Appendix C: Parent Interview Coding Scheme
and Examples
Thematic categories/meta themes
and examples of subthemes/codes
Parental Beliefs about
Multilingualism:
multilingualism as a norm
[MULTNorm];
multilingualism as a natural
phenomenon [MULTNat]
Myths about Multilingualism:
U.S.A. as a monolingual nation
[MYTHMonLing];
children with disabilities cannot/
should not learn more than one
language [MYTHDis]
Parental Motivation for Multilingual
Upbringing:
connection to family roots
[MOTRoots];
access to resources [MOTRes]
Investment:
financial investment [INVFin];
emotional investment [INVEm]
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Example excerpts from transcripts
“In their school there are a lot of bilingual kids who
speak Russian or Farsi so it is fairly normal that
kids speak another language.” [MULTNorm]
(Nicole, a mother of 2 German-English bilingual
sons, 2½ and 8 years old)
“It’s natural for children to speak their mother’s
language and another language spoken in the
country …” [MULTNat] (Danielle, a mother of 4
multilingual children in their 20s)
“the language that is most spoken here is English”
[MYTHMonLing] (Dulce, a mother of a
4-year-old son)
“Raising a child bilingually is very challenging
when your kid has a disability.” [MYTHDis]
(Kelly, a prospective mother)
“… knowing your roots and your heritage.
Understanding what that heritage was.”
[MOTRoots] (Monica, a mother of 2 teenage
sons bilingual in Spanish and English)
“for me [bilingualism] is just access to people and
culture and ideas” [MOTRes] (Linda, a mother
of two Spanish-English bilingual daughters, 8
and 5 years old)
“We could be doing more English at home
for [my husband’s job] benefit but we both
decided we want the kids to have Spanish
at home.” [INVFin] (Linda, a mother of two
Spanish-English bilingual daughters, 8 and
5 years old)
“[My husband] is incredibly supportive. Because
I forget that he doesn’t understand a foreign
language sometimes.” [INVEm] (Tina, a mother
of 19-month-old multilingual Lilia)
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 264 Appendix C
Thematic categories/meta themes
and examples of subthemes/codes
Strategies Used by Families to
Promote Multilingualism:
immersion [STRATImmer];
literacy strategies [STRATLit]
Challenges and Roadblocks to
Multilingualism:
family-level roadblocks [RDBFam];
systemic roadblocks [RDBSys]
Portraits of Multilingual Children:
multilingual children are unique
[MULTCHUn];
social development of multilingual
children [MULTCHSocD]
Factors Contributing to Success of
Multilingual Upbringing:
family support [SUCFACFam];
multilingual supports within the
community [SUCFACCom]
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Example excerpts from transcripts
“Full immersion … If some people ask, ‘Why are
you speaking Spanish all the time?’ – keeping
it very clear to our families and friends that we
are making a conscious effort in raising the child
bilingually.” [STRATImmer] (Lilian, prospective
parent)
“On a family road trip, I’ll be in the backseat and
I’ll read to her … Because I don’t like her just
sitting in the back staring at herself, even though
she’s beautiful, in the mirror.” [STRATLit] (Tina,
a mother of 19-month-old multilingual Lilia)
“Well, we have differing opinions … at my
school, it’s dual literacy, not dual language …
I would be interested in maybe dual language,
because I would like[my children] to be strong
in both reading and writing, but [my husband]
has a different opinion …” [RDBFam] (Lilian,
prospective parent)
“Kids are often judged [by the mainstream culture]
because of their dominant tongue if it is not
English.” [RDBSys] (Veronica, a mother of a
2½-year-old, Andrew, trilingual in German,
Hebrew, and English)
“I think bilingual children are in a unique place
where they are a step ahead of children who
are not bilingual.” [MULTCHUn] (Miko, a
prospective parent)
“maybe they are more social? [They are] in the
position where [they have] to translate a lot …
so you have to be more social. You have to be
okay with talking to adults …” [MULTCHSocD]
(Lilian, a prospective parent)
“My sister who saw him regularly is very
competent in Spanish … and she use to speak to
him in Spanish regularly.” [SUCFACFam] (Betty,
a mother of a Spanish-English bilingual son in
his 30s)
“With the community school where they went,
most kids actually come in speaking Spanish
to start with and not English.” [SUCFACCom]
(Betty, a mother of a Spanish-English bilingual
son in his 30s)
 Appendix C
Thematic categories/meta themes
and examples of subthemes/codes
Parents’ Advice for Schools:
instructional strategies [ADVInstr];
school-family communication
[ADVComm]
Parents’ Needs:
resources [NEEDRes];
unanswered questions [NEEDQuest]
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Example excerpts from transcripts
“Allow kids to respond in two languages … let
them express themselves, and then you scaffold
it and say it in English.” [ADVInstr] (Kelly, a
prospective mother)
“Be really clear about what the goals are.”
[ADVComm] (Linda, a mother of two
Spanish-English bilingual daughters, 8 and
5 years old)
“It would be nice to have more resources … It
would be nice to have more books that integrate
languages.” [NEEDRes] (Taani, a mother of a
2-year-old, Mihir, trilingual in Hindi, Spanish,
and English)
“… exposure to four different languages when he
was just starting to formulate language, I am still
curious to know if that was in any way involved
in his language delay …” [NEEDQuest] (Taani, a
mother of a 2-year-old, Mihir, trilingual in Hindi,
Spanish, and English)