The relationship of home language and literacy practices to biliteracy development among immigrant bilingual children: A review of studies from 2014 to 2023

Abstract

Immigrant families bring myriad strengths through their home literacy practices, which contribute to their children's biliteracy growth. This systematic review critically analysed 28 recent studies on the relationship between home literacy practices and biliteracy development of immigrant bilingual children. Against a backdrop of host societies that emphasize immigrant children's second language (L2) and devalue their first language (L1), many studies indicated that home literacy practices in either L1 or L2 were associated with stronger literacy development in the same language for immigrant children of varying ages and language backgrounds at the same time point; further, cross-linguistic relationships seemed to be neutral or negative, mostly measured at one point in time. However, these findings should not be taken as recommendations, as very few studies examined these relationships longitudinally or accounted for change in home practices. Additionally, other factors, such as school programmes, socioeconomic status (SES) and length of residence in the host country, may affect these relationships. Importantly, L1 generally required more support in order to develop in these contexts, but a few longitudinal studies suggest that L1 development need not come at the expense of L2 achievement. Additional experimental and longitudinal studies that value immigrant families' L1s are needed to elucidate these relationships.