Iranian parents’ attitudes towards their children’s early additive bilingualism

Abstract

This study aimed to explore parents’ attitudes towards children's additive bilingualism in the underrepresented context of Iran. A second aim was to delve into the parents’ underlying reasons for their related decisions and choices. Results of a questionnaire submitted to 96 randomly chosen parents from a small town and follow-up interviews showed that the parents generally held a positive attitude towards additive bilingualism, although some were worried that the children may mix up the two languages, hence their preference for a later starting point for a foreign/second language (L2). Results also indicated that of the languages that they could choose as an additional language for their children, all preferred English and that they themselves were willing to improve their own English to use it at home. An examination of the parents’ responses revealed three main themes, namely immigration plans mixed with feelings of disappointment, obtaining an international image for the children, and career aspirations. We argue that family language policies (FLPs), at times planned implicitly and covertly, could run contrary to macropolicies and be under the influence of a wide range of factors ranging from sociopolitical, sociological, and sociocultural to language spread catalysts.

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