Home Environment and Second-Language Acquisition: The Importance of Family Capital Author(s): Guofang Li Source: British Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol. 28, No. 3 (May, 2007), pp. 285-299 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30036207 . Accessed: 10/03/2011 09:48 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=taylorfrancis. . 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Taylor & Francis, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to British Journal of Sociology of Education. http://www.jstor.org British ofEducation JournalofSociology Vol.28, No. 3, May 2007,pp. 285-299 I Routledge WFrancis Taylor Group Home environmentand secondlanguage acquisition: the importance of familycapital GuofangLi* USA MichiganStateUniversity, Framed withinColeman's theoryof familycapital,thisarticleexamineshow different home variables such as familyphysical,humanand social capitalaffectimmigrant children'ssecond-language acquisitionin the homes of four Chinese immigrantfamiliesin Canada. Specifically,the study in second language betweenfamilyphysicalcapitaland familyinvestment analyzestherelationships learning,betweenparentalhuman capital and levelsof parentalinvolvement,and betweenfamily social capital and access to familialand communityresources.The analysisdemonstratesthat parentaleducationalbackgrounds,theiroccupationalchoicesand chances,and theiradaptationand integrationinto Canadian societyhad a significantimpact on the families'accumulation and activationoffamilycapitalto supporttheirchildren'ssecond-languagelearning. Introduction Researchon second-language acquisitionoverthepast 20 yearshas focusedmainly on linguistic and cognitive schoolsites(Ellis, aspectsofEnglishlearningintraditional school 1994; Lazaraton,1995; Cummins,2000). Althoughresearchin traditional has on it has created settings yieldedsignificant knowledge second-language learning, a misguidedpicturethatsecond-language learningoccursonlywithintheboundaries ofofficial suchas English-as-a-second-language classrooms.Recentresearch settings froma widevariety ofdisciplines that and is deeply learning suggests language literacy embeddedin thesocialfabricofschoolsand homesand thatschoolsuccessis dependentupon a complexcombinationofhomeand schoolvariablesthatmayvaryfrom childto child(Hull & Schultz,2002; Li, 2006). Therefore, itis significant to explore thelearningenvironments ofminority studentsoutsideschoolin theirspecifichome contexts. *AssociateProfessor, 350 Erickson DepartmentofTeacher Education,MichiganStateUniversity, Hall, East Lansing,MI 48824, USA. Email: liguo@msu.edu ISSN 0142-5692 (print)/ISSN1465-3346 (online)/07/030285-15 C 2007 Taylor& Francis DOI: 10.1080/01425690701252028 286 G. Li studieshave suggestedthatthehomeenvironment has a direct Manyquantitative in on children'sacademic achievement school (Fuligni, 1997; impact immigrant & Guetschow,1998; Parcel & Dufur,2001). However,veryfewstudies Gettinger haveexploredin depthhow different homevariablesinteract to influenceimmigrant children'ssecond-languagelearning,and in whatwaysthesevariablesdifferentiate of those childrenwho are more successfulin second-language the environments from those who are less so. acquisition hereaimsto addressthisgap byexploringin The ethnographic studysummarized the of home environments four Chinese familiesin Canada. The depth immigrant and home describes different home study literacyenvironments, how different variablesshapequalitatively ofEnglish-asdifferent languageacquisitionexperiences More the how these children. importantly, studyinvestigates a-second-language homevariablesintersect, and how theintersection mighthave shapedthechildren's successor failureto learna secondlanguage. Theoretical framework The theoreticalorientation thisstudyis the social theoryof familycapital framing as a dynamicentity thatthefamily (Coleman,1988, 1990, 1991). Colemanmaintains transforms various forms of from the actively capital parent generationinto educationalattainmentin the children'sgeneration.In Coleman's theory,family includesthreedistinctformsof capital-physicalor financialcapital, environment and shouldbe dealt with humancapitaland social capital-whichare interrelated interdependently. Physicalcapital refersto the materialresourcesthat can be measuredby familyincome and wealth; that is, theirsocioeconomicstanding. thatis embodiedin Human capitalis theindividual'slevelofeducationalattainment Social skillsand capabilitiesto act in certainsocial structures. a person'sknowledge, thatareaccesand inthecommunity to thesocialresourcesinthefamily capitalrefers thatexistin the family sible to the family;it is the networkof social relationships social capital) or betweenthe familyand the community(between(within-family 1998). Together,the threeformsof familysocial capital) (Hao & Bonstead-Bruns, social human and familycapital-physical, capital-reflectthe quality of the children'shomeenvironment. factorin shapingstudents'academic First,familyphysicalcapitalis a significant a socioeconomic from Children higher standingare oftensocialized performance. intohigh-brow culturalactivitiesat home,whichincluderegularvisitsto theaters, concerts,museumsand libraries,and/orinterestin literatureand art (Bourdieu, 1977; Bourdieu & Passerson, 1977). Through these culturalactivities,parentsestablish 'the intellectualclimate fortheirchildren's educational aspirations,motivations to achieve, and hence, performancein schools' (Wong, 1998, p. 5) and thereforewill more probably ensure theirschool success. Agreeingwith these conclusions, Coleman cautions that differencesin physical capital are not determinantsof the quality of children'sfamilyenvironment.It does not determinewhat the familiescan do with literacybecause even familiesfroma lower socioeconomic status can provide quality and second-language Home environment acquisition 287 fortheirchildren(Taylor& Dorseylanguageand literacylearningenvironments Gaines, 1988; Compton-Lilly, 2003). Parentalhuman capital,especiallythatof mothers,is an importantfactorthat affectsa home languageand literacyenvironment (Taylor,1995; Parcel & Dufur, fortheir mayhavehighaspirations 2001). Parentswithlittleeducationalbackground children'slanguageand literacyachievements just as parentsof highereducation theirinvolvement in languageand levels.However,theireducationlevelmayrestrict withtheirchildrenat home (Purcell-Gates,1995; Rogers, literacylearningactivities havedifferent educationalbackgrounds beliefs, 2003; Li, 2004). Parentsofdifferent in in and interact different child use different wayswith rearing, teachingstrategies inparent-child theirchildren(McGillicuddy-DeLisi, 1982). For example,theydiffer to with verbalinteraction, the child; books;strucearlyexperience includingreading television(TV) watchingand expectedbedtimes; turedlifestyles withrulesregarding to read (Guthrie& parents'reading;access to readingmaterials;and opportunities Parcel & Dufur,2001). Greaney,1991; The conceptofsocialcapitalis also a significant indicatorofqualityfamily environment.Coleman suggeststhattherelationships and interactions betweenadultsand childrenand theirsocial networksare valuableresourcesto children'slearningat in children'slearningat home home. Social capitalsuch as parents'participation ofotherformsoffamily 'facilitates and enhancestheconversion capitalintochildren's humancapital'(Wong,1998,p. 4). Colemanpostulatesthatrelationships outsidethe and interactions withteachers,commufamily(such as thefamily'ssocialnetworks are also For members and other families, significant. manyimmigrant nity parents) these social networksmay be importantresourcesto understandschoolingand to facilitate theirchildren'slearningin thehostcountry(Li, developcopingstrategies Portes & 2006; MacLeod, 1996). into children'seducational However,not all familycapitalcan be transformed as attainment. Onlywhenparentsuse theirphysicaland humancapitaleffectively resourcesdoes itbecomesignificant to theirchildren'seducationalattainment (Colein theactivation offamily man, 1988; Field etal., 2000). Furthermore, capitaldiffers different contextsas itdependson thevalueattachedto theformsofcapitalin family a particularsetting,the family'sprocess and skillsto translatetheircapital into educationalresources, and thelegitimacy theinstitutions accordtheseformsoffamily capital(Lareau & Horvat,1999). In thisstudy,I analyzehow different formsof familycapitalplayedout in four Chineseimmigrant and how homeenvironments families, theyhelpedshapedifferent and theirchildren'sopportunities to acquire second languageand literacy.As the will the three formsoffamilycapitalare intricately linkedand findings demonstrate, overlapping,and at times it is difficultto disentanglethem. Methodology This ethnographicstudy involved four Chinese familiesin two differentneighborhoods in a universitytown in Western Canada. The four families included two 288 G. Li academic families(the Li1 familyand the Zhang family)withthe fathersbeing and two entrepreneurial families(The Ye graduatestudentsin thelocal university, familyand the Liu family)who operatedrestaurantbusinessesin an inner-city neighborhood. For an eight-month period,September1998-April1999,I visitedthefourfamilies intheirhomesand/orrestaurants. and each Myvisitsaveragedoncea weekperfamily visitlastedtwoto threehours.I conductedparticipant observations ofthefamiliesin different theresearchlabosettingssuch as thehome,parks,thefamilyrestaurants, ofoccasionssuch ratories, publiclibrariesand shoppingcenters,and duringa variety as familydinners,holidaycelebrations, and reunions. Since I am a familyoutings I couldparticipate researcher, bilingualChinese/English fullyin thefamilyactivities. Our co-ethnicbackgroundalso allowedme to befriendthe familiesand establisha the influenceof my presenceon the families' good rapportwiththem;therefore, interactions was minimizedand theymostlycarriedon theireveryday lifeas usual. these I took field notes and attention to the observations, During paid special families'languageenvironments, theparents'relationships and interactions withtheir and relationships withpeople in thecommuchildren,and thefamilies'interactions nities.I also notedtheirculturalactivitiesand access to resourcesassociatedwith second-languageand literacyacquisition.Duringthe data collectionperiod,I also conductedsemi-structured and informal interviews withtheparents.Throughthese interviews I gainedinformation abouttheireducationalbackgrounds and earlyimmigrationexperiences,theirlanguageand literacybeliefs,and theirperspectiveson cross-cultural living.Due to the limitedscope of thisstudy,I did not conductany researchin theschoolsites,and collecteddata onlyin themilieuofthefourfamilies. I used generictheorizingprocesses(Goetz & LeCompte, 1984) and thematic an interpretive analysisprocedures(Bogdan& Biklen,1992) to construct description and representation ofthedifferent home environments and theireffects on thechildren'ssecond-language suchas codingand analytical acquisition.I utilizedstrategies to identify themesacrossthe fourfamilies.These themeswerefurther categorizing on thebasis ofthetheoretical interests thisresearch. interpreted under-girding The fourfamilies and theirchildren In theLi family, bothparentshad bachelor'sdegreesin science,and wereengineers in China.The father, Li-yong,cameto studyfora master'sdegreeat thelocaluniverin and was son,Yang, joinedbyhiswife,Nie-dong,and theirfive-year-old sity 1997, in 1998. The Li family livedon thefather's Halfa year initially graduateassistantship. later,in late 1998, Nie-dong was employed as a part-timelaboratoryassistantin her husband's department.At the time of the study,Yang was a grade one student and was beginningto learn English in a nearbypublic elementaryschool whose majority population were white,middle-class children. In the Zhang family,fatherZhang-bo, who was an associate professorin a Chinese university,came to studyas a post-doctoralfellowat the local universityin 1996, and was joined by his wifeWang-ling,a librarian,and theirfive-year-olddaughter,Yue, Homeenvironment andsecond-language acquisition289 in 1997. AfterZhang-bofinishedhis post-doctoral trainingin 1998, and could not finda job, he enrolledin an undergraduate programin computerscience.Afterstaying home forfivemonths,Wang-lingfounda sewingfactoryjob and earnedthe Canadian minimumwage in orderto supportthefamily whileherhusbandstudied. Yue was a gradetwo studentin thesame schoolas Yang and was alreadyfluentin levelin all subjectareas. spokenEnglishand was meetingtheexpectedperformance oftheirextendedfamily The Ye family to Canada with the immigrated sponsorship Tim Ye was a salesmanwitha highschooleducation,and the in 1995. The father, motherSue was a professionalsoccer playerwitha juniorhigheducation.They workedat severalChineserestaurants as kitchenhelpersfora coupleofyearsbefore businessin a lowersocioeconomicneighborhood. theyoperatedtheirownrestaurant The restaurant was also theirhome.Theirthreechildrenwerebornin Canada. Amy, who was almostthree,was alreadyfluentin spokenEnglish,and wouldsoon go to preschool;Lucywas two;and Andywas fourmonthsold. The Liu family had been in Canada thelongest.The father, Peter,whohad onlya four in in education had been for 17 Canada China, grade years,and the mother, Kathy,who had a grade 12 educationin China,had been in Canada for21 years. in Chinabeforetheyimmigrated Bothofthemwerefactory workers to Canada. Similarto theYe family, bothofthemworkedmanyyearsin different manuallaborjobs such as factory beforetheyopened their workers,kitchenhelpersand dishwashers The Liu family's ownrestaurant businessin thesameneighborhood as theYe family. housewas locateda fewblocksawayfromtherestaurant. The family was sharingthe housewitha sisterand hertwochildren, and theirparents.Theyhad fourchildrenan eight-year-old son Daniel,whowas ingradeone,and threedaughters, 14-year-old Gina. Amongthesefourchildren,Erinand Erin, 15-year-old Fay, and 16-year-old Gina werefluentin Englishand were doingokayin school. Fay and Daniel were withEnglishand werein specialneedsprograms.Fay was able to converse struggling in English,butDaniel was unableto conversein Englishor Chinese.All thechildren attendednearbyinner-city schoolswhosemajority community populationwas under privileged Aboriginal people. Findings and investment insecond-language Physicalcapital,homeenvironment learning thatphysicalcapitalis notthecrucialfactor My studyconcurswithColeman'stheory thatinfluences whatthefamiliescan do withliteracy; it is thefamilies'choice rather, ofinvestment oftheirphysicalcapitalthatmatters. The findings suggestthatphysical capitalplayedout in the fourfamiliesin different ways.Althoughnone of thefour in theirchildren'slearning pairsofparentswerefluentin English,theirinvestment different environments at home. prescribedfundamentally second-language At thetimeof the study,the Zhangfamilywas struggling The whole financially. familylived on Wang-ling'sminimumwage fromher sewingfactoryjob. Their furniture camefromgaragesales,leftovers fromfriends and garbagedumpedbyother 290 G. Li Theirmostvaluablepossessionsweretheircomputer, people in theneighborhood. and TV. in a baseHowever,theydecidedto renta two-bedroom piano apartment mentso thattheirdaughtercouldhavea betterenvironment to studyand to practice thepiano.Althoughtheycouldnotafford newbooksin English,theywentto garage sales to buy Englishstorybooks and reference books such as the Canadian Picture to provide Dictionaryfortheirdaughter.Theyalso madefulluse ofthepubliclibrary materials and children's for videos their For her Englishreading daughter. drawings, theyused recycledpaper. Despite theirtightbudget,theysenttheirdaughterto a half-hour piano lessoneveryweek. The Li family was in a betterfinancial had Li-yong'sgraduateassissituation-they assistant.They choseto live tantshipand Nie-dong'swage as a part-time laboratory in a cheap apartmentwithonly a bedroomand a small kitchen.They had two and a kitchentable.Their mattresses on theflooras theirbeds, a deskforstudying, mostvaluablepossessionsincludeda TV, VCR, an electrickeyboardforYang to practicemusic,and twotallbookshelveswithall kindsofbooks. They made use of theirlimitedspace and turnedit intoa 'classroom.'On theirwalls,thereweremaps fortheirson's interestin geography, alphabetposters,Yang's drawingsand other materials. Like the the learning Zhangs, Lis also made fulluse ofthepubliclibrary and borrowedchildren'sbooks,and audio and video materialsforYang so thathe couldlearnEnglish.Buttheyalso setaside a smallbudgetforYang to buynewinforin science,they mationalbooksfromschoolcatalogues.To cultivateYang's interest also wentto different book fairsto buyused books,magazinesand journalssuch as Owl. They also visitedlocal bookstoresto buyworkbooksin English-language arts and mathematics forYang to practiceat home. Besidesthesematerials, theirapartmentwas also fullofotherkindsofprintmaterialsincludingChinesetextbooks, the textbooks and notebooks from their Bible studies, materials, parents' university and Yang's drawings.This printrichenvironment Englishand Chinesenewspapers, withreadingand writing forYang to interact (Lesman providedampleopportunities & Jong,1998). familieswerebetteroffthanthetwoacademic Financiallythetwoentrepreneurial the chilIn theYe family, choicesof investments. families,but theymade different drenwereexposedto a richoralEnglishenvironment but theparentsdid notmake inproviding different fortheirchildren'sreading anyspecialinvestment opportunities orwriting restaurant practices.The Ye childrenspentmostoftheirtimein thefamily whiletheparentsTim and Sue cookedand servedthecustomers. Amyusuallyplayed withtheirAboriginalcustomers who spokevernacular English(Englishas a Dialect); Lucywas putin a cardboardbox and playedbyherself;and Andystayedin a car seat all thetime.The Ye childrendid nothave anychildren'sbooks,pencils,crayonsor otherchildren'sreadingor writingmaterialsthatwere considered necessaryresources for children to develop emergent literacy (Teale, 1986). Differentfrom the two academic families,their only exposure to printwas throughthe goods sold at the restaurantsuch as printon menu boards, Coke cans and cigarettepackets. Since Tim and Sue were busy withtheirwork,theyneverhad time to take theirchildrento the libraryor outside to play. andsecond-language Homeenvironment acquisition291 The Liu family livedin a spacioushomeand had thebestfinancialsituationamong thefourfamilies.In theirhome,therewerefiveTVs and VCRs; and in theirrestauwas characrant,thereweretwoTVs and VCRs. However,theirhomeenvironment terizedby a lack of printin eitherChinese or Englishdue to theirchoice of in termsofbuyingbooks,buttheychose Peterand Kathywereunsparing investment. to buy classics ratherthan children'sbooks. The Liu childrenhad only a few children'sbooks such as Archie'sComic Books,whichwereneatlystackedin their bedroom.A fewyearsago, theyspentabout Canadian$10,000 (Kathyworkedas a dishwasher to earnthemoney)and boughta wholesetoftheworld'sgreatclassicsof and thinkers such 100 titlesthatincludedthemostsophisticated readingsbywriters as Aristotle, Socrates,Shakespeareand Einstein.Since none of the childrencould readthem,theywerestillintheirplasticwrappersinboxespiledin theirstorageroom in the restaurant. Besides purchasingthese classics,Kathyand Peteralso bought in Englishso thatthechildrencouldwatchthemafterschool. children's videos many Sincethechildrendid notwatchanyregularTV programs, foryearstheirTVs could notreceiveTV programsand theydid notgetthemfixed.Similarto theYe parents, the Liu parentsnevervisitedthe local publiclibrariesor anybookstoreswiththeir children.In sum, the Liu familyinvesteda lot of theirphysicalcapital in their children'sreading(worldclassics)and oral (video) materials,but theirinvestment was not favorablein providingexposureto and engagementwithage-appropriate materialsand forfostering withand knowledgeof writtenor interactive familiarity orallanguage(Teale, 1986). and second-language Humancapital,parentalinvolvement learning forthechildren'seducationand offered Althoughall parentshad highexpectations moral supportfortheirchildren'slearning,theirhuman capital,especiallytheir in bothChina and Canada, significantly individuallevelsof educationalattainment influencedtheirabilityand possibilityto be activelyinvolvedin theirchildren's second-language learningat home. In theacademicfamilies, theparentsallhad at leastbachelor'sdegreesfromChina. The two fathershad experiencedhighereducationin Canada. Their educational theirabilityto read,writeand speakEnglish,werereflected experiences, particularly in their(especiallythat of the mothers')intenseinvolvement in theirchildren's English-language learningat home. Influencedby theirschoolingexperiencesin directinstrucChina,theysupportedtheirchildren'sEnglishlearning mainlythrough and and moral tion,parentsupervision monitoring, parentalmodeling support.In the two academicfamiliesdirectinstruction includedusingchildren'sbooks as textsto learnEnglishspelling,vocabulary,grammarand sentences.The mothersacted as teacherswhodictatedEnglishtexts,assignedand supervised the theirchildinreciting forexample,Wang-ling texts,and correctedthe child'swork.In the Zhang family, used children'sstoriessuch as HenryBabysitsand The Farmer'sWifeas textsfor sinceYang was a beginninglearner,Li-yongand teachingEnglish.In theLi family, made wordlists fromchildren'sstorybooksforYang to learn Nie-dong bilingual 292 G. Li Englishwords.They also made flashcardswithnew Englishwords,and had Yang to practicespellingand handwriting. hand-copythesentencesfromstorybooks They also let the childrenread and recitethe storieson theirown. Sometimestheytook turnsto readthealternate linesofa storyto makereadingmorefunoruse audiotapes fromthelibrary to guidetheirchildrenin reading. The academic parentsalso influencedtheirchildren'slearningthroughhigh aspirationsand strongmoralsupport.Yang's parentsencouragedhimto studyhard and setgoalsforhimself so thathe couldgo to HarvardMedicalSchoolwhenhe grew Yue wanted to becomea teacherand herparentsmotivated herto do well up. Zhang in school:'ifyou don'tstudyhard,you can'tbecomea betterteacher.' In thetwoentrepreneurial none oftheparentshad morethana grade12 families, educationin China, and none of themhad any sortof schoolingexperiencesin Canada. In the Liu family,the fatherhad onlya grade foureducationwhilethe motherhad a grade12 educationin China. In theYe family, thefatherhad a grade 12 educationwhilethemotherhad a gradenineeducationin China.Sincetheirpriormanual ityhad been on economicsurvivaland theyhad been workingas low-paying had not had the to to school to learn laborers,they luxury formally go English.The Ye parentscouldspeaksomefunctional business,butthey Englishfortheirrestaurant could not read or writeEnglish.The Liu parentscould speak onlya fewgreeting wordsand phrasessuchas 'Hi,' 'howareyou' and 'good'; and couldnotreadorwrite in Englisheither.Their limitededucationalexperiences,especiallytheirlimited therolestheycould playin theirchildren'sEnglishliteracy Englishability,affected the learning.Although parentsweresupportiveof theirchildren'seducation,they wereunableto initiatereadingand writing in Englishat home. Because theycould not read Englishlettersfromtheirchildren'sschool,theydid not understandtheir children'sschoolperformance or school activitiesor attendparent-teacher conferences.Most ofthetime,a bilingualcustomerwho befriended thefamilywas called upon whentheirchildrenwerein troublein school. bothparentsworkedlonghourssevendaysa week, Moreover,inthesetwofamilies, and did not have timeto spendwiththeirchildren.In theLiu family, the children wereoftenleftunsupervised, most of their time videos at home. watching spending In theYe family, the childrenwerein theparents'sightin the restaurant, but they or interacting withthecustomers.Both spentmostofthetimeplayingbythemselves familiesplaced highhopes in schoolsto providetheirchildrenwitha qualityeducation.The Ye family, forexample,was trying to finda schoolforAmywherea French immersionprogramwas offeredso thatshe could learnboth Englishand French (Canada's officiallanguages).For the Liu parents,althoughtheycould not speak English, they realized that the schools did not give English homework to their children, especially Daniel and Fay, who had the most problems with learning English. They relied on my help to arrange a meeting with Fay's teacher and demanded English be added to theirdaughter's life-skilllearningprogramin which English literacywas not emphasized. In sum, the academic parentswithhigh levels of educational attainmentwere able to provide quality support for and involvementwith their children throughdirect andsecond-language Homeenvironment acquisition293 of improvedacademicperformance, or generalacademicguidance, reinforcement school verbal or interacfor encouragement performance, settinghighexpectations tionsregarding theentrepreneurial learningEnglish(Keithetal., 1986). In contrast, were unable to activate their human to facilitate their children'slearnparents capital ing because of theirlimitedEnglishabilityand theirdemandingjob circumstances in parentalinvolvement (Coleman, 1990; Lareau & Horvat,1999). The differences in thefourfamiliessuggestparentalhumancapitalis an important factorin shaping children'shomelearningexperiences. Socialcapital,socialintegration and accesstosecondlanguage Coleman (1988) pointsout thatifparentalhumancapitalis not complemented by to thechild'seducational social capitalembodiedin familyrelations,it is irrelevant in The children'shomeliteracy environments and theirparents'involvement growth. in therelationtheirlanguagelearningsuggestedthatthefourfamiliesalso differed betweenadultsand childrenand theirfamilysocialnetworks. shipsand interactions or not implicationsfortheir Possessing possessingtheseresourceshad significant access to Englishliteracy. In thetwoacademicfamilies, social capitalwas embodiednot onlyin theparents' sustainedinvolvement in theirchildren'sEnglishlearningdescribedin theprevious as section,but also in a varietyof sharedfamilyliteracyactivities.These activities, partoftheirdailyliving,oftenincludedmanyteachablemomentsthatbothchildren and parentsappearedto enjoy.For example,bothfamiliessharedwiththeirchildren in practicalreadingat home includingreadingflyersand junkmail,and tooktheir childrenwiththemforgrocery shoppingto provideexposureto printlanguageand to theparentsmade an effort to watchTV shows promotefamilyunity.Furthermore, such as six o'clock news programs, AllyMcBeal or videos in Chineseand English with their children. Whenwatching TV, bothfamilieskepttheclose caption together on so thatthe childrencould see thewordsspoken.Sometimes,theyalso involved theirchildrenin sharedwritingactivitiessuch as writinglettersto grandparents in China. In bothfamilies,verbalinteractions at home wereencouraged.The parents set a specialtimeeveryday to talkwiththeirchildrenabouttheirschoolexperiences. In theLi family, forexample,theyseta 'mother-son talk'timeeveryschoolnightfor enhancedthe Yang to talkaboutwhathe did at schooleveryday.These talksgreatly Li parents'understanding of theirson's school experiencesand his progressin wereat thetop thechildren'sschoolingand well-being English.In thesetwofamilies, ofthefamilies'agenda.Similarto manyChineseparentsreportedin research(Chao, 1996; Jiang,1997), theireveryday lifeschedulesrevolvedaroundtheirchildren's schedulesand theywerewillingto do whatever ittookto helptheirchildrensucceed in learning.In theZhangfamily, forexample,Wang-lingtooka lower-wagefactory waitressjob,becausethefactory job,insteadofa higher-wage job offered regularwork hoursand allowedherto spendmoretimewithherdaughter. Besidestheseactiveparent-child thetwoacademicfamiliesalso made interactions, an effort tobuilda socialnetwork intheircommunities, theEnglish-speaking especially 294 G. Li wheretheycould learnmoreEnglishlanguageand culture.Although communities bothfamiliesfoundit was hardto minglewiththelocal community, theymade an to getto knowmorenon-Chinese-speaking For effort the fathers, theyhad an people. fromtheuniversity academiccommunity whoweremostly non-Chinese.The mothers, who wereveryisolatedin theirwork,made a choiceto studyEnglishon weekends witha Jehovah'sWitnesslady,and attendedtheJehovah'sWitnesscongressdespite theirreligiousdifferences. They oftentooktheirchildrenwiththemto theseBible children.Yue Zhang,for studiesso thattheycouldplaywithotherEnglish-speaking found a she liked from the Bible example, playmate studygroupandwas keenon going to themeetingson weekends.The families'choiceto studytheBiblehad openedup moreopportunities forthemto speakand use English.Anothersocialnetwork forthe theirchildren'sweeklypiano lessons.Yue academicfamilieswas establishedthrough teacher,and, Zhanghad beentakingpianolessonsfora yearwithan English-speaking these and children. she met other Later, lessons, through English-speaking bilingual withthe Yang also startedtakinglessonsfromthisteacher.The families'affiliation also providedthemwithaccess to an English-language environment and university such as to western festival seasons use Christmas, they English.During opportunities Yue learnedhow to sing attendedChristmaspartiessponsoredby the university. and SilentNightfromthese Christmassongssuch as RudolphtheRedNosedReindeer them with interactive resourcesthrough In these activities provided parties. short, whichthesecondlanguageand culturewereacquired(Rohl, 1994). In the two entrepreneurial families,because the parentscould not spend time to generatesocial capitalthroughparent-child withthe children,the opportunity theparents interaction to facilitate learningwas greatlyreduced.In the Liu family, After saw children in to school. the the before went school,the morning they only TV on different setsin differvideosseparately childrenoftenwatchedtheirfavorite was minimized.In theYe entrooms,therefore theirinteractions amongthemselves at all timesin their their children Tim were with and Sue present family,although in to with them did not have time restaurant, any deliberateliteracy engage they activities. in which withthe communities The two familiesalso had different relationships was theleast in for almost 20 and Canada The Liu had been resided. years family they knownfor intothelocal community. Becausetheylivedin a neighborhood integrated crimeand robbery,the Liu childrenwereneverallowedto play outsidewithother children,and theywereraisednotto trustoutsidepeople. The familystayedwithin theirkinshipnetworkand socializedonlywiththeirextendedfamily.The children werenot allowedto have anyfriendsfromtheschools.The Liu familyalso choseto caterto Chinesecustomersfortheirbusiness.As a result,theydid not have much contact with English-speakingcustomers. The only non-Chinese friendthey made among theircustomerswas a Portuguesewoman who grewup in Hong Kong and was able to speak Chinese. She later acted as the family'sliaison with their children's schools. Because of the Liu family'slack of contact withthe outside community,the possibilities to accumulate social capital that could aid their children's secondlanguage learningwere thereforeseverelylimited. andsecond-language Homeenvironment acquisition295 Similarto theLiu children,theYe childrenhad notbeen orientedto community resourcessuch as libraries, parksor museums.However,thefamilyhad muchmore as theychose to caterfornon-Chinese access to the English-speaking environment all day and the Ye parents customers.Many customershungout at the restaurant with Amy,interacted developedgood rapportwiththem.The Ye family, particularly and wereforcedto learnand use functional thesecustomerseveryday, English;and them. For the customersweresupportiveand willingto teach example,one of the customerstaughtTim how to read classifiedadvertsin thelocal newspaperto find and negotiation wereinvaluable thingshe wantedto buy.Theirconstantinteraction resourcesfortheYe family's learning. English-language thefamilies'socialinteractions and relaThus, thesocialcapitalgeneratedthrough with the communities was linked withthe within the families and/or directly tionships children'saccess to second-language learning.This social capitalwas anotherfactor that mightcontributeto the success of Yue Zhang's, Yang Li's and Amy Ye's and theunderdevelopment of the Liu children,particularly languagedevelopment, Daniel whomighthavea learningdisability and need moresupportat home. Discussion in shaping This studysuggeststhatdifferent formsof familycapitalare significant Alltheparentsinthefour different homeenvironments forsecond-language learning. familiesplaced a highvalue on theirchildren'seducationalsuccess in learninga secondlanguage.Althoughtheyweresimilarin theireducationalaspirations fortheir thechildren'ssecond-language children,thewaysin whichtheyfostered learningat homeweredifferent. Fromthefourfamilies'homepracticesI described,itis obvious thattheaccumulationoffamilyphysical/financial capital(materialresources)is not thedeterminant ofthequalityofa family'slearningenvironment (Coleman, 1988); howthefamily utilizesitsexisting rather, family capitaland inwhatwaysitis invested in theirchildren'slearningplaya centralrolein constructing a positivelearningenvironment.For thetwoacademicfamilies, well-off, althoughtheywerenotfinancially were able to make choices and in educated invest a of material resources they variety thatwerebeneficial to theirchildren'slearning.For example,theymadeuse ofpublic resourcessuchas libraries to providereadingand writing materialsfortheirchildren. And theywereselectivein purchasing booksthatwerenotonlyage-appropriate, but ofinterest to theirchildren.Theirchoicesprovidedopportunities forchildrento have constantcontactwithreadingand writing. forexamFor theentrepreneurial families, the Liu much more in made of a financial investment ple, family,althoughthey was not purchasingbooks such as the EncyclopediaBritannica,theirinvestment effective in providingresourcesfortheirchildren'slanguagelearningbecause these bookswerenotusableor usefulfortheirchildren'simmediatelanguageneeds.Also, besidesthesebooks,theLiu childrenhad verylittleexposureor contactwithEnglish to literacyoutsideof thehome. The Ye familydid not knowthatit was important fortheirchildrento 'be doing'literacy. These findings provideopportunities support Coleman'stheorythatnotall investment offamily to children's capitalwas beneficial 296 G. Li that addresseschildren'sspecificdevelopmental education.Only the investment withreadingand writing)can be translatedinto needs (such as activeengagement successin learning. The factthatthe academicfamilieswereable to makemoreeducatedchoicesin thantheentrepreneurial theirinvestment parentssuggeststhatparents'humancapirole. Research tal (i.e. theireducationalattainments) mayhave playeda significant indicatesthatparentswithhighereducationallevelsare more aware of theirchildren'sacademicdevelopment(McGillicuddy-DeLisi,1982; Parcel& Dufur,2001). As I have described,the academicparentswho had much highereducationlevel frombothChina and Canada wereable to read,writeand speakEnglish,and they in werealso activelyinvolvedin theirchildren'slearning.Their activeinvolvement theirchildren'slearningmayhave providedinsightintowhattheirchildrenneeded familieswho were unable to be to improvetheirlearning.The entrepreneurial were unable to gainthisinsight.Therein involved their children's learning actively not inductive to theirchildren's that were made choices of investment fore,they learningneeds. My studysuggeststhatparentalhumancapitalis centralforthefamiliesto transfer otherformsoffamily capitalintotheirchildren'slanguagelearning.It is noteconomic factorsthatshaped class,but the educationaland occupational(job circumstances) in their in schooling.The differences forand involvement theparents'expectations and in parentinvolvement, educationand occupationstatusresultedin differences and the their to assist had at their the resources that children, disposal parents shaped the four famiThat to those resources. from their access lifechancesthatresulted is, and investment intheculturalresourcestheypossessedand theactivation liesdiffered of the resourcesinto culturalcapitalthatwas usefulfortheirchildren'slanguage theparentspossessed'cultural learning(Lareau,2000). In thetwoacademicfamilies, capital'acquiredthroughthe Chineseeducationsystem,supportedwithCanadian it ofgraduatestudents,and wereable to translate educationand a network university intoresourcesfortheirchildren'slanguagelearning.In theentrepreneurial families, theparentshad limitedexposureto formaleducationinbothChinaand Canada, and werenotfamiliar withtheculturalcapitaloftheeducationsystemin bothcountries. in English on theschoolto educatetheirchildren, relied particularly Therefore, they or speakers. as readers,writers language,withwhichtheyhad littlefamiliarity Parentaleducationalstatuswas also linkedto thesocialand culturalresourcesthat theireducationalstatusyielded (Lareau, 2000). First,as I have described,the academicparentswho had highereducationlevelsaccumulatedand activatedmore and withinofwithin-family socialcapitalthrough engagingtheirchildrenin a variety communityinteractionsand relationships.Second, theireducationalstatus also socialized theirchildreninto the academic world of literacy.The fathersin the two academic familiespursued graduatedegreesin Canada, while the two entrepreneurial familieslived in a world distantfromthe academic world. The childrenof academic familieswere at the peripheryof academic work and observed its associations; Thus, the childrenin the academic familieswere more familiarwith 'the cultureof literacy' (i.e. books, homework and technology of the educational institutions) in both and second-language Home environment acquisition 297 countries thanthosechildren fromentrepreneurial families. Purcell-Gates (1995) illustrates: They alreadyknow,or acquire implicitlyas theydevelop,the varyingregistersofwritten languagewiththe accompanying'ways of meaning'and 'ways of saying,'the vocabulary, thesyntax,theintentionality. This makeslearningthe'new' so mucheasier.(pp. 182-183) On theotherhand,thechildrenin theentrepreneurial families wereon theperiphery ofrestaurant workand observeditsassociationsand demands.Theylivedin a family culture thatwasnotassociated withprint andacademicdiscourses; therefore learning to readandwritewas nota naturalbuta foreign conceptforthem.Purcell-Gates thatwhenthesechildren from the (1995) explains go to school,theyarechallenged beginning: to learna code thatsome ofthemmaynot even have realizedexistedbefore... Withouta greatdeal of supportand motivation,theirlevelofliteracyskillattainmentis bound to be low comparedwiththatoftheirpeerswho are nativesofthemoreeducatedliterateworld. (p. 183) Conclusion of thedifferent formsof family thateach family had a Analysis capitalindicates distinct infamily environment investment in differences second-language including levelsof parentalinvolvement, and access to familialand community learning, resources. The families demonstrated distinct homeliteracy becauseof practices in Chinaand Canada. Factorssuchas theirrespective sociocultural experiences thefamilies'educational their choicesand chances,the biography, occupational communities and integration intoCanadiansocitheyresidedin,theiradaptation circumstances influenced how second-language ety,and theirsituational literacy was acquiredat home.Thesefactors intertwined in thefamilies' and interweaved and living,and thusconstructed but similarly dailyliteracy uniquelydifferent, in the fourfamilies.In a sense,the children'ssecondcomplex,experiences weretheresultofan intricate, multifaceted languagelearning experiences playingoutofalltheseexperiences. Thesefindings in understanding children's providesignificant insight immigrant sociocultural contexts oflearning and theirdiscursive that occur outside practices in theirhomesand communities. schoolclassrooms The conceptoffamily capital andpolicy-makers their attention tothewaysinwhich mayhelpeducators byturning children aresocializedintolearning outsideofschool.Suchan attention can help themmake educateddecisionson instructional approachesthatbest fitstudents' needs. As thisstudysuggests,some children'shome learningexperiencesmayhave and extendedthoseoftheschool;and forothers,theliteracy complemented practices ofthehomewerenotsucha good matchwiththoseoftheschool(Rhol, 1994). For childrenwho did not have a good matchwithschool learning,educatorsneed to forreadingand writing in thesecondlanguagethatmaynotbe provideopportunities availableat home. 298 G. Li The studyalso has significant families.This study implicationsforimmigrant measures to ensure a more positive suggeststhat parents can take different at home. It is necessaryfor immigrantparentsto learn learningenvironment Englishlanguageand literacy,an abilitythatenablesthemto make good choices forinvestment in theirchildren'slearningneeds, participatein the social lifeof the host society and have access to differentsocial resources, and, most importantly, get involvedin the academic and social lives of their children. Parentsalso need to be directlyinvolvedin theirchildren'slearning,especially spendingtime with them while workingon homework,supervisingtheir TV viewingand exposingthemto different literacyactivitiessuch as goingto libraries and museums. In concludingthispaper,I wantto pointout thatdue to thelimitedscope ofthis withschoolvariablesto studyI did not addresshow the homevariablesinteracted affectthe families'activationof familycapitalto supporttheirchildren'slanguage learning.Furtherresearchon the linksbetweenfamilycapitaland school cultural ofthechildren'secondcapitalwouldbe helpfulto providea criticalunderstanding school outside settings. languagelearning Note 1. Allnamesarepseudonyms. References totheory and research anintroduction S. K. (1992)Qualitative R. C. & Biklen, foreducation: Bodgan, andBacon). methods (Toronto, Allyn and socialreproduction, in:J.Karabel& A. H. P. (1977) Cultural Bourdieu, preproduction ineducation 487-511. andideology (NewYork,Oxford), Halsey(Eds)Power andculture P. & Passerson, ineducation, Hills, Bourdieu, J.C. (1977)Reproduction society (Beverly CA,Sage). andEuropean American mothers' beliefs abouttheroleofparenting Chao,R. K. (1996).Chinese inchildren's schoolsuccess, 27(4),403-423. 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