Family language policy and bilingual parenting in multilingual Singapore: latent profiles and its predictors

• Luyao Liang ^[1] ; Dandan Wu ^[2] ; Hui Li ^[1]
  1. [1] Macquarie University

     Macquarie University

     Australia

     
  2. [2] Education University of Hong Kong

     Education University of Hong Kong

     RAE de Hong Kong (China)

     
• Localización: Journal of multilingual and multicultural development, ISSN 0143-4632, Vol. 45, Nº. 7, 2024, págs. 2557-2574
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This study explored the family language policy, bilingual parenting profiles, and the predictors among Chinese parents in Singapore. Altogether 175 parents of Chinese-English bilingual preschoolers (aged 2;6–5;6) were sampled and surveyed. The research results indicated that: (1) a majority of the parents (93.7%) believed in early bilingualism but differed in their beliefs about the appropriate starting age for early bilingualism; (2) two latent profiles of bilingual parenting emerged: Radical Bilingual Parenting (n = 91, 52.00%, bilingual reading activities from Age 2, longer hours of bilingual parent–child conversation); Moderate Bilingual Parenting (84, 48.00%, bilingual reading activities after Age 3, shorter hours of bilingual parent–child conversation); and (3) child’s age, their preschool education experience, and parents’ belief about the appropriate age to start early bilingualism predicted the profile of bilingual parenting. Implications for language policymaking and early bilingual parenting are discussed.