Rethinking resources : a more-than-human reconceptualization of Chinese-Canadian children's heritage language practices at home

A persistent decline in heritage language (HL) has been observed among immigrant children in North America, largely due to insufficient HL resources and support in mainstream societies. Existing studies on early HL maintenance at home often privilege family language policies and intentional practices, yet HL resources and materials within domestic contexts remain underexamined. Simultaneously, an emerging paradigmatic shift from human-centric to posthuman in early childhood education highlights the agential powers of more-than-human elements in generating unexpected (re)configurations of children. This necessitates re-envisioning children’s literacy be(com)ing and rethinking what counts as early literacy resources beyond intentionally pre-designed and human-centered rationalities that long dominate the field. Grounded in posthuman theories (e.g., Barad, 2007; Deleuze & Guattari, 1987), this study reconceptualized home-based resources and practices for early Chinese HL (CHL) development by unfolding the dynamic, ongoing interplay of children and the more-than-human agencies where new possibilities of knowing/becoming Chinese literacies emerge. Drawing on posthuman-informed ethnographic approaches, the study involved micro-mesh material-centered interviews and observations with children (aged 2-6 years old) from three Chinese immigrant families in BC, Canada, during both learning and playtimes. Data were derived from field notes, video recordings, photographs, and researcher journals from year-long home visits, capturing children’s embodied engagements with material/discursive/affective forces and the spatial configurations of their homes. Data analysis revealed dynamic CHL assemblages composed of child-material-space entanglements that continually evolved within the flow of daily life. CHL acquisition emerged not only through activities with intentionally and explicitly designed Chinese language resources but also diverse embodied, sensory, and affective experiences co-created by children and a wide spectrum of more-than-human elements. These embodied engagements, or material-discursive practices, enveloped young learners’ linguistic and non-linguistic communications, offering children opportunities to enhance their CHL development through processes such as word building, character recognition, and communication skills—all of which demonstrate children becoming literate through the human-nonhuman interconnectedness. Findings highlighted the emergent, unbounded, and rhizomatic nature of early HL development, challenging the pre-determined literacy growth trajectories. By attending to materials and child-material intra-actions, this investigation illuminated the often-overlooked, “hidden” resources and practices in home CHL education.