The Changing role of Chinese language schools in Thailand before and after the 1990s

Abstract

To study the role of Chinese language schools in Thailand before and after the 1990s. The study covers analytic discussion in terms of economics, politics and culture. This thesis also attempts to examine the influence of Chinese language study on the identity of ethnic Chinese. The figures and data contained within this study were obtained through interviews and a questionnaire survey conducted in three Chinese language schools in Bangkok, of which 400 responses were collected. The study identifies that before the 1990s the Chinese language schools served symbolically to enhance cultural groundings of ethnic Chinese in Thailand. Since Chinese language education was strictly controlled by the Thai government at that time, Chinese parents were highly determined to preserve Chinese culture and language by sending their children to informal Chinese language schools, which were usually private houses of volunteer Chinese. The questionnaire survey shows that the attitudes of students attending Chinese language schools changed dramatically after the 1990s. People started to see the practical importance of studying Standard Chinese. This change is mainly attributed to Mainland China's economic growth during the 1980s. Within the past decade people especially young ethnic Chinese have shown a growing interest in the substantial value of Standard Chinese. The point is that those young ethnic Chinese possibly develop their Chinese identity through exposure to Chinese culture and role models in Chinese language schools. Since the newly produced Chinese identity is potentially different from early Chinese immigrants, "Chineseness" among ethnic Chinese in Thailand may undergo changes in the future.