Home environment and young Chinese children's English development in Hong Kong

Abstract

Proficiency in English is regarded as critical in one’s personal, academic and career opportunities. English as a second/foreign language (ES/FL) learning has become prevalent in Asian contexts and attracted great attention from parents, educators, researchers and policy makers. However, little is known about contextual influences on young Asian children’s ES/FL development. Given the documented evidence on the advantages of early second/foreign language (S/FL) learning and the significant role of home environment in young children’s language and literacy development, this thesis explores the relationship between the home environment, children’s interest in learning English, and early ES/FL development in Asian contexts. The thesis includes three inter-related sub-studies. Study One conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the relationship between the home environment and young Asian children’s ES/FL development. Twenty-two studies published between 2001 and 2020 were included in this review. The results showed that various home factors were related to young Asian children’s English language, literacy, and phonological awareness skills, and interest in learning English. Further, there were child- and home-related mediators/moderators in the relationship between the home environment and English outcomes. Study Two developed and validated a questionnaire assessing parents’ III beliefs about, and attitude toward, supporting young children’s ES/FL development–Parent English Language Belief and Attitude Questionnaire (PELBA-Q). The PELBA-Q was piloted with 173 Hong Kong parents of kindergarten-aged children and validated with another sample of 278 parents. Based on a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the PELBA-Q includes 20-items under four factors (i.e., perceived importance of the home environment; perceived child’s English ability and self-efficacy; normative beliefs; and control beliefs). The construct validity of PELBA-Q was established by examining its relationship with home literacy practices and family characteristics. Study Three examined the relationship between the home environment, interest, and young Chinese children’s ES/FL development. Two hundred and seventy-four Hong Kong kindergarten children were assessed on their English language (i.e., receptive and expressive vocabulary), literacy (i.e., letter knowledge and word reading), and phonological awareness skills, as well as their interest in learning English. Their parents provided information on family demographics, home learning environment (HLE), and beliefs about supporting young children’s English development. Results indicated that specific factors of the HLE were differently related to young children’s English language and literacy development. Parental beliefs and family SES were both directly and indirectly correlated with English developmental outcomes through the HLE. Children’s interest was also related to their English language outcomes and parents’ perception of their child’s English ability and self-efficacy was associated with children’s interest in learning English. This thesis contributes to existing research that examines contextual influences on early S/FL development in Asian contexts. The findings highlight the importance of the home environment on young children’s ES/FL development, and the role of interest in early S/FL learning.