Home English Literacy Environment in Thailand: A Conceptual Model of Parental Support in EFL Contexts
Keywords:
Home English Literacy Environment (HELE), Parental support, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Early childhood language development, PsycholinguisticsAbstract
English language learning among Thai children in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context
continues to rely largely on classroom instruction, while the contribution of families to children's English
learning remains underexplored. Although research on the Home Literacy Environment ( HLE) ,
predominantly conducted in first-language contexts, has consistently demonstrated positive links between
home experiences and children’s language and literacy development, a dedicated conceptual framework
for EFL family contexts remains scarce. This conceptual paper reviews relevant literature and introduces
the Home English LiteracyEnvironment (HELE), a framework that brings together parental cognitive–linguistic
factors, affective– motivational factors, structural and contextual influences, and language- related
interactions within the family to explain children’ s language and literacy outcomes. This conceptual
framework can be used to guide future research, the development of measurement instruments, and the
design of parental support initiatives in collaboration with relevant organizations to promote children's
English language learning in Thai family contexts.
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