Abstract
<p>There is little scholarly information about parent involvement in their children’s English as a Foreign Language (EFL henceforth) literacy learning in the Colombian context. This exploratory-qualitative study looks into the possible roles of parents and children in EFL literacy learning at home, with special emphasis on parental roles and contributions. The study has a three-fold purpose: (1) to describe the behaviour of parents and students when doing EFL literacy tasks at home, (2) to explore feelings and thoughts (perceptions) of parents and students about working together on EFL literacy tasks at home, and (3) to identify ways in which parents contribute to a student’s EFL learning. Sixteen ninth grade students at a state school, and their parents or caregivers, carried out a series of EFL literacy tasks in their respective homes. Video recordings, field notes, qualitative interviews, and surveys were used as data collection tools. The results demonstrate that even when parents do not have a command of the English language, they have the potential to help with EFL learning from a non-linguistic point of view (e.g. monitoring children's homework, providing learning conditions, shaping children’s minds for EFL by giving advice, and feedback about EFL homework development).</p>
Highlights
This investigation took place in El Doncello-Caquetá, Colombia
The results demonstrate that even when parents do not have a command of the English language, they have the potential to help with EFL learning from a non-linguistic point of view
The analytical model produced from Atlas.ti was analysed in search of the varied roles that parents may assume while helping their children in the development of home EFL literacy tasks; roles that somehow may imply a contribution to a student’s EFL literacy learning
Summary
Sixteen ninth grade students at a state school, and their parents or caretakers, carried out a series of EFL literacy tasks in their respective homes. These tasks aimed to create suitable situations in which parents can demonstrate a repertoire of helping actions in favour of their children’s EFL learning, without training on what to do. He et al (2015) confirmed that parents take part in children's learning and school performance by offering cognitive and emotional support to students at home. Authoritative parents are described as those who demonstrate high levels of warmth, supervision, and promotion of psychological autonomy
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