Parents’ Attitudes Towards Their Children’s Multi-Language Learning

Abstract

Parents have a central role in their children’s multi-language learning (MLL). To date, the link between parents’ attitudes, motivations, and involvement remains underexplored. The present qualitative study draws from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a sensitizing framework to explore how parents’ attitudes and personal language experiences relate to their motivations for, and subsequent involvement in, their children’s MLL. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 monolingual and multilingual parents with children between the ages 4 and 10. A two-cycle coding approach helped to identify three overarching themes: parents’ experiences, parents’ motivations, and parents’ involvement. Parents overwhelmingly endorsed their children’s MLL and had very positive attitudes, regardless of linguistic and immigrant identities. Findings suggest that parents’ personal language histories are associated with their motivations, which are in turn related to the nature and degree of their involvement in their children’s MLL. There were some differences between parents: multilingual parents, for example, more frequently emphasized heritage language maintenance (HLM) and reported higher levels of active involvement compared to monolingual parents. Monolingual parents more often foregrounded instrumental motivations and described comparatively passive forms of engagement. Contextual factors (e.g., community resources, children’s preferences) also contributed to parents’ motivations and involvement. By conceptualizing attitudes, experiences, motivations, and involvement as interrelated processes rather than isolated factors, this study extends existing research and highlights nuanced similarities and differences across parents with diverse linguistic backgrounds. Implications for family language policy planning, educational practices, as well as ways to foster community support for multilingual development are discussed.