FAMILY DYNAMICS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN MULTICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS: A CROSS-COUNTRY ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY

Abstract

Multilingual households are rapidly expanding worldwide, yet most research still focuses on monolingual or bilingual families, leaving the dynamics of multilingual households underexplored. Guided by Coleman’s Family Capital Theory, this study investigates how multi-ethnic families in Canada, Pakistan, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia negotiate heritage language transmission alongside English acquisition. Using a cross-country ethnographic design, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, video reminiscences, and archival research were conducted with 40 families (Canada 12, Pakistan 10, Jordan 9, Saudi Arabia 9), including children aged 5–18. Sample sizes were tailored to cultural access and feasibility rather than equal national quotas. Findings reveal that storytelling, moral teaching, and religious rituals are central to preserving heritage languages, while English is prioritized for education and employment. Families experienced accent-related identity issues, reduced heritage language proficiency among younger members, and intergenerational communication gaps. Children’s incidental exposure to digital platforms (e.g., educational apps, YouTube, online religious classes) and the challenges of displacement among migrant families were observed but not systematically measured. The study underscores that English supports integration and mobility but risks weakening cultural and linguistic identity. It recommends that educators and policymakers design pluralist, culturally responsive strategies—such as embedding family-driven literacy practices into curricula and fostering additive bilingualism through community and school partnerships—to sustain heritage languages alongside English. The comparative ethnographic approach offers a replicable framework for future cross-cultural studies. Longitudinal research and systematic examination of digital technologies and displacement contexts are proposed as key directions to advance understanding of intergenerational language maintenance and identity resilience.