UC Davis

Language is a cognitive skill that is at the epicenter of early education; early language ability is a predictor of outcomes within and across domains, as well as across developmental stages. Past empirical work also nominated early language ability as the strongest predictor of later overall academic achievement. Beyond this, there is growing interest in multilingualism, or the ability to use more than one language. Multilingualism fosters communication, understanding, and respect across peoples and cultures within an increasingly interconnected and globalized world. Extant research and theoretical work are both aligned in purporting early language ability and the multilingualism are inextricably influenced by context. Namely, past works are in consensus that the development of language is significantly impacted by the environment surrounding the person. This dissertation therefore centers topics related to the development of early language ability and multilingualism, with focus placed on how environment affects development in these two areas. Study 1 tested a structural equation model to investigate the longitudinal relationships between family context, early cognitive ability (i.e., language and math), early social-emotional ability (i.e., self-regulation), and overall academic achievement. Study 2 used a qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews conducted with a diverse sample of parents to better understand where attitudes converged in parents with different linguistic, socioeconomic, and cultural identities. Results from Study 1 indicated the relationships between home environment and early cognitive and social-emotional ability are more complex than previously theorized. Results from Study 2 showed parents have overall positive attitudes towards their children’s multi-language learning and all parents are in support of multi-language opportunities for their children. Taken together, the results from these studies have implications for both future research and in the applied realms.