The Effect of the Family Type and Home Literacy Environment on the Development of Literacy Skills by Bi-/Multilingual Children in Cyprus

Karpava, Sviatlana

doi:10.3390/languages6020102

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 151 publications

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“…However, we know little about the effectiveness of home literacy practices, probably because few bilingual families embark upon or continue down the path to biliteracy. Compared to families where both parents speak the home language, mixed-heritage families are less likely to teach home language literacy (Karpava 2021). Okita (2002) only found two of twenty-eight Japanese-English intermarried families in the UK who persisted with Japanese literacy learning at home until their children became teenagers.…”

Section: The Home Environment: Parental Roles and Literacy Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting Home Language Literacy Development in Japanese-English Bicultural Children in Japan

Quay,

Nakamura

2023

Languages

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Simultaneous bilingual and bicultural children who are schooled in the dominant societal language can acquire literacy in their home language through home literacy practices and weekend school. Twenty-eight Japanese-English bilingual–bicultural children (ages 9 to 14) attending English weekend schools in Japan were assessed using the standardized Test of Written Language (TOWL, 4th ed.). Their overall age-adjusted writing scores showed that most were on a par with same-age US peers. The parents’ responses to parental questionnaires revealed that the children’s regular attendance and enjoyment of weekend school, coupled with parental home support and access to plenty of appropriate English reading materials, helped to establish their English literacy. Nevertheless, the children attained different writing scores. Although many performed within the Average range, some scored either in the Above Average or higher range or the Below Average or lower range. Further analysis of these three groups of children revealed a strong relationship between reading practices and writing scores. Better writers tend to read frequently in English; they enjoy reading independently and voluntarily. These findings underscore the importance of recreational reading as an accessible and affordable means for developing home language literacy in bilingual and bicultural children in Japan.

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Section: The Home Environment: Parental Roles and Literacy Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting Home Language Literacy Development in Japanese-English Bicultural Children in Japan

Quay,

Nakamura

2023

Languages

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“…(Israel) One of the key factors in Cyprus is the family composition, endogamous or exogamous, and whether both parents are HL-Russian speakers or members of a mixed-marriage family (usually with a mother speaking HL-Russian and father speaking SL-Cypriot Greek). As a result, the type of the family seemed to affect FLP in Cyprus (see also Karpava 2021). Endogamous families tend to use only HL-Russian at home (see Response (9)):…”

Section: No Change In Hl and Sl Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Family Language Policies of Multilingual Families during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Israel, and Sweden

Zabrodskaja,

Meir,

Karpava

et al. 2023

Languages

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This study explored the language and literacy practices of multilingual families in Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Israel, and Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focuses on the different roles of family members in language transmission in order to understand whether these practices might have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to answer two key research questions: RQ1, whether and how the pandemic conditions affected the heritage language, societal language acquisition, and heritage language literacy learning environments in the five countries examined (Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Israel, and Sweden); and RQ2, what is the nature of child and parental agency in facilitation of the possible changes in the corresponding five countries? Fifty semi-structured interviews (ten in each country) were conducted. The data highlighted the factors that triggered changes in family language policy during the pandemic and the role of the child’s agency, parents, extended family, and social network during this period. Based on our findings, we argue that the pandemic conditions gave the children new opportunities for agency when it comes to language and literacy choice and communication with extended family members. This even facilitated new sources of input and suggested the active role of a child as an agent in shaping family language policy in the family.

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“…Japanese-American parents used manga, daily journals, and Game Boy strategy guides to give their children a genuine and authentic purpose for learning Japanese (Hashimoto & Lee, 2011). Russian-speaking parents in Cyprus also adopted a child-centered, game-based approach to teach Russian (Karpava, 2021).…”

Section: Home Language Literacy At Homementioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of English Writing in Bilingual Children Attending Weekend School in Japan During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nakamura

Quay²

2023

Journal of Home Language Research

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Bilingual children schooled in the dominant societal language can acquire home language literacy with home and community support. This paper reports on the development of English writing in 17 Japanese-English bilingual children (ages 9 to 13) who attended English weekend school in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed their English writing using a US standardized test before and during the pandemic for two years when their weekend school switched to an online format. Many children's age-adjusted writing scores were within the Average range or above before the start of the pandemic, and these scores were largely maintained during the pandemic. Online lessons did not negatively impact children's English writing as technological tools facilitated learning. However, the lack of social interaction diminished the children's enthusiasm for weekend school. The pandemic freed more time for home literacy practices such as reading in English for pleasure and preparing for English examinations, which likely improved the children's English literacy. These findings suggest that bilingual children's home language writing can develop even in challenging learning conditions.

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The Effect of the Family Type and Home Literacy Environment on the Development of Literacy Skills by Bi-/Multilingual Children in Cyprus

Cited by 8 publications

References 151 publications

Factors Affecting Home Language Literacy Development in Japanese-English Bicultural Children in Japan

Factors Affecting Home Language Literacy Development in Japanese-English Bicultural Children in Japan

Family Language Policies of Multilingual Families during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Israel, and Sweden

The Development of English Writing in Bilingual Children Attending Weekend School in Japan During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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