Exploring the Language Ideologies and Decision-Making Process of Parents to Third-Grade Spanish-English Emergent Bilinguals

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Parental Views and Family Engagement in the Context of Bilingual Language Development

Abstract

Using a family language policy (King & Fogle, 2016) framework, the current study explores the language ideologies (i.e., Vygotsky, 1931 in Martínez-Roldan & Malavé, 2004) and language of instruction decision-making process (Collier & Thomas, 2004) of parents of Emergent Bilingual (EB) students, both of which may have long-term impacts on EB students’ academic achievement and heritage language maintenance or loss. Parents of third-grade Spanish-English EB students in this study challenge monolingual U.S. language ideologies through their aspirations and commitment to raising bilingual children. Regardless of the chosen language of instruction, all of the parents identified the importance for their children to not only develop proficiency in English, but to also maintain proficiency in their heritage language.

Author

• Marlen Quintero Pérez, University of California - Los Angeles