Abstract：Compared to research on learning Chinese as a foreign language, studies on overseas Chinese students reveal a significant difference: in addition to instructional factors, non-instructional factors should also be emphasized. In this study, a survey was conducted among students of grades five through nine (aged 11 to 15) at a Chinese school in Japan. In addition, interviews were conducted with Chinese language teachers, school administrators, and parents. The results show that eight non-instructional factors significantly impact the students’ proficiency in their heritage language across the individual, family, and societal levels. These factors include the family’s linguistic environment, gender, experience of living in China, Chinese ancestry, first language, nationality, place of birth, and generation in Japan. A predictive model constructed based on these factors can account for nearly 40% of the variation in their heritage language proficiency. This finding encourages a rethinking of international Chinese education: from an “international” perspective, China is merely one of the sites of international Chinese education, and teaching Chinese as a heritage language should, alongside teaching Chinese as a second language, become a dual focus of international Chinese education. From an “educational” perspective, all factors—including language learning, classroom instruction, learning motivation, individual background, family environment, and sociocultural context—should be included in the full scope of research on international Chinese education.
韦九报，王文豪. 影响日本华裔学生祖语水平的非教学因素[J]. 语言战略研究, 2024, 9(6): 72-84.
Wei Jiubao and Wang Wenhao. A Study of Non-instructional Factors Affecting the Heritage Language Proficiency of Overseas Chinese Students in Japan. , 2024, 9(6): 72-84.
