Linking Parental Beliefs and Preschoolers’ English Learning Attitudes: Mediation Effects of the Home Literacy Environment
Linking Parental Beliefs and Preschoolers’ English Learning Attitudes: Mediation Effects of the Home Literacy Environment

Summary/Abstract: A growing body of literature highlights the critical influence of children’s and adolescents’ motivational orientations on their educational outcomes. For preschoolers learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL), successful acquisition hinges not only on external support—such as parental beliefs and the quality of the home literacy environment (HLE) - but also on their affective engagement with the learning process. This study explores the interrelationships among parental beliefs (PB), the HLE, and young children’s affective attitudes (AA) toward EFL learning. A total of 405 primary caregivers participated in an online questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that PB significantly shape the HLE, which subsequently exerts an indirect effect on children’s AA through pathways including structured and unstructured English learning activities, as well as access to English-language resources at home. Importantly, the presence of English print materials was found to mediate the relationship between PB and preschoolers’ affective attitudes. These findings underscore the importance of cultivating a rich literacy environment at home and suggest that enhancing parental beliefs may serve as an effective strategy for fostering more favorable emotional responses to EFL among young learners.

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