Immigrant parents and children navigating two languages: A scoping review

Upon initiating school, immigrant children begin to lose much of their heritage language (HL) abilities, resulting in the erosion of a common shared language with their parents. Although communication is fundamental to positive parent-child relationships, research on the effects of navigating two languages is missing from most family theories regarding immigrant populations. This scoping review provides a comprehensive overview of the literatures from family science, child development, communication, and applied linguistics regarding how immigrant families navigate the adoption of a host country's language and the maintenance of their HL, and how this process impacts parent-child relationships. Results indicate that (a) the literature is relatively small and underdeveloped; (b) there is a limiting focus on individual language proficiency rather than a dyadic or familial communicative process; and (c) child HL proficiency is strongly correlated with healthier parent-child relationships and child outcomes. Limitations and future directions are discussed.