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Cited by 5Language Development and DisordersReading and Literacy DevelopmentMultilingual Education and Policy

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Exploring the Impact of Family Socio-Economic Status on Children’s Bilingual Abilities Among Arab Families

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Mohamed, Ahmed, Xie, Qiuzhi, Opoku, Maxwell Peprah, Cheikhmous, Aisha·2025·Education Sciences
DOI 10.3390/educsci15040516
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Abstract

This study investigates the impact of family socio-economic status on children’s bilingual oral language and reading abilities. The participants were 92 Arabic–English bilingual children (Meanage = 8.52 years old) in Grade 3 of primary schools and their parents in the United Arab Emirates. A correlational research design was used. The children completed several bilingual oral language and reading tests, and their parents filled in the family background questionnaire. The results of general regression show that mothers’ education level and family income affected children’s English, but not Arabic, oral language and word reading abilities. Family income was a significant predictor of children’s English oral language skills, and mothers’ education level contributed to children’s English word reading. However, fathers’ education level did not predict children’s bilingual abilities. The contextual influence on children’s language and literacy development is discussed.

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  • The finding that Chinese and English vocabulary did not correlate is aligned with previous findings (Tabors et al., 2003; Mohamed et al., 2025; Xie et al., 2022).

    “This finding is aligned with previous findings (Tabors et al., 2003; Mohamed et al., 2025 ; Xie et al., 2022) and supports the time-on-task hypothesis that the vocabulary development in each language is mainly through the exposure to that language and is largely independent of vocabulary development in another language (Quiroz et al., 2010).”

    From Do word-level skills show cross-linguistic transfer and predict bilingual reading? (2026) · cites this paper as Mohamed et al., 2025

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Metadata

Authors
Mohamed, A., Xie, Q., Opoku, M. P., & Cheikhmous, A.
Affiliations
  • United Arab Emirates University (AE)
  • Australian Catholic University (AU)
Corresponding author
Xie, Qiuzhi
ORCID
Venue
Education Sciences
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2025-04-21
Volume
15
Issue
4
Pages
516
ISSN
2227-7102 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/educsci15040516
OpenAlex
W4409649601
Cited by
5
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 5
FWCI
10.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Education Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
United Arab Emirates University (31D140, 12D003)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
  • Social Sciences › Linguistics and Language › Multilingual Education and Policy
Keywords
family socioeconomic status, bilingual children, Arabic-English bilingualism, speaking skills, word reading, household income, maternal education, parental education, language and literacy development, Arab families, United Arab Emirates

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