Promoting First Language Maintenance in a Bilingual Family Literacy Program With Immigrant and Refugee Communities: What Do Parents Say?

• In Event: Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Promoting First Language Maintenance in a Bilingual Family Literacy Program With Immigrant and Refugee Communities: What Do Parents Say?

Abstract

In this paper, we share how immigrant and refugee parents who participated with their four and five year old children in a year long, bilingual family literacy program perceive first language (L1) maintenance. Although researchers have documented positive effects of bilingual family literacy programs, there is a dearth of research on how participating families perceive LI maintenance. Drawing on data from field notes and focus group sessions, we found that families: 1) generally supported L1 maintenance and valued the bilingual program; 2) saw cultural, communicative (intergenerational), instrumental, linguistic, and social reasons to maintain L1; 3) valued the bilingual books and learning materials they received; but 4) occasionally expressed concern that their young children’s English learning would be negatively impacted.

Authors

• Jim Anderson, The University of British Columbia

• Ann Anderson, The University of British Columbia