Distinct pathways from parental cultural orientation to young childrenʹs bilingual development

Among immigrant families, parents are important socialization agents in transmitting cultural practices to their children, including the use of the heritage language (HL). In the current study, we examined whether parentsʹ cultural orientation facilitates childrenʹs (N = 79; Mage = 5.11 years; 57% boys; 50% enrolled in HL schools) HL and English proficiency through either parentsʹ cultural maintenance values or HL use. Whereas parentsʹ general commitment to promoting cultural maintenance was not predictive of childrenʹs HL proficiency, the specific practice of HL use with their children supported childrenʹs HL development without adversely affecting their English proficiency. Parentsʹ American cultural orientation was not related to childrenʹs HL development. Findings suggest that the specific practice of HL use, rather than general cultural maintenance values, represents the link by which parentsʹ ethnic cultural orientation might support childrenʹs HL development.