Home Literacy Environment and Chinese-Canadian First Graders’ Bilingual Vocabulary Profiles: A Mixed Methods Analysis

Guofang Li (), Zhuo Sun, Fubiao Zhen, Xuejun Ryan Ji and Lee Gunderson
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Guofang Li: Department of Language & Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Zhuo Sun: Department of Language & Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Fubiao Zhen: Department of Language & Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Xuejun Ryan Ji: Department of Language & Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Lee Gunderson: Department of Language & Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-14

Abstract: Bilingual children in the North American context significantly improve in English language proficiency, but their heritage language learning varies between different linguistic groups. This mixed methods study was designed to explore the developmental patterns in bilingual vocabulary among Chinese-Canadian first-graders’ ( N = 75) and to identify home factors that may have contributed to divergent bilingual developmental trajectories. Cluster analyses were conducted to identify underlying discrepancy profiles in bilingual oral lexicon. Four children with contrasting bilingual profiles were selected for qualitative analysis to explore home factors that may have contributed to the discrepancies. Thematic analyses of parental interviews revealed several family factors such as beliefs and attitudes toward bilingualism, quality literacy engagement, and sibling dynamics, that all appearing to contribute to the discrepancies.

Keywords: bilingual vocabulary; developmental differences; home literacy environment; language beliefs; language choices; sibling dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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