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Family Language Policy: A Multi-level Investigation of Multilingual Practices in Transnational Families

A national survey 

Dear participants,

We are a team of researchers who study how different UK families deal with languages, English as well as other languages. We want to find out how current social and political changes influence the way you think about and handle the language(s) in your everyday life. We sincerely hope that you can spend 20 minutes to fill in the survey. Your responses will give us valuable information needed to improve education of children and enhance social cohesion of our society.

We invite all types of families with children to take part, whatever your language background. All your answers will be kept confidential and used only for research purposes in this study. Your personal identity will not be disclosed in any way.

The survey should be filled in by a parent, a legal guardian, or a responsible adult in the family, and your answers should be about yourself and your first (or only) child.

Thank you very much! 


Best wishes,

Prof. Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen, Prof. Li Wei, Prof. Zhu Hua,
Dr. Jing Huang, Ms Sahra Abdullahi, and Dr. Kinga Kozminska 


For more information about the project please visit our website:

https://familylanguagepoli.wixsite.com/familylanguagepolicy



1.Your age group(Required.)
2.Your gender(Required.)
3.Your (first) child's age(Required.)
4.At what age did your (first) child arrive in the UK?(Required.)
5.The type of family in which you live now(Required.)
6.Your role in the family (Required.)
7.Your length of residence in the UK(Required.)
8.Your highest educational qualification(Required.)
9.Your current employment status(Required.)
10.If you are employed, what is your (main) job?
11.The first part of your UK address postcode (e.g. BA2,  WC1A)(Required.)
12.Your ethnicity
13.Your first language(s)(Required.)
14.Your religion
15.Your nationality/ies(Required.)
Your 1st nationality
Your 2nd nationality
Please select
16.Your country of birth(Required.)
17.Your partner's first language(s)
18.Languages used in your family (Required.)
19.What languages do you use at home in the following situations?(Required.)
Please choose one from the following options
Read news online
Watch TV
Listen to radio
Listen to songs
Read books
Write shopping lists
Help with your child's school homework
Meal time conversation
20.What languages are used among your family members?(Required.)
Speaking
(including face-to-face talk, video chats, phone calls, etc.)
Writing
(including text messages, social media messages, emails, letters, cards, etc.)
Between you and your partner
You to child
Your partner to child
Child to you
Child to your partner
Child to siblings 
Child to paternal grandparents 
Child to maternal grandparents
Paternal grandparents to child
Maternal grandparents to child
21.What do you think about the following statements?(Required.)
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
It is disadvantageous for a child if only the non-English home language(s) are used at home.
A child's sense of belonging can only be maintained if she/he understands the language of the culture.  
Speaking the non-English home language(s) may play a negative role in a child's ability to master English.
Speaking two or more languages confuses a child.
It is important to speak mostly English with a child from a young age when living in the UK.
Being bi/multilingual benefits a child's academic performance.
Being bi/multilingual is beneficial for the future of a child's career.
Reading and writing in two or more languages at home is essential for a bi/multilingual child.
A child's ability to read and write in two or more languages plays a positive role in his/her academic development.
Learning non-English home language(s) is a private matter that should be done only at home.
It is beneficial for a child to attend a community/heritage language/complementary school to learn the non-English home language(s).
Grandparents' involvement is key to a child's home language development. 
22.On average, how many hours PER WEEK does your child spend on the following activities at home? 
(If your child no longer lives with you, please think about the time when she/he did.)

(Required.)
0
Weekend only 
Up to 1 hour everyday
Up to 2 hours everyday 
3 or more hours everyday
Watch TV programmes in English
Watch TV programmes in non-English home language(s)
Play games in English on electronic devices (e.g. a smartphone or tablet)
Play games in non-English home language(s) on electronic devices (e.g. a smartphone or tablet)
Watch videos in English on YouTube or other online streaming sites 
Watch videos in non-English home language(s) on YouTube or other online streaming sites
Use electronic devices (e.g. a smartphone or tablet) for English literacy practices
Use electronic devices (e.g. a smartphone or tablet) for non-English home language literacy practices 
23.How frequently IN A TYPICAL WEEK do the following language activities take place in your family?
(If your child no longer lives with you, please think about the time when she/he did)(Required.)
Never
Once a week
2 - 5  times a week
Once a day
More than once daily
You read in English.
You read in your non-English home language(s).
You read to (or together with) your child in English.
You read to (or together with) your child in your non-English home language(s).
Your child reads by her/himself in English
Your child reads by her/himself in your non-English home language(s).
Your child attends English tuition outside school.
Your child attends tuition to learn your non-English home language(s).
Your child uses the local library services for English learning.
Your child uses the local library services for non-English home language(s) learning.
Your child attends religious services to learn/practice your non-English home language(s).
Your child attends community events to learn/practice your non-English home language(s).
24.How many books (including E-books) does your child own?(Required.)
0 - 10
11 - 25
26 - 100
101 - 200
> 200
English books
Books in your non-English home language(s)
Bi/multilingual books 
25.How would you describe your child's language attainment?(Required.)
Nothing at all
Limited
Average
Good
Excellent 
Speaking in English
Listening in English
Reading in English
Writing in English 
Overall speaking in your non-English home language(s)
Overall listening in your non-English home language(s)
Overall reading in your non-English home language(s)
Overall writing in your non-English home language(s)
26.How would you describe the difference between the non-English home language abilities of your 1st child and your 2nd child?(Required.)
27.Your language practices after your child was born(Required.)
Please select
My own language practices changed.
My mixed use of languages increased.
I started to use different languages with different people at home. 
I started to use more English. 
I started to use more of my non-English home language(s).
After my child started nursery or primary school, my own use of English increased.
After my child started nursery or primary school, my own use of non-English home language(s) increased.
28.Please list up to three people in your family who influence your child's non-English home language ability the most.(Required.)
1st
2nd
3rd
Please select
29.Actions you would take for your child's language development (please tick all applicable options)
30.Your perspective (Required.)
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
I'm happy that many people speak other languages than English in Britain.
It is unacceptable for people living in the UK to speak languages other than English.
Generally, I feel comfortable using my non-English home language(s) in public.
More governmental support is needed for maintaining home languages for minority groups in Britain.
31.Impact of Brexit (Required.)
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
After the Brexit vote, the overall public attitude towards people speaking languages other than English has changed.
After the Brexit vote, it has become more difficult for children of migrants to learn their non-English home language(s).
After the Brexit vote, there has been less social support for non-English speaking people.
After the Brexit vote, my family has begun to use less of our non-English home language(s) in public.
32.This is the end of this questionnaire. Thank you very much for your participation!

Please leave your name and an email address here, if you don't mind being contacted for further involvement in the project (e.g. a short interview).
Current Progress,
0 of 32 answered