Biliteracy and Bilingual Development in a Second-Generation Korean Child: A Case Study

Abstract

Through case study methodology, this study examined how a second-generation bilingual child developed his two languages and associated literacies, the role of the parents' and child's goals as well as the family's daily effort to attain those goals, and the influences of environmental, social, and cultural factors. Based on sociocultural theoretical frameworks, extensive qualitative data from multiple sources were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, document reviews, and informal/narrative assessments of the focal child's bilingual and biliteracy development over 10 months. Findings suggest that the focal child's oral home language and literacy were supported through tutoring and heritage language school attendance, the family's value on bilingualism and biliteracy, and the parents' significant financial resources. Consequently, the focal child made gains in Korean literacy. Nevertheless, this child's Korean language abilities were largely supplanted by his rapidly growing oral English language and literacy abilities, in part due to his all-English schooling. This study has implications for families, educators, and researchers who hope to support children's oral language and literacy abilities in two languages: English and their heritage language.