Raising bilingual children: Factors in maintaining a heritage language

This study examined the language development of linguistic minority preschool-age children in a longitudinal study, with a focus on heritage language maintenance and loss. Families in the study came from Korean American immigrant backgrounds (N = 24). Children's language abilities in English and Korean were assessed in a variety of domains: receptive and expressive vocabulary in both English and Korean, Korean grammar, and Korean accent. Study I examined the language development of the children over the course of a year, with a comparison of children in bilingual vs. all-English preschool programs. Overall, children showed development in both Korean and English in both types of preschool programs, with few differences. There was some limited evidence that children in all-English programs might be exceeding children in bilingual programs in English expressive vocabulary development at the end of the year, while trailing them in Korean expressive vocabulary development. Study 2 examined factors in the home environment that might predict children's maintenance of Korean language proficiency and use over the course of the year. A sub-sample of Study 1 families participated in Study 2, which included the Korean language assessment measures, a parent-child story-time interaction, and the Ecocultural Family Interview. In terms of predictors of Korean language maintenance, the study focused on the following factors: heritage language support in the home, positive attitudes toward the heritage language, and heritage culture support. Results indicate that Korean language support, both as reported by parents and as observed in the story-time interaction, reliably predicts children's continued use of Korean. These results suggest that linguistic minority parents can influence their children's maintenance of the heritage language in important ways.