Dual Language Learners in Transition from Home to School: The Role of Parental Attitudes and Home Language Practices in Bilingual Development

Abstract

The language skills that children acquire in early childhood are essential for social relationships and school learning. For the large and growing number of children in the United States who are learning a minority language at home (dual language learners, or DLLs), developing and maintaining skills in the minority language alongside English can enhance family relationships, school outcomes, and emotional wellbeing. Yet many DLLs experience interrupted acquisition of their minority language after beginning formal schooling, raising questions about the contextual factors that promote (or inhibit) DLLs’ minority language development. In this three-study dissertation I examine the role of parental attitudes and home language practices in DLLs’ bilingual development. Study 1 proposes an ecological model of bilingual development and tests hypothesized relations between the larger social context, parental attitudes toward bilingualism, and home language practices using survey data linked with U.S. Census estimates of local language diversity. Study 2 uses in-depth qualitative interviews with 14 Spanish-speaking mothers of preschoolers to gain a deeper understanding of how parents perceive the importance of their child’s bilingualism. Study 3 draws on home-based observations of 35 Spanish-speaking parent-child dyads to examine changes in home language practices and parental attitudes spanning children’s preschool entry. It also investigates associations between features of parent input and child language skills. Together, these three studies contribute to our theoretical understanding of bilingual development and hold implications for practices to optimally support DLLs’ minority language development during the transition to preschool.