Language education in early years transition: a case study of a multilingual immigrant child

Macau’s unique multilingual and multicultural environment, shaped by centuries of East-West interaction, presents a rich yet underexplored context for early childhood language education. This study explores this gap by examining how the family language policy develops and evolves within a multilingual immigrant family during a child’s early years in Macau. Employing a qualitative, longitudinal case study approach, data were collected over a decade (2015–2025) through video-recorded parent-child interactions, interviews, field notes, parental diaries, and digital artefacts. Analysing these materials through micro language planning, discourse analysis, and thematic coding, the research traces how language ideologies, practices, and agency shift in response to educational transitions and sociolinguistic complexities. Findings reveal that the family implemented dynamic language policies, combining explicit strategies like one-parent-one-language with flexible adaptations to external changes such as school closures and international moves. The child’s multilingual development―across Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and English―was shaped by deliberate parental planning and shifting educational contexts, influencing language use at home and the child’s sense of identity. The study highlights the active role of families in language planning and underscores the need for education policy in Macau and similar contexts to support the nuanced language practices of multilingual families.