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The Longitudinal Interplay between Father-Child and Mother-Child Home Literacy Activities and Children's Learning English as a Second Language in Hong Kong

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Title: The Longitudinal Interplay between Father-Child and Mother-Child Home Literacy Activities and Children's Learning English as a Second Language in Hong Kong
Language: English
Authors: Catrina Cuina Liu (ORCID 0000-0003-2857-5343), Kevin Kien Hoa Chung (ORCID 0000-0002-8105-7361)
Source: Journal of Research in Reading. 2025 48(1):63-82.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 20
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Elementary Education
Kindergarten
Primary Education
Descriptors: Children, Fathers, Mothers, Literacy, Home Study, Parent Participation, Parent Child Relationship, Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Kindergarten
Geographic Terms: Hong Kong
DOI: 10.1111/1467-9817.12476
ISSN: 0141-0423
1467-9817
Abstract: Background: The associations between the characteristics of the home literacy environment (HLE) and children's language and literacy skills have been established in first languages. This study investigated the longitudinal interplay between the father-child and mother-child HLE and children's English language skills as L2. Methods: In this study, 176 second-year kindergarten children (Mean = 55.06 months, SD = 4.30; 96 boys, 54.5%) were followed into their third year and were assessed on their English vocabulary and word reading. The child's father and mother completed a questionnaire on their independent HLE with their child. Results: The cross-lagged panel analysis showed that previous father-child formal HLE predicted subsequent activity levels of mother-child and father-child informal HLE. The mother-child formal HLE positively predicted the development of English word reading. A child's prior English vocabulary was positively associated with subsequent father-child informal HLE. Conclusions: The crossover effects between the father-child and mother-child HLE emphasize that the behaviours of one parent's HLE could influence one another. Family-based interventions could consider promoting both fathers' and mothers' roles in fostering children's language learning and reading development in a positive home learning environment. The implications for the effectiveness of the HLE in supporting children's English language learning as L2 are discussed.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1460607
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0183978032;d8c01feb.25;2025Mar26.05:32;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0183978032-1">The longitudinal interplay between father–child and mother–child home literacy activities and Children's learning English as a second language in Hong Kong </title> <p>Background: The associations between the characteristics of the home literacy environment (HLE) and children's language and literacy skills have been established in first languages. This study investigated the longitudinal interplay between the father–child and mother–child HLE and children's English language skills as L2. Methods: In this study, 176 second‐year kindergarten children (Mean = 55.06 months, SD = 4.30; 96 boys, 54.5%) were followed into their third year and were assessed on their English vocabulary and word reading. The child's father and mother completed a questionnaire on their independent HLE with their child. Results: The cross‐lagged panel analysis showed that previous father–child formal HLE predicted subsequent activity levels of mother–child and father–child informal HLE. The mother–child formal HLE positively predicted the development of English word reading. A child's prior English vocabulary was positively associated with subsequent father–child informal HLE. Conclusions: The crossover effects between the father–child and mother–child HLE emphasize that the behaviours of one parent's HLE could influence one another. Family‐based interventions could consider promoting both fathers' and mothers' roles in fostering children's language learning and reading development in a positive home learning environment. The implications for the effectiveness of the HLE in supporting children's English language learning as L2 are discussed.</p> <p>Highlights: What is already known about this topic: The home literacy environment (HLE), which consists of formal teaching and informal shared book reading at home, is one of the most influential factors in children's early language and literacy skills.Code‐related formal teaching activities are more closely related to emergent literacy skills. In contrast, meaning‐focused shared book reading activities have been found to contribute to oral language skills such as vocabulary. What this paper adds: This study examines the interplay between father–child and mother–child home literacy activities and children's English language and literacy skills as a second language.Earlier father–child formal HLE predicted subsequent activity levels of mother–child and father–child informal HLE, highlighting the crossover effects of fathers' HLE on those of mothers.A child's prior English vocabulary was positively associated with subsequent father–child informal HLE: fathers adjusted their home literacy practices in response to their child's earlier language skills. Implications for theory, policy or practice: Fathers' participation in literacy teaching activities could have positive crossover effects on mothers' informal HLE in a family subsystem but not vice versa.Family intervention programmes should emphasize fathers' active role in building a positive and stimulating home learning environment.To enrich children's literacy learning experience, mothers may echo fathers' active engagement in their child's literacy teaching by promoting more relaxing and playful storybook reading activities.</p> <p>Keywords: father–child; home literacy environment; mother–child; English language learning; L2</p> <p>The home literacy environment (HLE) is critical for developing children's language and literacy learning during the early years of life. Emerging evidence has consistently demonstrated positive associations between parental involvement in literacy activities in the home, such as teaching literacy and shared book reading, which in turn promote children's language and literacy skills in first languages (L1) (e.g., Inoue, Georgiou, Muroya, et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref1">23</reflink>]; Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref2">30</reflink>]; Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref3">35</reflink>]; Zhang et al., [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref4">47</reflink>]). English has become popular and influential in many cities and countries, such as Hong Kong, China. Hong Kong children begin to learn English as a second language in kindergarten from the first year of kindergarten (K1). In addition to the mainstream English curriculum at school, HLE is likely to play a factor in influencing children's learning of English as a second language. Studies have revealed that the HLE and fathers' and mothers' active involvement with their children during their early years are likely linked to academic outcomes (e.g., Liu & Chung, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref5">28</reflink>]). However, investigations on the crossover effects between father–child and mother–child HLE, where one parental literacy practice influences the other, have not been conducted. Drawing on family system theory (Cox & Paley, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref6">10</reflink>]) and the home literacy model (Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref7">35</reflink>]), this study investigates the reciprocal relationships between father–child and mother–child home literacy activities and their relationships with children's English language and literacy skills.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-2">Extending the Home Literacy Model: Lens of Family System Theory</hd> <p>Sénéchal and LeFevre ([<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref8">34</reflink>]) proposed a home literacy model that delineates the relationship between two types of literacy activities and children's language and literacy skills. Formal literacy activities, which are code‐related and include parents' teaching letters and words, are correlated with word reading (Hamilton et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref9">20</reflink>]; Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref10">30</reflink>]). Informal literacy activities, meaning‐related activities involving parent–child storytelling and storybook reading, are linked to oral language skills such as vocabulary (e.g., Inoue, Georgiou, Muroya, et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref11">23</reflink>]; Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref12">35</reflink>]). However, most studies have focused mainly on combining parental roles in children's literacy (e.g., Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref13">30</reflink>]; Zhang et al., [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref14">47</reflink>]) without examining the differential roles of father–child and mother–child HLE in engaging in children's vocabulary and word reading and their roles in reciprocal relationships with children's development.</p> <p>Family system theory suggests that each family member operates within a larger family subsystem characterized by various dyadic relationships (e.g., parent–child, husband–wife), and interactions could occur within and across different subsystems (Cox & Paley, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref15">10</reflink>]). For instance, the parent–child HLE and children's language and literacy skills may mutually influence one another. Parental involvement in the parent–child HLE is expected to affect children's language and literacy skills (e.g., Inoue, Georgiou, Muroya, et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref16">23</reflink>]; Liu & Chung, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref17">28</reflink>]). Furthermore, children's literacy skills may also show an evocative effect on parents' HLE; specifically, parents may support their children in response to their skills and the consequent need for support. This dynamic interplay highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of how father–child and mother–child HLE independently and collectively contribute to children's literacy outcomes.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-3">Associations between HLE and Children's Language and Literacy Skills in L1</hd> <p>The associations between parent–child HLE and children's language and literacy skills have been established in cross‐sectional (e.g., Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref18">30</reflink>]; van Bergen et al., [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref19">43</reflink>]) and longitudinal (e.g., Inoue, Georgiou, Muroya, et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref20">23</reflink>]; Silinskas et al., [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref21">36</reflink>]; Torppa et al., [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref22">42</reflink>]) studies. In alphabetic languages such as English, in L1, the parent–child formal HLE assists children in children's decoding words and accessing their phonological structure (Inoue, Georgiou, Muroya, et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref23">23</reflink>]; Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref24">34</reflink>]). The meaning‐related informal HLE allows children to expand their vocabulary and improve their comprehension skills (Inoue, Georgiou, Muroya, et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref25">23</reflink>]; Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref26">34</reflink>]). However, studies have usually considered children passive learners directed by their parents (e.g., Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref27">30</reflink>]; Zhang et al., [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref28">47</reflink>]). The relationships between children's language and literacy skills and parental engagement in literacy activities at home over time are worth further investigation.Several longitudinal studies have produced mixed findings on the reciprocal associations between the parent–child HLE and children's language and literacy skills (e.g., Deng et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref29">12</reflink>]; Georgiou et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref30">17</reflink>]; Silinskas et al., [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref31">38</reflink>]; Torppa et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref32">41</reflink>]). Some studies have reported the nonsignificant influence of previous formal and informal HLE on later language and literacy skills and the negative effect of previous literacy skills on later aspects of the HLE in Chinese (Deng et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref33">12</reflink>]), Japanese (Inoue, Georgiou, Parrila, et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref34">24</reflink>]) and English (Georgiou et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref35">17</reflink>]) in primary school. For instance, Inoue, Georgiou, Parrila, et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref36">24</reflink>]) reported that literacy skills in Grade 1 negatively predict parent–child formal HLE scores in Grade 2. However, parental teaching did not significantly predict literacy skills in Grade 2. More specifically, research conducted with Finnish children found a developmental shift in the relationship between the HLE and literacy skills across stages of schooling (e.g., Silinskas et al., [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref37">37</reflink>]; Torppa et al., [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref38">42</reflink>]). For instance, Silinskas et al. ([<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref39">37</reflink>]) found that Finnish parents engaged more in the HLE when children had good reading skills in kindergarten. However, the opposite pattern was observed in Grade 1; children's poor reading skills elicited more engagement in parents' teaching and shared book reading. Torppa et al. ([<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref40">42</reflink>]) reported that informal HLE at 2 years of age significantly contributed to vocabulary knowledge at 3.5–5.5 years, during which prior vocabulary knowledge did not predict subsequent parent–child informal HLE. However, literacy skills at 5.5 years of age negatively predicted scores in the parent–child informal HLE at 8–9 years of age. The findings suggested that (a) parental teaching has limited influence on children's literacy skills (L1), with autoregression considered in the early school years, and (b) parents tend to provide more teaching and shared reading activities in response to their child's lagging reading skills. However, these studies have not yet distinguished the longitudinal dynamics between father–child and mother–child HLE and children's language and literacy skills in an L2 context.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-4">The HLE in ESL Contexts</hd> <p>The role of the HLE in ESL learning has been examined in multicultural Asian societies, such as Hong Kong (e.g., Lau & Richards, [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref41">27</reflink>]; Yeung & King, [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref42">46</reflink>]) and Singapore (O'Brien et al., [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref43">33</reflink>]), as well as in English‐speaking regions with Latino immigrant populations (Farver et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref44">16</reflink>]; Goodrich et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref45">19</reflink>]). A meta‐analysis by Dong and Chow ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref46">13</reflink>]) showed a small to moderate effect size between aspects of the HLE and children's ESL skills (Fisher's <emph>z</emph> = 0.17–0.32). In addition, parental literacy teaching practices influence children's ESL ability more than parental beliefs and literacy resources at home. The role of various home characteristics (e.g., parent–child literacy activities and parental beliefs) in Asian children's ESL language and literacy skills and interests has been documented in previous studies (see Zhang et al., [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref47">48</reflink>], for a review).</p> <p>In Asian societies where English is primarily taught as an academic subject, research has underscored the value of early home literacy practices. Research reported the importance of early home reading activities in preschool to English (L2) reading performance in Grade 4 Singaporean children. Furthermore, Yeung and King ([<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref48">46</reflink>]) indicated that the formal and informal HLE significantly predicted English emergent literacy skills and vocabulary knowledge in kindergarteners in Hong Kong. Similarly, Lau and Richards ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref49">27</reflink>]) reported that the informal parent–child HLE, such as play and exposure to English media, were beneficial for developing receptive vocabulary in Hong Kong kindergarteners. They also discovered that print‐related teaching predicted letter knowledge and that shared storybook reading was linked to word reading. In Hong Kong, Chow et al. ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref50">8</reflink>]) reported the positive effects of a 12‐week parent–child English storybook reading intervention on English word reading and phonological awareness in kindergarteners. While these studies affirm the associations between aspects of the HLE and ESL skills, how the HLE provided by fathers and mothers may interact with children's English language and literacy skills has yet to be determined.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-5">Crossover Effects Between the Mother–Child and Father–Child HLE</hd> <p>Previous studies have typically examined the HLE in mothers or parents (e.g., Georgiou et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref51">17</reflink>]; Inoue, Georgiou, Parrila, et.al. [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref52">24</reflink>]; Lau & Richards, [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref53">27</reflink>]). Little is known about the interplay between the mother–child and father–child HLE within a family subsystem. Specifically, crossover effects refer to the transmission of feelings and behaviours of one individual to another closely related individual (Bakker & Demerouti, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref54">1</reflink>]). One parent's engagement in the HLE may influence the other's perception and understanding of home literacy activities. For example, fathers may share their values and experiences in the HLE with mothers at home, which could trigger mothers' modelling of fathers' literacy practices. Social learning theory also posits that one parent may model the other parent's behaviour via observation learning (Bandura, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref55">2</reflink>]). However, previous studies could not reveal such nuanced relationships between the father–child HLE and the mother–child HLE.</p> <p>Despite recent societal changes in women entering the labour market and promoting co‐parenting practices in modern Chinese families, studies on fathers' role in the HLE remain scarce. Studies have shown that the frequency of mothers' home literacy activities is significantly greater than that of fathers in Chinese families (Liu & Chung, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref56">28</reflink>]; Xiao et al., [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref57">45</reflink>]). Nevertheless, emerging studies have demonstrated the unique influence of fathers' involvement in children's L1 language learning and development. For instance, after accounting for the formal mother–child formal HLE and other demographic and cognitive controls, Xiao et al. ([<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref58">45</reflink>]) reported the unique contribution of the formal father–child HLE to Chinese kindergarteners' word reading skills. Furthermore, Liu and Chung ([<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref59">28</reflink>]) showed that the father–child HLE, not the mother–child HLE, significantly influenced the cognitive–linguistic correlates of Chinese vocabulary and word reading in Hong Kong kindergarten children. The abovementioned studies were cross‐sectional. The crossover effects between the father–child HLE and mother–child HLE have seldom been investigated. Studies in the home numeracy environment may provide insights into these relationships (Zou et al., [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref60">49</reflink>]). After studying Chinese children from the second year of kindergarten (K2) to the third year (K3), Zou et al. ([<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref61">49</reflink>]) reported positive crossover effects between mother–child number skills and number book activities in K2 and that of fathers in K3. In other words, fathers tend to model the engagement and interactions of mothers' home numeracy activities over time. These findings suggest that fathers' and mothers' home literacy practices could influence each other and show different relationships with children's language and literacy skills.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-6">English Language Learning Policies and Educational Practices in Hong Kong</hd> <p>Parent–child HLE and language and literacy skills, such as in English (e.g., Inoue, Georgiou, Muroya, et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref62">23</reflink>]; Georgiou et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref63">17</reflink>]; Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref64">34</reflink>]), Finnish (e.g., Silinskas et al., [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref65">36</reflink>]; Torppa et al., [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref66">42</reflink>]) and Chinese speakers (e.g., Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref67">30</reflink>]; Wang & Liu, [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref68">44</reflink>]), have been used primarily in L1. Hong Kong is a good case for examining the HLE in a trilingual language context, aiming to promote proficiency in written Chinese and English and spoken Cantonese, English, and Putonghua in Hong Kong residents. In kindergarten, children are expected to develop an interest in English in school environment settings, respond to questions using simple English words, phrases or sentences and develop basic concepts of the English alphabet and print (Curriculum Development Council [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref69">11</reflink>], p. 38). Teachers are encouraged to engage children in singing nursery songs and daily conversations to enrich children's English experiences during activities.</p> <p>English is the official medium of instruction in government‐funded universities and is the language of prestige in international business in Hong Kong (Lau, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref70">26</reflink>]). Parents view English as essential for career success and upward social mobility. In Hong Kong, children are exposed to English language learning, such as letter knowledge and simple vocabulary, at 3–4 years of age in K1. They are expected to read and write high‐frequency English words and short phrases at ages 5 to 6 years. McBride‐Chang and Kail ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref71">31</reflink>], p. 1392) stated that 'Hong Kong children have received two years of academic schooling in reading before their American counterparts have even begun formal learning of the alphabet.' Unlike the instruction of grapheme‐to‐phoneme correspondence rules by Western parents, most Chinese parents are unfamiliar with phonics‐based instruction, and the 'look and say' approach has been used in teaching to read English in Hong Kong (McBride‐Chang & Kail, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref72">31</reflink>]). The 'look and say' approach requires children to be more attentive to the holistic visual patterns of words rather than analysing the alphabetic codes in English (Tong & McBride‐Chang, [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref73">40</reflink>]). According to a report on the use of language in Hong Kong (Census and Statistics Department, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref74">4</reflink>]), approximately 29% of the population perceived their oral English competence as good to very good, and 37.9% perceived it as average. Due to the different teaching approaches and expectations across societies regarding children's English language learning, the relationship between the HLE and English language and literacy skills may differ in contexts of learning English, such as L1 versus L2.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-7">The Present Study</hd> <p>This study examined the longitudinal interplay among the father–child HLE, mother–child HLE and children's English language and literacy skills as L2. It addresses whether previous home literacy activities would predict children's subsequent English vocabulary and word reading or vice versa. Based on the home literacy model (Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref75">35</reflink>]), it is hypothesized that the formal father–child and mother–child HLE would predict English word reading and that the informal HLE would contribute to English vocabulary. Drawing on previous findings (e.g., Deng et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref76">12</reflink>]; Georgiou et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref77">17</reflink>]; Inoue, Georgiou, Parrila, et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref78">24</reflink>]), we expected that children's earlier English skills would motivate parents' later engagement in home literacy activities. Furthermore, this study aimed to investigate the interrelationships between the father–child and mother–child HLE. Drawing on family system theory (Cox & Paley, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref79">10</reflink>]) and previous work (e.g., Zou et al., [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref80">49</reflink>]), we hypothesized that there would be positive crossover effects between father–child and mother–child HLE over time. The focus of this study is twofold. First, this study adopts a 1‐year cross‐lagged panel design to examine the interplay of two types of HLE (i.e., formal teaching and storybook reading) involving fathers and mothers with children's English vocabulary and word reading. It examines the whole family system by considering both parent–child and husband–wife dyads. Second, this study examines the relationship between the HLE and reading skills in a less studied context in which Chinese children learn English as L2. The findings extend our understanding of HLE models and provide important insights into the nuances of the HLE in supporting English language learning in L2 contexts.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-8">Method</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183978032-9">Participants and Procedure</hd> <p>This longitudinal study followed 176 second‐year kindergarten (K2) children (<emph>mean</emph> = 55.06 months, <emph>SD</emph> = 4.30; 96 boys, 54.5%) into the third year (K3) (<emph>N</emph> = 144, mean = 66.29 months, <emph>SD</emph> = 3.95). The participants were native Cantonese‐speaking children from six kindergartens in Hong Kong who were learning English as a second language at school. The child's father and mother independently completed the questionnaire on their home literacy activities during the fall semester in K2 and K3. Children were typically developed, and none had been diagnosed with behavioural, sensory or intellectual problems.</p> <p>Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the University's Human Research Ethics Committee. Parents' consent for their children's participation was obtained before data collection. We prepared the HLE questionnaire in separate envelopes for fathers and mothers and sent them to children via kindergarten teachers. In addition, trained research assistants individually assessed children's English vocabulary and word reading skills in a quiet room at the child's kindergarten. The testing session lasted approximately 20 min.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-10">Measures</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183978032-11">Family's SES</hd> <p>Parental education and household income were used to assess the family's socioeconomic status (SES). Parental education was coded on a seven‐point Likert scale ranging from <emph>1</emph> (<emph>primary school</emph>) to <emph>7</emph> (<emph>doctorate degree</emph>). Monthly household income was assessed by a 16‐point scale from 1 (<emph>below 5000 HKD</emph>) to <emph>16</emph> (<emph>above 75,000 HKD</emph>). Each dimension was first standardized and then averaged for a composite score. Significant moderate correlations were observed between parental education and monthly income (<emph>rs</emph> = .42–.57, <emph>ps</emph> < .001).</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-12">Home Literacy Experiences</hd> <p>Father–child and mother–child home literacy activities were assessed by formal and informal HLEs (e.g., Georgiou et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref81">17</reflink>]; Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref82">35</reflink>]). This scale has been well‐validated in Chinese kindergarten children (e.g., Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref83">30</reflink>]; Zhang et al., [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref84">47</reflink>]). The formal HLE was indicated by the frequency of explicit parental teaching of reading/writing English letters or words (four items; e.g., 'How often did you teach your child English word reading?'). The scale ranged from 1 (<emph>never</emph>) to 5 (<emph>every day</emph>). In contrast, informal HLE was assessed by reading English storybooks with their child on weekdays/weekends/the last 2 days (three items; e.g., 'How many hours did you read a storybook to your child on a typical weekday?'). It was rated on a five‐point scale (1 [<emph>none/less than 5 minutes</emph>] to 5 [<emph>more than two hours</emph>]). Excellent Cronbach's reliabilities were observed for fathers and mothers who reported formal and informal HLE, all <emph>α</emph>s ≥ .84, across the two time points.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-13">English Vocabulary</hd> <p>The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT‐III) was used to assess the children's receptive vocabulary (Dunn & Dunn, [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref85">15</reflink>]). Four black and white pictures were shown for each item, and the task administrator orally presented a vocabulary word (e.g., drum). Children were required to point to the picture that best illustrates the meaning of the vocabulary. There were six subsets of increasing difficulty appropriate for 2–7‐year‐old children; each had 12 items. Thus, there was a total of 72 items. The starting point was based on their chronological age on the day of data collection, and the next session could be reached if fewer than two errors were made in the previous subset (i.e., baseline level). However, if eight or more mistakes were made in a subset, then the prior subset of lower difficulty level would be administered until they reached the basal level. The task was stopped if two to seven errors were made within a subset. One point was given for each correct answer, and the number of correct answers below the ceiling was the final score.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-14">English Word Reading</hd> <p>For children in Hong Kong learning English as L2, we selected 80 English words from widely used textbooks in local preschools and primary schools (Cheung et al., [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref86">6</reflink>]; Chung et al., [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref87">9</reflink>]). The words were grouped into three sessions of increasing difficulty. The first session targeted K2 to primary Grade 1 students, and 14 popular words were included (e.g., <emph>cat</emph> and <emph>bus</emph>). For second graders and above, a second session consisting of 35 words (e.g., <emph>doctor</emph> and <emph>family</emph>) and a third session consisting of 31 words (e.g., <emph>festival</emph> and <emph>weather</emph>) were administered. The task was discontinued if two‐thirds of the responses/errors were not made within a session. The sum score of correct responses was used for data analysis.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-15">Statistical Analyses</hd> <p>The distributional properties, missing values and internal consistency of the data were first checked to ensure the quality of the data. The transactional associations between father–child HLE, mother–child HLE and children's English language skills were examined by cross‐lagged panel modelling (CLPM) with Mplus 8.3 (Muthén & Muthén, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref88">32</reflink>]). According to the home literacy model (Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref89">35</reflink>]), the father–child and mother–child formal HLEs are expected to exhibit cross‐lagged relationships with English word reading. Informal father–child and mother–child HLEs were allowed to show cross‐lagged relations with English vocabulary. Home literacy activities provided by fathers and mothers were allowed to be reciprocally predictive of each other. Bidirectional associations between English vocabulary and word reading were estimated. To account for missing values and non‐normality of several variables, full information on maximum likelihood estimation with robust standard errors was used. The model fit was considered excellent when the <emph>χ</emph><sups>2</sups> test was not significant, the comparative fit index (CFI) and Tucker‐Lewis index (TLI) were ≥0.90, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) was ≤0.06 and the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) was ≤0.08 (Hu & Bentler, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref90">22</reflink>]). The residuals of the variables at each time point were allowed to correlate with each other.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-16">Results</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183978032-17">Descriptive Statistics and Bivariate Correlations</hd> <p>As shown in Table 1, the parental education of approximately 60% of the sample was senior secondary education or below, and 52.5% of the sample household income was below HKD 30,000 (USD 3822) per month, suggesting low‐to‐middle SES in our sample. The overall median monthly household income was HKD 29,000 (USD 3700) (Census and Statistics Department, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref91">3</reflink>]). The highest level attended for the population aged 15 years and above (excluding foreign domestic helpers) was 18.9% for primary school, 45.9% for secondary school and 35.2% for postsecondary education (Census and Statistics Department, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref92">5</reflink>]). Thus, the sample was representative of the local population. Table 2 presents the means, standard deviations and Cronbach's alphas of the father–child and mother–child HLE and children's English language skills. All the measures showed high internal consistency in the current sample (Cronbach's <emph>α</emph> ≥ .84). Regarding the development of English language and literacy skills, children showed moderate to large effect sizes for English vocabulary (Cohen's <emph>d</emph> = 2.23) and word reading skills (Cohen's <emph>d</emph> = .56) across the two time points. Specifically, we conducted a 2 (type: formal HLE vs informal HLE) × 2 (parent: father vs mother) × 2 (time: Time 1 vs Time 2) general linear model repeated measures analysis to compare mean‐level changes over time. The main effect of Type was significant, <emph>F</emph> (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref93">1</reflink>, 133) = 1437.57, <emph>p</emph> < .001, <emph>η</emph><subs><emph>p</emph></subs><sups>2</sups> = 0.92. The frequency of formal HLE had a significantly greater effect than informal HLE. The main effect of parents was also significant, <emph>F</emph> (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref94">1</reflink>, 133) = 65.23, <emph>p</emph> < .001, <emph>η</emph><subs><emph>p</emph></subs><sups>2</sups> = 0.33. Mothers were more frequently involved in home literacy activities than fathers were. The main effect of time was not significant, <emph>F</emph> (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref95">1</reflink>, 133) = 0.40, <emph>p</emph> > .05, indicating no significant differences in the HLE between the two time points. Given the distributional properties of English word reading (skewness = 4.76 at Time 1; skewness = 2.81 at Time 2), logarithm functions were employed to transform English word reading across the two time points.</p> <p>1 Table Distribution of monthly household income and parental education of the current sample.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Variables</th><th>Percentage (%)</th><th>Cumulative percentage (%)</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Monthly household income (HKD)</td><td /><td /></tr><tr><td><$5000</td><td align="center">0.00</td><td align="center">0.00</td></tr><tr><td>$5000–10,000</td><td align="center">1.20</td><td align="center">1.20</td></tr><tr><td>$10,001–15,000</td><td align="center">7.20</td><td align="center">8.40</td></tr><tr><td>$15,001–20,000</td><td align="center">17.40</td><td align="center">25.70</td></tr><tr><td>$20,001–25,000</td><td align="center">13.20</td><td align="center">38.90</td></tr><tr><td>$25,001–30,000</td><td align="center">13.80</td><td align="center">52.70</td></tr><tr><td>$30,001–35,000</td><td align="center">7.80</td><td align="center">60.50</td></tr><tr><td>$35,001–40,000</td><td align="center">10.20</td><td align="center">70.70</td></tr><tr><td>$40,001–45,000</td><td align="center">4.20</td><td align="center">74.90</td></tr><tr><td>$45,001–50,000</td><td align="center">4.20</td><td align="center">79.00</td></tr><tr><td>$50,001–55,000</td><td align="center">5.40</td><td align="center">84.40</td></tr><tr><td>$55,001–60,000</td><td align="center">3.60</td><td align="center">88.00</td></tr><tr><td>$60,001–65,000</td><td align="center">3.60</td><td align="center">91.60</td></tr><tr><td>$65,001–70,000</td><td align="center">3.60</td><td align="center">95.20</td></tr><tr><td>$70,001–75,000</td><td align="center">2.40</td><td align="center">97.60</td></tr><tr><td>Above 75,001</td><td align="center">2.40</td><td align="center">100.00</td></tr><tr><td>Highest obtained education</td><td align="center">Fathers (%)</td><td align="center">Mothers (%)</td></tr><tr><td>Primary school education or below</td><td align="center">0.60</td><td align="center">0.60</td></tr><tr><td>Junior secondary education</td><td align="center">26.90</td><td align="center">22.00</td></tr><tr><td>Senior secondary education</td><td align="center">32.90</td><td align="center">38.10</td></tr><tr><td>Higher diploma or associate degree</td><td align="center">16.80</td><td align="center">17.90</td></tr><tr><td>Bachelor's degree</td><td align="center">17.40</td><td align="center">18.50</td></tr><tr><td>Master's degree or above</td><td align="center">5.40</td><td align="center">3.00</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>2 Table Descriptive statistics of fathers' and mothers' home literacy experiences and English vocabulary and word reading.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Variables</th><th>N</th><th>Cronbach's α</th><th>Mean</th><th>SD</th><th>Min</th><th>Max</th><th>Skewness</th><th>Kurtosis</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Mothers' education</td><td>168</td><td align="center">–</td><td>3.40</td><td>1.13</td><td>1.00</td><td>6.00</td><td>0.42</td><td>−0.71</td></tr><tr><td>Fathers' education</td><td>167</td><td align="center">–</td><td>3.40</td><td>1.22</td><td>1.00</td><td>6.00</td><td>0.49</td><td>−0.77</td></tr><tr><td>Monthly household income</td><td>167</td><td align="center">–</td><td>7.31</td><td>3.55</td><td>2.00</td><td>16.00</td><td>0.81</td><td>−0.30</td></tr><tr><td>Time 1 mothers' formal HLE</td><td>168</td><td align="center">.90</td><td>3.95</td><td>0.73</td><td>1.00</td><td>5.00</td><td>−1.18</td><td>2.62</td></tr><tr><td>Time 1 mothers' informal HLE</td><td>168</td><td align="center">.84</td><td>1.89</td><td>0.74</td><td>1.00</td><td>4.67</td><td>1.17</td><td>1.70</td></tr><tr><td>Time 1 fathers' formal HLE</td><td>163</td><td align="center">.96</td><td>3.46</td><td>0.96</td><td>1.00</td><td>5.00</td><td>−0.68</td><td>0.02</td></tr><tr><td>Time 1 fathers' informal HLE</td><td>163</td><td align="center">.91</td><td>1.76</td><td>0.77</td><td>1.00</td><td>4.67</td><td>1.31</td><td>1.93</td></tr><tr><td>Time 2 mothers' formal HLE</td><td>144</td><td align="center">.93</td><td>4.09</td><td>0.66</td><td>2.00</td><td>5.00</td><td>−0.43</td><td>−0.13</td></tr><tr><td>Time 2 mothers' informal HLE</td><td>142</td><td align="center">.87</td><td>1.94</td><td>0.72</td><td>1.00</td><td>5.00</td><td>1.31</td><td>3.59</td></tr><tr><td>Time 2 fathers' formal HLE</td><td>139</td><td align="center">.98</td><td>3.21</td><td>1.06</td><td>1.00</td><td>5.00</td><td>−0.64</td><td>−0.26</td></tr><tr><td>Time 2 fathers' informal HLE</td><td>138</td><td align="center">.90</td><td>1.70</td><td>0.75</td><td>1.00</td><td>5.00</td><td>1.46</td><td>2.72</td></tr><tr><td>Time 1 English vocabulary</td><td>174</td><td align="center">.96</td><td>15.28</td><td>9.86</td><td>3.00</td><td>45.00</td><td>1.37</td><td>1.31</td></tr><tr><td>Time 1 English word reading</td><td>176</td><td align="center">.97</td><td>3.84</td><td>9.43</td><td>0.00</td><td>74.00</td><td>4.76</td><td>26.98</td></tr><tr><td>Time 2 English vocabulary</td><td>133</td><td align="center">.91</td><td>38.80</td><td>7.55</td><td>13.00</td><td>53.00</td><td>−1.71</td><td>2.70</td></tr><tr><td>Time 2 English word reading</td><td>142</td><td align="center">.98</td><td>9.13</td><td>15.13</td><td>0.00</td><td>79.00</td><td>2.81</td><td>8.81</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Table 3 shows the bivariate correlations between the father–child and mother–child HLE and English language skills across the two time points. The home literacy practices of mothers were significantly correlated with those of fathers at Time 1 (<emph>rs</emph> = .25–.37, <emph>ps</emph> < .01) and Time 2 (<emph>rs</emph> = .29–.41, <emph>ps</emph> < .001), except for the formal mother–child HLE with the informal father–child HLE. At both time points, the father–child HLE score at Time 1 had a weak correlation with the mother–child HLE score at Time 2. However, at Time 1, the father–child and mother–child HLE were not significantly associated with children's English language skills. At Time 2, the informal HLE provided by fathers and mothers had a significant association with English word reading, yet only the informal father–child HLE was significantly associated with English vocabulary.</p> <p>3 Table Correlations between fathers' and mothers' home literacy practices and children's English language skills.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Variables</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>10</th><th>11</th><th>12</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>1. Family's SES</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>2. T1 Mothers' formal HLE</td><td>−.08</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>3. T11 Mothers' informal HLE</td><td>.16<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.33<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn2" /></td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>4. T1 Fathers' formal HLE</td><td>.13</td><td>.25<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn2" /></td><td>.25<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn2" /></td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>5. T1 Fathers' informal HLE</td><td>.12</td><td>.07</td><td>.37<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.51<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>6. T2 Mothers' formal HLE</td><td>−.04</td><td>.51<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.18<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.15</td><td>−.04</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>7. T2 Mothers' informal HLE</td><td>.10</td><td>.05</td><td>.39<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.29<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.15</td><td>.15</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>8. T2 Fathers' formal HLE</td><td>.18<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.19<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.22<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn2" /></td><td>.57<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.33<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.29<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.31<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>9. T2 Fathers' informal HLE</td><td>.22<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn2" /></td><td>.08</td><td>.33<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.43<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.48<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>−.03</td><td>.41<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.47<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>1. T1 English vocabulary</td><td>.13</td><td>.09</td><td>−.02</td><td>.11</td><td>.09</td><td>.06</td><td>−.06</td><td>.07</td><td>.13</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>11. T1 English word reading</td><td>.04</td><td>.08</td><td>.05</td><td>.11</td><td>−.01</td><td>.04</td><td>.12</td><td>.13</td><td>.12</td><td>.24<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>–</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>12. T2 English vocabulary</td><td>.29<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.01</td><td>.06</td><td>−.07</td><td>.06</td><td>−.10</td><td>.02</td><td>−.07</td><td>.24<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.18<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.19<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>13. T2 English word reading</td><td>.08</td><td>.21<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.09</td><td>.13</td><td>.03</td><td>.14</td><td>.19<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.15</td><td>.19<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.19<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td><td>.81<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn3" /></td><td>.18<xref ref-type="fn" rid="tfn1" /></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>1 * <emph>p</emph> < .05.</p> <ulist> <item>2 ** <emph>p</emph> < .01.</item> <item>3 *** <emph>p</emph> < .001.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0183978032-18">Cross‐Lagged Relationships Between the Father–Child and Mother–Child HLE and Children's Engli...</hd> <p>The analyses of the CLPM were conducted to examine the longitudinal interplay between the father–child HLE, mother–child HLE and children's English vocabulary and word reading skills (see Figure 1). The model showed good model fit, with <emph>χ</emph><sups>2</sups> (<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref96">22</reflink>) = 32.94, <emph>p</emph> = .063, RMSEA = 0.055, 90% CI = [0.00, 0.092], CFI = 0.968, TLI = 0.90, SRMR = 0.042. Only the mother–child formal HLE at Time 1 significantly predicted subsequent levels of English word reading (<emph>β</emph> = 0.10, <emph>SE</emph> = 0.04, <emph>p</emph> = .016). At Time 1, English vocabulary significantly contributed to the informal father–child HLE at Time 2 (<emph>β</emph> = 0.19, <emph>SE</emph> = 0.09, <emph>p</emph> = .03). Prior English word reading (<emph>β</emph> = 0.11, <emph>SE</emph> = 0.05, <emph>p</emph> = .02) and family SES (<emph>β</emph> = 0.28, <emph>SE</emph> = 0.07, <emph>p</emph> < .001) were significant predictors of subsequent development of English vocabulary. The father–child HLE did not contribute to the children's English vocabulary or word reading. A strong autoregressive effect of English word reading was observed (<emph>β</emph> = 0.81, <emph>SE</emph> = 0.07, <emph>p</emph> < .001).</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/D8C/01feb25/jrir12476-fig-0001.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="jrir12476-fig-0001.jpg" title="1 The cross‐lagged modelling between fathers' and mothers' HLE and children's English language and literacy skills. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. Child's age, gender and family's SES were included as control variables but were not shown for simplicity. Family's SES was a significant predictor of English vocabulary. Nonsignificant paths were not shown for simplicity. HLE, home literacy environment; SES, socioeconomic status." /> </p> <p></p> <p>With the moderate stability of the father–child and mother–child HLE statistically controlled (<emph>β</emph>s = 0.29–0.52, <emph>ps</emph> < .001), the father–child formal HLE at Time 1 was positively associated with the frequency of the informal mother–child HLE at Time 2 (<emph>β</emph> = 0.32, <emph>SE</emph> = 0.08, <emph>p</emph> < .001) and their subsequent informal HLE at Time 2 (<emph>β</emph> = 0.27, <emph>SE</emph> = 0.06, <emph>p</emph> < .001). However, the previous mother–child HLE did not have significant crossover effects on the formal or informal father–child HLE. Overall, the model explained 70.9% and 12.8% of the variance in English word reading and English vocabulary, respectively; 27.8% and 23.0% of the variance in the formal and informal mother–child HLE, respectively; and 33.9% and 36.5% of the variance in the formal and informal father–child HLE, respectively.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-20">Discussion</hd> <p>This study investigated the longitudinal interplay between the father–child HLE, mother–child HLE and English (L2) language and literacy skills in Chinese kindergarten children. With the child's age, gender and family SES statistically controlled, the cross‐lagged results showed that the formal HLE provided by mothers but not fathers positively contributed to the development of English word reading but not vice versa. The growth of English vocabulary was predicted by English word reading and family SES but not by the father–child or informal mother–child HLE. Importantly, the formal father–child HLE had positive crossover effects on the informal mother–child HLE, not vice versa. Children's English vocabulary at Time 1 positively predicted the informal father–child HLE at Time 2: fathers adjusted their informal HLE in response to their children learning English vocabulary at Time 1. These findings lend support to family system theory and reveal nuances in family dynamics between parent–child and husband–wife dyads (Cox & Paley, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref97">10</reflink>]). The details are discussed below.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-21">Associations Between Formal HLE in Father–Child and Mother–Child and Word Reading</hd> <p>This study did not support the hypothesized reciprocal relationships between the formal father–child and mother–child HLE and children's English word reading. This study only observed a one‐way prediction from mothers (but not fathers) prior to formal HLE to children's later English word reading. Our findings align with the theory of the Home Literacy Model (Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref98">34</reflink>]) that formal literacy teaching activities contribute to children's word reading skills. Mothers are the primary literacy instructors at home, and frequently teaching English letters and words may help children learn the alphabetic principle and decode print and identify words. Studies in English have shown that parents teaching phonics and decoding skills contribute to developing English letter knowledge and word reading in L1 children (e.g., Hamilton et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref99">20</reflink>]; Inoue, Georgiou, Muroya, et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref100">23</reflink>]). However, father–child literacy teaching was not associated with children's ESL word reading in this study. Father–child literacy teaching contributes to children's Chinese (L1) word reading (Liu & Chung, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref101">28</reflink>]; Xiao et al., 2019). Future studies may conduct in‐depth interviews tapping into the characteristics of the processes of literacy teaching to examine the relationships between father–child literacy teaching.</p> <p>The finding that children's earlier English word reading was not associated with the father–child, or mother–child formal HLE was inconsistent with previous studies in primary graders (e.g., Deng et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref102">12</reflink>]; Inoue, Georgiou, Parrila, et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref103">24</reflink>]). Specifically, children's earlier word reading negatively predicts the subsequent parent–child HLE in primary graders (e.g., Deng et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref104">12</reflink>]; Georgiou et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref105">17</reflink>]; Inoue, Georgiou, Parrila, et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref106">24</reflink>]). This association is probably related to increasing academic learning demands during the transition to primary school; parents are more likely to be involved in formal HLE when noticing their child has literacy learning difficulties (Deng et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref107">12</reflink>]; Silinskas et al., [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref108">36</reflink>]). For instance, parents may receive more teacher feedback regarding children's literacy learning progress so they can adjust their HLE at home. Nevertheless, play‐based learning is the primary learning approach in kindergarten, so parents may not face the pressure to change their HLE while following the expectations of school learning.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-22">Associations Between Informal HLE in Father–Child and Mother–Child and Vocabulary</hd> <p>Our study found that the informal HLE for father–child and mother–child interactions did not significantly predict English vocabulary skills. English vocabulary skills at Time 1 positively predicted the informal HLE provided by fathers but not mothers 1 year later. Previous studies have seldom explored the reciprocal associations between parent–child informal HLE and vocabulary skills (e.g., Deng et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref109">12</reflink>]; Inoue, Georgiou, Parrila, et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref110">24</reflink>]; Georgiou et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref111">17</reflink>]; Silinskas et al., [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref112">36</reflink>]). Torppa et al. ([<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref113">42</reflink>]) showed that shared reading as early as 2 years of age positively predicts vocabulary development in Finnish‐speaking preschool children at 3.5–5.5 years of age. Drawing on previous theory and findings (Inoue, Georgiou, Muroya, et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref114">23</reflink>]; Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref115">34</reflink>]), informal HLE could likely promote the learning of letter–sound associations and oral language skills such as vocabulary and comprehension in alphabetic orthographies such as L1. The nonsignificant associations between the informal HLE and ESL vocabulary skills may be related to parents' ESL proficiency and teaching approach. Parents in this study were mainly from low‐to‐middle SES backgrounds and tended to be involved significantly less in informal HLEs than in formal teaching in ESL learning. First, children begin learning English letters and simple English word reading in K2. Commonly, kindergarten teachers provide English worksheets, prompting parents to engage in more formal teaching to support their children's learning of English letters and word reading. Second, the per capita living in Hong Kong is smaller than that of the adjacent cities, particularly for low‐SES families who may have fewer English picture books available at home. Therefore, children perhaps have less access to informal parent–child book reading activities than formal teaching activities. Finally, because many parents are from low‐to‐middle SES backgrounds, they are likely to have limited English proficiency (Chung et al., [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref116">9</reflink>]). Such parents may be less willing to use more interactive activities and engage in informal literacy activities, such as questioning, prompting and scaffolding, when teaching their children language and reading skills. Studies have also shown the positive effects of English dialogic reading on ESL skills in Chinese children (Chow et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref117">7</reflink>]). Future studies should measure parents' English reading proficiency and how they read English storybooks with their children learning English. Future research into these suggestions is needed to understand better the home literacy experience across families from different SES backgrounds.</p> <p>The positive facilitation of English vocabulary in the informal father–child HLE is consistent with findings reported in kindergarten children (Silinskas et al., [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref118">37</reflink>]) but contradicts the negative associations found in primary‐school aged children (e.g., Deng et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref119">12</reflink>]; Inoue, Georgiou, Parrila, et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref120">24</reflink>]). In primary school, Chinese parents engaged more in home literacy activities to meet students' learning needs when they noticed their children experienced difficulties in word reading (Deng et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref121">12</reflink>]). During kindergarten, less demanding academic learning and learning through play activities may encourage parents to respond positively to children's language learning. Our findings imply that children's English vocabulary performance in kindergarten subsequently increased their engagement in English storybook reading activities. Children with good initial English vocabulary knowledge may benefit from a Mathew effect over time: children with good English tend to read more, leading them to become better readers.</p> <p>Our findings also showed that family SES and previous English word reading positively predicted English vocabulary. Parents from middle‐SES backgrounds tend to hold more positive attitudes and resources in English language learning (Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref122">29</reflink>]). Highly educated parents could provide more diversified language input, such as vocabulary, with their children in English. In addition, those with knowledge of English words may facilitate their learning of more English vocabulary. Expanding children's English vocabulary through language and reading activities may further promote learning the associations between print and sound in words (Duff & Hulme, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref123">14</reflink>]). Following English‐speaking children from Grade 1 to Grade 3, Georgiou et al. ([<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref124">18</reflink>]) reported a unidirectional relationship between English word reading and English vocabulary. The findings imply that once a basic level of English words is obtained, children may be able to explore and enhance their vocabulary knowledge later.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-23">Reciprocity Between the Father–Child HLE and Mother–Child HLE</hd> <p>The hypothesized bidirectional associations between the father–child and mother–child HLE were not supported. Instead, we only observed a positive crossover effect: increased formal English HLE by fathers was associated with a subsequent increase in mothers' engagement in informal English HLE. This finding suggests that if a mother notices that the child's father instructs more ESL teaching at home, then the mother tends to be involved more in English shared reading activities with the child. The data also revealed that fathers were less involved in both formal and informal HLE than mothers. However, mothers tend to echo fathers' active engagement in their child's ESL teaching by later engaging in more relaxing and playful storybook reading activities. Given the distinct characteristics of formal (e.g., code‐focused and didactic) and informal (e.g., meaning‐related and interactive) HLE (Sénéchal & LeFevre, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref125">35</reflink>]), it seems that fathers and mothers may choose their respective roles in a complementary 'division of labour' to enrich their child's ESL experience. In children's ESL learning, fathers play a significant role in shaping the HLE, and initiatives to promote fathers' involvement in the HLE should be encouraged.</p> <p>However, this study did not find a reverse crossover effect from the mother–child HLE to the father's side. First, our sample was mainly from low‐to‐middle SES families, and the time constraints of many working fathers may make them less susceptible to mothers' HLE at home. Lower‐class workers are more likely to have longer working hours (e.g., approximately 48 h per week) and experience intense societal pressure (The Federation of Hong Kong & Kowloon Labour Unions, [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref126">39</reflink>]). Second, the perceived roles of fathers and mothers in a family may affect the way and role in which they engage in the HLE with their children. Parents tend to select family activities that affirm their cultural norms and gender identities (Kroska, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref127">25</reflink>]). Mothers are viewed as primary caregivers and literacy instructors at home, a role that remains prevalent in many Hong Kong households due to the influence of Confucianism (Liu & Chung, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref128">28</reflink>]). In the realm of language and literacy, which is typically dominated by mothers in the early years, we found that fathers' earlier participation in formal English teaching could heighten mothers' later positive responses. Many fathers may view literacy activities by mothers as obligatory and expected duties, which are likely to lead to insignificant results observed in crossover effects on fathers.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-24">Limitations and Conclusions</hd> <p>This study has several limitations that need to be acknowledged. First, the HLE was assessed using retrospective self‐report questionnaires. This study cannot exclude the possibility of social desirability bias. Future studies may consider the use of an experience sampling method to collect data over a short period for a more accurate estimation of the HLE. Second, our sample was mainly from low‐to‐middle SES families in Hong Kong. To what extent our study findings can be generalized to other socioeconomic classes in Hong Kong or other societies remains unclear. In addition, other literacy‐related factors, such as parents' beliefs and expectations towards ESL, extracurricular activities in English and English‐speaking domestic helpers, were not considered. Future studies should examine more comprehensive aspects of the HLE, such as parents' beliefs and attitudes, outsourced literacy activities and other family‐related factors. Third, we only collected data from two time points across K2 to K3. It would be more interesting to follow students across school transitions to explore the developmental relationships between HLE and ESL skills over time. Fourth, the impact of L1 Chinese skills on the reciprocal relationships between aspects of the HLE and ESL skills was not considered. For instance, previous studies supported the cross‐language transfer of Chinese phonological skills in English word reading in Hong Kong kindergarteners (e.g., Yeung & Chan, 2012). Future studies should consider children's L1 language skills when investigating L1 and L2 factors related to ESL learning. Finally, parents' English reading proficiency was not assessed in this study. Previous studies found that HLE is affected by heritable parental traits (van Bergen et al., [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref129">43</reflink>]), and the familial control method (i.e., assessing the same trait in the parents as the child) may be worth considering in future studies (Hart et al., [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref130">21</reflink>]).</p> <p>To conclude, our findings highlight the critical role of mothers' involvement in teaching their children formal language and literacy in English at home. Fathers' participation in formal home literacy activities may influence their relationships with children learning informal activities, and they may, in turn, encourage mothers' engagement in more informal learning activities. Parents' involvement in their children's language and literacy skills appear to be essential factors for successfully learning English as a second language. Therefore, engaging families in and after school, including language and literacy activities and programmes, will likely influence their children's learning and development.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-25">Acknowledgements</hd> <p>The work described in this article was supported by grants from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (EdUHK: GRF‐18603520 and GRF‐18607623) to Kevin Kien Hoa Chung.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-26">Conflict of Interest Statement</hd> <p>The authors report that there are no conflicts of interest to disclose.</p> <hd id="AN0183978032-27">Data Availability Statement</hd> <p>The data supporting this study's findings are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions, and they were consent for this study. The authors confirm that no materials or illustrations from other sources have been used in this manuscript. 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Her research interests focus on the home literacy environment and children's cognitive–linguistic skills in relation to children's language and literacy learning.</p> <p>Kevin Kien Hoa Chung is a chair professor of Child Development and Special Education and director of Centre for Child and Family Science at the Education University of Hong Kong. His recent research interests include literacy learning and development, dyslexia, reading and spelling instruction and intervention and social–emotional development.</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref1"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib30" firstref="ref2"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib35" firstref="ref3"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib47" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib28" firstref="ref5"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib34" firstref="ref8"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref9"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib43" firstref="ref19"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib36" firstref="ref21"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib42" firstref="ref22"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref29"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref30"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib38" firstref="ref31"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib41" firstref="ref32"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl16" bibid="bib24" firstref="ref34"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl17" bibid="bib37" firstref="ref37"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl18" bibid="bib27" firstref="ref41"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl19" bibid="bib46" firstref="ref42"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl20" bibid="bib33" firstref="ref43"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl21" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref44"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl22" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref45"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl23" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref46"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl24" bibid="bib48" firstref="ref47"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl25" bibid="bib45" firstref="ref57"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl26" bibid="bib49" firstref="ref60"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl27" bibid="bib44" firstref="ref68"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl28" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref69"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl29" bibid="bib26" firstref="ref70"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl30" bibid="bib31" firstref="ref71"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl31" bibid="bib40" firstref="ref73"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl32" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref85"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl33" bibid="bib32" firstref="ref88"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl34" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref90"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl35" bibid="bib29" firstref="ref122"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl36" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref123"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl37" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref124"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl38" bibid="bib39" firstref="ref126"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl39" bibid="bib25" firstref="ref127"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl40" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref130"></nolink>
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PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The Longitudinal Interplay between Father-Child and Mother-Child Home Literacy Activities and Children's Learning English as a Second Language in Hong Kong
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Catrina+Cuina+Liu%22">Catrina Cuina Liu</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2857-5343">0000-0003-2857-5343</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kevin+Kien+Hoa+Chung%22">Kevin Kien Hoa Chung</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8105-7361">0000-0002-8105-7361</externalLink>)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Research+in+Reading%22"><i>Journal of Research in Reading</i></searchLink>. 2025 48(1):63-82.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 20
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Kindergarten%22">Kindergarten</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Primary+Education%22">Primary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fathers%22">Fathers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mothers%22">Mothers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literacy%22">Literacy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Home+Study%22">Home Study</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Participation%22">Parent Participation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Child+Relationship%22">Parent Child Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+%28Second+Language%29%22">English (Second Language)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+Language+Learning%22">Second Language Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kindergarten%22">Kindergarten</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hong+Kong%22">Hong Kong</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1111/1467-9817.12476
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0141-0423<br />1467-9817
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background: The associations between the characteristics of the home literacy environment (HLE) and children's language and literacy skills have been established in first languages. This study investigated the longitudinal interplay between the father-child and mother-child HLE and children's English language skills as L2. Methods: In this study, 176 second-year kindergarten children (Mean = 55.06 months, SD = 4.30; 96 boys, 54.5%) were followed into their third year and were assessed on their English vocabulary and word reading. The child's father and mother completed a questionnaire on their independent HLE with their child. Results: The cross-lagged panel analysis showed that previous father-child formal HLE predicted subsequent activity levels of mother-child and father-child informal HLE. The mother-child formal HLE positively predicted the development of English word reading. A child's prior English vocabulary was positively associated with subsequent father-child informal HLE. Conclusions: The crossover effects between the father-child and mother-child HLE emphasize that the behaviours of one parent's HLE could influence one another. Family-based interventions could consider promoting both fathers' and mothers' roles in fostering children's language learning and reading development in a positive home learning environment. The implications for the effectiveness of the HLE in supporting children's English language learning as L2 are discussed.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1460607
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1460607
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/1467-9817.12476
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 20
        StartPage: 63
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fathers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mothers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Literacy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Home Study
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parent Participation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parent Child Relationship
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English (Second Language)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Second Language Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Kindergarten
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hong Kong
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Longitudinal Interplay between Father-Child and Mother-Child Home Literacy Activities and Children's Learning English as a Second Language in Hong Kong
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Catrina Cuina Liu
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Kevin Kien Hoa Chung
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 02
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0141-0423
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1467-9817
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 48
            – Type: issue
              Value: 1
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Research in Reading
              Type: main
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