Mothers’ Educational Beliefs and Preschoolers’ English Learning Attitudes: The Mediating Role of English Experiences at Home

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between Korean mothers’ beliefs about early childhood English education and preschoolers’ attitudes toward English learning. English experiences in the home were also projected to be significantly related to the aforementioned factors. Participants consisted of 159 mother–child pairs in South Korea. This study yielded three main results. First, correlations were found between the mothers’ education level and all three factors, while the fathers’ education and family income levels correlated only with preschoolers’ English experiences at home. Second, the subfactors of the mothers’ beliefs, the preschoolers’ home English experiences, and their attitudes toward learning English were revealed to be partly related. Third, the study showed that preschoolers’ English experiences at home mediated the relationship between the mothers’ beliefs in the importance of English education and the preschoolers’ attitudes. In effect, while the mothers’ beliefs about early childhood English education did not directly affect their children’s attitudes, indirect effects were found to be mediated by English experiences at home. Based on these results, we propose that it is necessary for parents to create a rich language environment in the home that engenders in children positive foreign language learning attitudes.

Redefining the additional role of parents: experiences and feedbacks on home-based education in English subjects

“…Throughout COVID 19, parents' experiences with home learning and management favorably reflected the learning gaps that had formed in their children's development during these trying times Bhamani et al, (2020). English experiences mediated the bond between moms and their children at home, which aided their English education Choi et al, (2020). You may need to change your schedule as you go as a parent.…”