The Role of Parental Language Profile and Home Linguistic Environment in Shaping Teenagers' Multilingual Identity

Abstract

In the multilingual context of Norway, language policy at the macro level supports the development of multilingualism. At the meso level, parental language beliefs and ideologies and language practices in interactions among family members potentially play a critical role in learners’ experience of learning different languages and their multilingual identity. Drawing on Sims et al. (2016) and Spolsky (2012), this qualitative case study investigated parental language profiles, parents’ language ideologies and reported practices at home, and the potential impact these have on their children’s language choices, attitudes toward learning languages and the development of multilingual identity. The data were collected through an adapted version of the Ungspråk questionnaire (Haukås et al., 2021) from teenagers and interviews with parents and teenagers in three families with and without immigration backgrounds in Norway. We first analyzed the data using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke 2006). Thereafter, the analysis was shared with the families to confirm the researchers’ understanding and acknowledge participants’ rights and voices. The findings of the study suggest that parental language profiles, their language beliefs, and home linguistic environment likely have a direct impact on teenagers’ language learning experience, views on multilingualism, and multilingual identities.

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