Congratulations to Frances on her Honors Thesis

Congratulations to Frances for receiving “Highest Honors” on her Honors Thesis entitled “Home Environment and Oral Proficiency: Emerging Bilinguals from Immigrant Families”.

Frances will be presenting her research at the annual AERA conference this spring 2021. 

Abstract: Since the 1950s, research has explored methods to improve English proficiency for dual language learners (DLLs). More research is needed on the factors that influence language development among the various DLL groups, including their language exposure and home experiences. To address the gaps in the literature, this study examined the roles of language exposure, language usage, and home practices on children’s bilingual proficiency. A total of 28 DLLs from Mexican-American and 61 DLLs from Chinese-American families were recruited from Head Start centers in Northern California. Parents were interviewed about their child’s hourly language exposure, usage, and home literacy practices. Children were assessed on their bilingual proficiency with the Picture Vocabulary, Oral Comprehension, and Understanding Directions subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson Test. Results show no significant difference in the bilingual proficiencies between the two groups. There were differences in the language practices between the two groups. Correlation results show significant relationships between oral proficiency and home practices, including reading frequency, books in the home, language exposure, language usage, and storytelling in both English and the home language. Regression results suggest that increased time spent reading and language usage is beneficial for DLL’s oral proficiency for both languages. Overall, results suggest that DLLs from Mexican-American and Chinese-American families have more similarities than differences, and the results support previous findings that the home environment influences DLLs’ bilingual proficiency.