The Role of Motivation to Maintain the First Language in Relation to Language and Literacy Skills in Farsi-English Speaking Children in Canada

A debate exists in the literature regarding the role of first language (L1) maintenance in English language learning. Although research has shown that second language (L2) learning is not negatively affected by L1 maintenance, this research was conducted with Spanish speakers in the U.S.A (San Francisco, Carlo, August & Snow, 2006). Factors related to L1 maintenance differ in Canada due to two opposing forces, the relatively high levels of education of immigrants (Citizenship & Immigration Canada, 2013) and the lack of a common minority language (e.g., Spanish). This study included 30 Farsi-English speaking children between ages 6 to 12 years old (M= 9.09) living in Canada. The participants were tested on a variety of language skills in Farsi and English. The results revealed a significant positive correlation between motivation to learn Farsi and vocabulary, fluency and word reading in Farsi (rs (57)= .370, p< .005) with results approaching significance for reading comprehension and unvoweled words. The children with higher motivation to learn Farsi demonstrated better learning for easier tasks. On the other hand, the children’s motivation to learn Farsi was not related to English proficiency for any of the English measures. Such findings support the idea that motivation to maintain the L1 does not negatively affect the individual’s L2 acquisition or proficiency. The results provide evidence that the native language maintenance does not adversely affect the second language acquisition. Therefore, it would be beneficial to promote the L1 maintenance due to the cultural and cognitive benefits of bilingualism (Bialystok, 2009).