The Icing on the Cake: English as another Addition to Our Linguistic Repertoires

Abstract

In Asia, how do non-mainstream multilingual youth view English? Why would indigenous youth, already fluent in one or more dominant languages, invest in learning English and seek fluency in English? What are the specific reasons they give for learning English? This article offers answers to these questions, by focusing on a specific indigenous group of young Buriat Mongolians from Buriatia, Russian Federation. They have chosen to migrate to China for high school and higher educational studies. This article reflects findings from a long-term ethnographic research project.