ERIC Number: EJ1431080
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1479-0718
EISSN: EISSN-1747-7530
Quebec-Based Parents' Concerns Regarding Their Children's Multilingual Development
Erin Quirk; Melanie Brouillard; Alexa Ahooja; Susan Ballinger; Linda Polka; Krista Byers-Heinlein; Ruth Kircher
International Journal of Multilingualism, v21 n3 p1476-1493 2024
Many parents express concerns for their children's multilingual development, yet little is known about the nature and strength of these concerns - especially among parents in multilingual societies. This pre-registered, questionnaire-based study addresses this gap by examining the concerns of 821 Quebec-based parents raising infants and toddlers aged 0-4 years with multiple languages in the home. Factor analysis of parents' Likert-scale responses revealed that parents had (1) concerns regarding the effect of children's multilingualism on their cognition, and (2) concerns regarding children's exposure to and attainment of fluency in their languages. Concern strength was moderate to weak, and cognition concerns were weaker than exposure-fluency concerns. Transmission of a heritage language, transmission of three or more languages, presence of developmental issues, and less positive parental attitudes towards childhood multilingualism were associated with stronger concerns. These findings have both theoretical and practical implications: they advance our understanding of parental concerns and facilitate the development of support for multilingual families.
Descriptors: Parent Attitudes, Native Language, Second Language Learning, Multilingualism, Parent Child Relationship, Child Development, Foreign Countries, Infants, Toddlers, Language Fluency, Language Attitudes, Likert Scales, Child Rearing, Family Characteristics, Developmental Delays, Language Usage, Schemata (Cognition)
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/tnb23/