Generated from Bourdieu’s concept of field, the cross-field effects theory places emphasis on the ‘interrelations between fields’ (Rawolle, 2005, p. 709). Migrant integration, understood as the dynamic interaction between immigrants and the receiving society, is multidimensional and multilayered; it cannot be reduced to the economic field as it is intricately linked with other fields of influences. Existing research focusing on the intersection of language economics and migrant integration is largely based on quantitative models that include certain cross-field indicators to calculate migrants’ economic performance with an exclusive focus on mainstream language(s). This research fails to recognize migrants’ subjective experiences as social agents and their capitalization of heritage languages (HLs) for social and economic wellbeing and integration in the host society.

Focusing on Chinese immigrants in Brisbane, Australia, this presentation will examine their integration experiences beyond the economic field by referencing to the global field, the field of power, and the field of education, considering how a particular logic of practice in each field functions to regulate the effects of interactions among actors (Bourdieu, 2000). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews that focused on the participants’ narratives and reflective discourses about their economic adaptation trajectories. The findings revealed that cross-field effects together with the conversion of capitals at different rates shaped migrants’ habitus, structured the possibilities and impossibilities confronted by them, and thereby determining their social positions. It was also found that Chinese as a heritage language (CHL) contributed to these migrants’ economic integration by playing a vital role in mediating the cross-field effects, creating favourable social spaces where their linguistic capital could be converted relatively easily into economic capital. The presentation will contribute to migrant integration and language policy research and practices by linking the cross-field effects theory to HLs and illustrating how they mediate migrant integration in Australia.