Family Literacy Environment and Parental Education in Relation to Different Measures of Child’s Language

The family literacy environment is reported to be an important predictor of a child’s language and early literacy development. This study examined the relations between various aspects of family literacy environment and different measures of children’s language, assessed in three different settings, namely in a structured test situation, at home and in preschool. The sample included 80 preschool children, randomly selected from 13 preschools, aged approximately 4 years. The quality of family literacy environment was estimated by mothers, using the Home literacy environment questionnaire. Children’s language development and storytelling ability was assessed by a testator, while their spontaneous language was assessed by their mothers and preschool teachers. Family literacy environment was found to be an important factor of the child’s storytelling ability and the complexity of his spontaneous language, used at home and in preschool. Maternal education proved to be associated with the quality of the family literacy environment and also related to all measures of the child’s language except for maternal assessment. The findings have implications for understanding the role of family environment in the development of different aspects of a child’s language and the importance of assessing the child’s language in various settings thus obtaining a complete estimation of his language ability.