Predictability of home language environment factors on reading performance in English in bilingual children

• Main Author: Low, Qian Xi
• Other Authors: Annabel Chen Shen-Hsing
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/163091
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Bilingualism has always been a topic of research interest, especially how the knowledge of two languages mediates the reading performance in children. Past research had found that bilingual learners outperformed their monolingual counterparts on reading assessments and that bilingual learners are able to transfer linguistic skills from one language to another. Home language environment factors such as language exposure and language usage had been found to positively predict reading performance in bilingual children. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the predictability of home language environment factors on English reading performance in English-Chinese bilingual children. 168 bilingual children were administered behavioural tests and a language background questionnaire, and followed up after 2 years. Statistical analyses found that some of the home language environment factors were significant predictors of English reading performance, such as English reading motivation. Additionally, English language exposure and Chinese reading motivation were significant predictors of phonological awareness. These findings contribute to existing research on bilingual children in Singapore to further understand the unique linguistic context of Singapore and the role of home language environment on reading performance and language development in bilingual children.