ABSTRACT
This study explores the language policies and language practices of migrant students with mixed heritages. Using narrative inquiry, the life stories of Japanese–Vietnamese migrant students were analysed thematically. The study found that language ideologies, particularly on the superiority of the Japanese language, led to the devaluation of the Vietnamese language and consequently their Japanese becoming. Students were seen to be policymakers for language use within their family and with the people around them; however, varying degrees of agency caused their negotiation with the parents’ linguistic practices and policies to play out differently. Given these findings, we call for more literacy support to be given to children with mixed heritages to ensure their rights to receive education in their mother tongues.
