Parental teaching through play and emergent literacy skills in English among Hong Kong Chinese ESL children: A pilot study

This pilot study examined the effects of parental teaching of language and literacy through play on English emergent literacy skills among Hong Kong Chinese kindergarteners who learn English-as-a-second-language (ESL). Sixty parents (father or mother) were recruited and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (training on early language and literacy play skills) or the control group (no training) from a local kindergarten. Three research questions were asked in this study: (1) Is the training on language and literacy play for parents effective in promoting parental teaching of literacy through play skills? (2) Is parental teaching of language and literacy skills through play able to promote emergent literacy skills among Hong Kong Chinese ESL kindergarteners? (3) Are various forms of home literacy practices significantly associated with emergent literacy skills in English among Hong Kong Chinese ESL kindergarteners? To examine the effects of the target training on parents’ skills in conducting language and literacy play at home, parents in the experimental group were coached to implement language and literacy play at home for 2 months with a literacy kit and manual designed and provided by the investigator. Parents were asked to follow the manual and filled out daily play record. Their kindergarten child was assessed on emergent literacy skills in English before and after the implementation of play at home. Parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire on their home literacy practices in English. Experimental parents were interviewed in groups to report their experience of parental teaching. Results showed that parents found both the training and the literacy kit useful to motivate their children’s interest in learning English. Other findings of this study also shed light on the significance of home literacy practices in emergent literacy skills among ESL children and future research and practices of family literacy program.