ABSTRACT
In the United States, complex decisions confront language minority parents. Many wish to transmit their language and culture to their children. At the same time, they wish to assist them to succeed in a school system in which immigrant bilingualism is frequently viewed as a transitional stage on the way to a desirable monolingual English norm. This chapter explores the ways language minority parents attempt to resolve the contradictions arising from their desire to preserve linguistic and cultural continuity while preparing their children to succeed in a school system which often evaluates children solely on the basis of their English performance. It discusses on a multifaceted study of the relationship between home language socialization and the development of bilingual and biliterate abilities by Mexican-descent children. The chapter examines four immigrant families: three in northern California and one in south Texas.
