the following reasons. Firstly, as the relocation experiences of data families makes their living situations unique, a research method giving insight into individuals personal lives within their home was needed. The interview method enables this by allowing researchers to ask relevant questions, respond directly to the answers and request clarifications immediately. This adaptability of interviews is invaluable (Bell & Waters, 2014) and gives information unavailable in a survey or questionnaire. Secondly, as individual’s media habits are as unique as their personalities, interviews help understand those by observing their spaces, financial situations and relationships (Haddon, 2011). And finally, with academic parameters and submission deadlines, interviews can not only yield rich data, but are comparatively easier to coordinate than arranging focus group meetings or even long-term case studies (Bell & Waters, 2014).
5.2. Planning and preparation
“strategic sampling” (Davies & Hughes, 2014) was employed to choose the informants. All being multilingual expats with young children. Initially, the “snowballing” method (Ibid)was used to find suitable families. Once a family was identified, they were used as “ gatekeepers” to introduce to other families (Oliver, 2010). Because of the wealth of data already collected in 2018/19, no new interviews were conducted in 2020.
It was decided to base the study on the mothers as they were available for interviews (the fathers all worked long hours in corporate jobs, and including them was proving too time delaying). This decision is supported by previous research which shows that parental influence, particularly maternal is one of the many indices of a family’s cultural capital (Brooker, 1999). Secondly, previous studies indicate that mothers tend to control media use more than fathers (Pasqueir, 2001). Initially the children’s responses were noted for the first 2-3 interviews but it was decided to not include any of the children’s material for two reasons. Firstly, the children were usually shy and needed a more creative approach than interviews alone to get detailed data. Secondly, the mothers’ interviews gave enough rich material sufficient for this thesis.
5.3. The interview process
This was found to be a most convenient time for the mothers as they were relaxed and were able to answer questions in detail.
The interview began with collecting basic information about the families, the languages they speak, children’s ages, parent’s professions etc. These details were used to fill the table. 1 in Appendix A. In retrospect, this part could have been done through a questionnaire instead of direct questioning.
5. 4. Visual data
Because “there is no strict boundary between exploration, piloting and ‘proper’ data collection in small sample interviewing ” (Davies & Hughes, 2014, p.183), prior to the interview, the researcher must conduct a mapping of the family's main living space to understand the media infrastructure at home. This enables researchers to “ view the role of media within the home” and help see the family’s “expected patterns of use” (Livingstone, 2002). To gather “a bird’s eye view” (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 163) of the social space, the researcher must ask permission to walk around the main living rooms of the families and photograph objects of relevance, including media devices or cultural objects. The children’s rooms were excluded from the mapping as, unlike older children and teenagers, children under ten mainly use rooms for sleeping, not for screen time. Therefore, they do not form part of the “bedroom Culture” (Buckingham, 1993). They did not have any media devices, like gaming consoles or screens in their rooms. This disqualifies the rooms as being “ media-rich” (Livingstone and Bovill, 2001). The photographs for this data sample were taken from the researchers smartphone and are used throughout analysis to support interview material. They range from images of the families’ media devices, book collections and even screen shots of the mothers’ phones.
In addition to photography during the mapping stage, the use of different ‘probes’ (Gillham, 2000) was also employed during the interviews to gather more visual data. For example, asking the mothers to explain the contents of a book, show culturally significant objects or share some apps from their phone etc. This resulted in the mothers talking in greater detail and allowing the researcher to take more photographs to add to the data. This visual data adds to the credibility of interview responses by providing additional evidence of what is discussed in analysis along with informant responses.
5.5. Participating families
table 1 in appendix A). The Copenhagen families live in spacious apartments in an affluent part of the city popular with expats. The children go to the same English international school. Those who went to Danish kindergartens have good familiarity with the Danish language. They also study either German or French as an extra subject at school and have varying fluency in their mother tongues. The London families live in a borough popular for its excellent public schools. They live in suburban houses close to the schools that the children attend. The UK children have native fluency in English and have varying degrees of fluency in their mother tongues but unlike the Danish children, they do not have the advantage of a third language taught at school. In the Analysis, each family is referred to by their mother tongue, and a number. Please refer to the table. 1 in appendix A before proceeding.
5.6. Data analysis method
In qualitative research, the stages of sample gathering, analysis and data collection often exist simultaneously (Davies & Hughes, 2014, p.177). Similarly, the thesis writing process began soon after data collection, with edits done along the way. Starting with a “ literal reading of data” (Davies & Hughes, 2014), followed by a reflexive reading of data (ibid) where the data was interpreted through a media studies lens. The theory was operationalized by using it as the framework on which the entire analysis would be based. The process began by briefly listing the main theoretical points in the form of a table. Next each family's interview sheet was carefully reread to take out relevant quotations to match the relevant theoretical concept in light of the research questions. Taking pen to paper, as many of the interview responses were written in front of the relevant theory as was possible with the available data. Some data was clearly applicable like maternal habitus affecting media choices for children. Others like the infiltration of domestication needed more digging into the media ecology of the households. This was done several times revisiting both the theory and data repeatedly to sift, edit and organise. After many edits, the final version of the analysis came into being.
5.7. Limitations and Ethical considerations
and asked about willingness to participate before any interviews were conducted (Consent form in the appendix).
Since interviewing is a “ highly subjective” technique, there is danger of bias (Bell & Waters, 2014). Care was taken to avoid unintended bias (Davies & Hughes, 2014) in the sample especially by not attempting any participant observation and relying only on interviewed content. Families were chosen for their suitability to help answer the research question. In addition, during interviews, the researcher must maintain a student’s objectivity, especially since familiarity with environments or participants may cause researchers to “ overlook aspects of behaviour that would immediately be apparent to a non-participant ” (Bell & Waters, 2014, p.213). It is also important to stay neutral and not offer own opinions (Berger, 1998). Secondly, for those informants that may be known to the researcher already, care must be taken to not let any research-based discussion effect a change in relationships after the research process is over (Davies & Hughes, 2014, p.28). It’s also important to understand that while interviews can yield rich data, it is a research interview and not an interesting conversation (Bell & Waters, 2014), having a printed copy of the interview questions helps keep focus.
based on countries of origin, rather the focus has been on how individual families handle media.
Anonymity and confidentiality are also two major concerns for informants (Oliver, 2010). The use of visual data and photographs raises specific ethical concerns for the researcher (Sjöberg, 2010). None of the participants expressed any concerns about these issues, but the choice was made to use only pseudonyms and no faces in any photographs. This was made clear to the informants before starting any interviews.
Despite its suitability to the research design, the interview method does have limitations. Namely, that reliable data relies on the breadth of samples depending on research time available (Bell and Waters, 2014) which can be limited with academic submission deadlines, as was the case with this thesis. Only a select number of families could be contacted. Secondly, interviews involve a lot of planning and coordinating with participants around people’s schedules, which is time and labour intensive. For this thesis, the experience of recruiting suitable informants, finding suitable times in busy schedules and conducting detailed interviews in homes proved to be a time consuming and challenging process.
the responses. In instances where interviews are not recorded, it is advised to devise a shorthand to note responses quickly during the interview, and write as much as can be remembered as soon as the interview is over (Bell & Walters, 2014). If the interview guide and questions are meticulously organised and listed under headings, the responses are easier to note (Ibid). The above practises were employed in data collection for this thesis to counteract the lack of recorded material. The mother’s responses were recorded on interview sheets (appendix B) that were individually assigned to each family.
And lastly, the data collection did not rely solely on the interviews. The analysis has a huge range of photographs that were taken at the same time as the interviews in the informants homes which support many of the points raised in analysis.
6. Analysis
The following analysis attempts to explore the role of media the mothers employ to teach their children mother tongues in expat homes. For this, the analysis begins with an exploration of the importance of mother tongues and its reinstation through cultural codes and representation at home. Next comes a detailed look on how domestication of media is widespread in modern expat homes. Examples from the interviews and visuals are used to highlight the many ways in which the families have integrated both analogue and digital media into their homes and language learning journeys. After domestication, it is important to paint a picture of the mothers’ cultural capital, the habitus they provide their children and how together, they enable an effective adoption of media for language learning through different methods.
6.1. The importance of mother tongues in expat families; and its reinstation through cultural codes
As established in theory, language is how people make ‘ sense of the world around them’(Hall, 1997) and communicate with each other. While the mothers are all fluent in English and use it to communicate socially, they strongly associate their respective mother tongues with their culture, heritage, home countries and communities. These languages carry emotional meaning for them, as they are more than a means of communication. They are integral to their sense of self and one that opens the doorway into their culture, especially for their ‘globalised’ expat children. It doesn't matter which country they chose to make their home next, their mother tongues will carry with them.
“Language is like music for young children, even before they understand words. Russian is very important for us, even if we move to another country, we will continue to teach our children Russian”
This sentiment was echoed in the other interviews as the mothers expressed their emotional connection to their languages. So much so that they see it as a part of their roots and legacy, something that must be carried on to their children’s children,
“I teach my children Urdu because it is part of my traditions and culture which I cannot let go of. My fear is that my grandchildren will not know Urdu. If I do not teach my children Urdu now, how will they teach their own children” (mother Urdu2).
“Recently at a recent cultural event at the kids’ school, we decorated the table with ethnic fabric, the children wore traditional clothes and we took Pakistani sweets to share. The children were so proud of their culture.”
Fig. 2. Russian children's book with audio chips that read out alphabets and simple words to help children’s language learning, word familiarisation and phoenics even when they are
reading on their own
Fig. 5. Mother Urdu2’s prayer mat also serves as a cultural code
painting carrying different meanings for different viewers, the song carries different meanings for different listeners, but for the children, it helps bring them closer to understanding their mother tongues. These are all ways in which the mother tongues are reinstated at home.
6. 2. Domestication of media in homes
Fig. 6. A selection of phones and tablets from various households that show the protective casings to protect the devices from damage as the children use them.
effective. It is something the children enjoy doing and has helped improve their Russian vocabulary.
Fig. 9. Family Russian’s Ipad with Russian language apps and games
After ‘appropriation,’ comes the process of ‘Incorporation’ which pertains to ‘spatial location,’ when the environment is changed to accommodate technology. The placement of television sets in various homes reflects how technology is mobilised as part of identities and is displayed within domestic aesthetics. Below is a photograph of family Hindi’s sitting room tv (fig. 11). The television forms part of the lounge decor and is placed on a stand constructed as an extension of the fireplace. It forms the nucleus of family time as children and parents often sit together and watch tv including Hindi movies. While television watching tops parent/child activity at home (Pasqueir, 2001), this shared media experience is multi faceted. It gives the parents and children a ‘ common language’ (Berker & Yoon, 2005) which the parents effectively employ to discuss Indian culture, expose children to native vocabulary or explain Hindi dialogues.
Another notable observation is that technologies purchased for domestic use are chosen for functionality and aesthetics, for “their appearance and their compatibility with the dominant aesthetic rationality of the home as for their functional significance ” (Hirsh & Silverstone, 2003, p. 23). Family Telugu’s television (fig. 12) offered valuable material to understand this from a media studies perspective. The mother highlighted that they have a ‘smart tv’ making it easy to play videos for the kids from her phone while looking aesthetically pleasing, within the lounge decor. It is placed on a shelf that is part of their home’s aesthetic because of its wooden construction that matches the rest of the lounge furniture. This enabled the television to be appropriated into an aesthetic environment ” (Hirsh & Silverstone, 2003, p. 23) and fit in the domestic environment by lending a touch of the aesthetic. Coupled with the fact that the mother is able to monitor and choose what content she allows her children to watch.
The above set up also offers insight into how the display of appropriated objects is part of a “larger symbolic universe'' (Leal, 1990 Ref. in Hirsh & Silverstone, 2003, p. 23). The books on the lower shelves offer an amusing physical manifestation of how old and new media co-exist in family life. The traditional and old-fashioned media (books)is at the bottom while the newer, more digital media component is displayed prominently at the top. A deeper reading of this data could indicate the process of “ uber domestication” (Berker et. al., 2005) in play; one media is gradually replaced with another as the newer television ‘pushes’ the older media of books lower down in the family’s priority of use. While uber domestication is at play, it is noticeable that often, regardless of the choice of media, mothers effectively use it in creative ways to reinstate language learning. There are Telegue books in their collection but there is also a selection of Telugu cartoons that the children are used to watching on the tv. Whichever media they chose, they have some exposure to their mother tongue. Family Urdu 1’s tv status also offers an insight into uber domestication. The mother replaced their family tv with an Ipad so she has more control on what her children watch as opposed to broadcasted content on tv channels,
“Television time is harder to manage than phones, as the parents have no control over choosing the content for viewing” (Mother Urdu1).
Another example of uber domestication can be found in use of platforms like WhatsApp, Skype or Facetime etc that have replaced conventional phone calls and texts. These platforms are free and are both more convenient and cost effective than direct calls and texts. As a consequence, children can have longer conversations with overseas relatives and family members. Such “online relationships” (Lemish, 2015) over Skype do more than just help families stay in touch. Children practise speaking in mother tongues with non-English speaking family members and is discussed in detail later.
helps them relax. Her children chose either english or Russian shows depending on what they feel like. In addition to regular routines, sometimes, certain life situations gave birth to prominent television watching cultures, as seen in family Telugu. When they first moved to Denmark from India, school admissions took time and friendships didn’t form immediately. Parents, who were busy trying to take footing in new work and social environments resorted to television to keep children safely occupied at home. This is not unusual as many parents see television at home as convenient entertainment, safe from dangers of outside (Livingstone and Bovill, 1999).
“When we first moved, the kids were waiting for a daycare place. It was very cold and we didn't know many people, so the kids stayed indoors mostly. They watched a lot of tv during the day to keep themselves entertained” (Mother Telugu).
Another good example of “objectification” of media in everyday life was noticed in mother Hindi’s integration of religion with language studies. As religion is a big part of their family life, she has a resource of books on islamic studies in English (the language her children are comfortable reading) with Arabic inserts (which share some common vocabulary with Hindi) as seen in Fig. 13-15.
Fig. 14. & 15. Excerpts from the above books teaching essentials of prayer rituals in Islam
A discussion on domestication must include the element of ‘taming the use of technology’
(Silverstone, 2005) for children’s use.Parents assume the role of “media mentors” (Donohue, 2016) and overall, households employ their own strategies to manage children’s digital media use depending on what works best for them. Mother Urdu1 and Turkish2 bother prefer handheld devices so they can be put away at the end of screen time. Mother Telugu and mother Hindi prefer the family television as they feel it makes mediation easier. The mothers generally echoed the same sentiment about mediation,
“Digital media is important for children of today. But it should be used in moderation. We cannot isolate them from it, but we must teach them how to use it properly. ” (mother Russian).
6. 3. Maternal cultural capital and mediatised language learning
It is essential to revisit that the research question specifies the data is from the mother’s perspective. Which makes it important to have a clear understanding of the mothers’ cultural capital and how it enables them to effectively use various media to teach their children mother tongues.
While Hall helps explain the mother’s perspectives on culture and language, Bourdieu helps construct the cultural capital the mothers bring to the families and the subsequent habitats they build for their children at home. Cultural capital like education, intellect, style etc… is a wealth and can be used to gain prominence (Bourdieu, 1984). Children’s cultural capital is directly related to their home environment and maternal cultural capital and encompasses what they are exposed to at home and learn from.
The mothers in this study all have university degrees, are bilingual, have a high self-awareness and make informed decisions about parenting. They all share a deep commitment to their children’s education and learning and are conscious to incorporate cultural and linguistic diversity as part of their children’s education. They read with their children, help them with school work, and impart language and cultural knowledge. Overall, they have a “large interest in the world ” and are “engaged in civic society” which gives them a “lived experience of cultural globalisation” ( Andersson, 2008).This is their cultural capital that they transfer to their children.
Fig. 16. Turkish version of the popular board game, Monopoly. Mother Turkish1 especially encourages her children to play Turkish versions of board games to expand their mother
tongue knowledge
Another element of the mothers’ rich cultural capital is their open attitude towards learning across different cultures.
“I want them to maintain Turkish values, but it's good to know more about other cultures and languages. They watch English shows and read English books. But we talk to them in Turkish, we explain difficult words. We tell them if they reply in English that is ok, but we prefer Turkish.” (mother Turkish2)
process as seen by examples below. It becomes part of the moral economy of the household as various media become part of the domestic habitus. This is reflected in the role of books in the families. The interviewed mothers not just value books highly, but make sure they are deeply incorporated in the households media fabric. Having well stocked book shelves at home and providing children with books in different languages and on different subjects is an effective way to surround children with a culturally rich habitus which in turns helps build language proficiency. It was not uncommon to see books both in English and mother tongues in those families' book shelves (fig. 17-20). They are collected over trips back home, bought online or sent over by family and friends on request. The topics range from simple alphabet familiarisation, to cultural story books, and even those on everyday life and rural festivals. Mothers start reading the books to their children when they are young, hoping they will continue their love of reading as they grow older,
“We love book reading at our home. It’s like a ritual in our house. We’ve been reading books to the children since they were babies and they now love it!” (mother Russian).
Fig. 18. Mother Urdu2’s child showing an Urdu story book. While the children cannot always read the books fully, the mothers still read the stories out to them
6. 4. Learning in context of media infiltration
As the central research question looks at children’s language learning, the analysis must include a sociocultural perspective to learning with a media angle. Differentiating from purely pedagogy based study, the following observations are made in light of media used by the families. This makes the application of Säljö’s theory valid for a media studies discussion. Learning is complex and for effective learning to take place, its scope needs to be expanded to incorporate many different methods (Säljö, 2009). Effective learning is about ‘ adapting materials to the language’ of its users (Prensky, 2001), which includes both digital and analogue media. This is seen in the mothers’ use of television programs, gaming apps and analogue mediums like books, wall charts and writing exercises to teach mother tongues. For example, Fig. 21-23 shows mother Telegu’s posters and notebooks that she uses to teach her children the Telugu alphabet. As a result, her 8-year-old son, who has never attended any formal Telugu lessons can read basic words and write some alphabets.
Fig. 22. Telugu writing practise book in which children repeatedly write the alphabet for reinforcement of the alphabet
As families relocate, they heavily rely on communication applications like Skype, WhatsApp and Facetime etc to stay connected with family living in countries of origin. Some relatives do not speak English, so the children are forced to communicate using mother tongues. This offers insight into how the interplay of relationships between adults and children is an important part of the learning process (Säljö, 1994). Mother Telugu observes that her daughter who was initially very reluctant to speak Telugu, is now gaining confidence and frequently talks to grandparents in Telugu, showing them drawings she's made or telling about her day. Mother Russian even has a Russian keyboard to encourage her children to type in Russian while speaking to grandparents. These mediatised interactions between adults and children produce newer forms of knowledge and are an extension of the children’s language learning processes, as mother Urdu revealed in her interview. Speaking to family in Pakistan over Skype, her children use a hybrid of Urdu and English, a mix that they are most comfortable with,
“Because we’ve always spoken a mix of Urdu and English, the children don’t even realise they are two different languages. They think its one language. The children often don’t know if a particular word belongs to Urdu or English. We know because we’ve tried asking them !” (Mother Urdu1).
Adult child learning interactions can often be mediated in additional ways. As is the case in some expat families where the children use Skype for online Arabic/Quran lessons. The children not only learn to read the Quran in Arabic, but their understanding of the mother tongues (fig. 24) is also reinforced as the teachers are based in their respective countries of origins, “The teacher speaks only Hindi, so I encourage my children to avoid answering in English, but use Hindi instead.”(mother Hindi). Mother Urdu1 also noted these online lessons have been very helpful in strengthening her daughter’s Urdu skills.
Fig. 24. A child in family Hindi attending a Skype Quran class. The child uses a tablet to read the text while the tutor on the phone instructs in Hindi/Arabic
Despite employing various media, learning is individual to each learner. Even children within the same family, who are exposed to the same home habitus, and the same level of mother tongue exposure, respond to it differently, as mother Hindi notes, “ My older daughters are fine to communicate in Hindi, but my son struggles. For most questions he resorts to ‘Jee’(yes).”
Turkish is comfortably spoken at home and is perhaps the main reason for the children’s proficiency in the language despite having never lived in Turkey. Mother Turkish1 reflected,
“I can say that talking to them(my children) in Turkish has been most effective, telling stories, jokes, spending time with them. We do not associate Turkish with any particular media, but we associate it with communication.”
