Immigrant families’ home use of electronic and online Icelandic L2 materials for children

This article presents two studies performed on 14 immigrant families with children aged one to 16; 12 families in Iceland and two Icelandic families living abroad. Lack of exposure and availability of online materials for learning Icelandic as an L2 may affect what skills children can practise at home. This study represents 32 children aged one to 16, all of whom practise Icelandic (L2) at home. Data regarding use and availability of online and offline learning materials were collected by means of a survey containing both open-ended and closed questions. A comprehensive, central directory of available materials was created in parallel as a desktop research. These studies reveal that Icelandic is spoken in most homes but children require further development of specific language skills, predominantly reading. Families consider reading, writing, and vocabulary to be the most important skills to practise, while grammar, speaking, and listening take lower priority. Children’s books are the most frequently used learning material, while textbooks, audiobooks, and other language programmes or apps are used less frequently. TV, films, and online channels (e.g. YouTube) are used to provide language exposure.