Investigating Parental Beliefs and Home Literacy Environment on Chinese Kindergarteners’ English Literacy and Language Skills

The study investigated how parental belief and family socio economic status (SES) were related to the home literacy environment and to early literacy-related skills in a foreign language (English). Eighty-six Chinese children in kindergarten ( M age = 5 years 5 months, 44 girls) were assessed on English phonological awareness, English receptive vocabulary, English expressive vocabulary, Chinese receptive vocabulary, and nonverbal intelligence. Parents completed a questionnaire about family demographics, home literacy environment, and parental belief on the importance of early English literacy skills. Principal component analysis revealed three dimensions of home literacy environment: Formal Literacy Activity, Informal Language Exposure, and Passive Literacy Exposure. Results showed that parental belief and family SES were important predictors of home literacy environment, which further explained 44% of the variance in early English language and literacy skills. Parental belief indirectly predicted children’s English receptive vocabulary and expressive vocabulary through Informal Language Exposure, and phonological awareness through Formal Literacy Activity. The results underpinned the importance of parents’ involvement at home and the potential feasibility of interventions on parental beliefs in helping children develop early language and literacy skills in English as a foreign language.