Mapping family language policy on Chinese heritage language development in immigrant families: a scoping review

This scoping review focuses on how existing studies have examined Chinese heritage language (CHL) through the lens of FLP. Guided by PRISMA-ScR guidelines and Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, it synthesises 53 peer-reviewed articles (2006–2025) retrieved from four databases. Findings reveal a rapid growth in publications since 2021, covering 22 countries but showing a persistent geographical bias toward English-speaking and Global North contexts. Methodologically, the field is dominated by small-scale qualitative designs, with limited use of quantitative or mixed-methods approaches. Conceptually, CHL is largely homogenised as Mandarin, with insufficient operationalisation of internal varieties. In parallel, FLP has expanded from language planning to encompass dynamic practices shaped by emotion, capital, power relations, and multimodal resources. Consequently, CHL outcomes extend beyond the linguistic dimension to include emotional-relational impacts, social positioning, and identity negotiation. Building on these insights, the review proposes an integrated framework comprising three mutually constitutive dimensions: the knowledge context, the conceptualisation of CHL, and a processual understanding of FLP. This framework offers a forward-looking lens for understanding FLP as a context-embedded process through which CHL is defined, practised, and negotiated in immigrant family life.