They developed a questionnaire with a grant from the NMSU Center for International Programs. Most of the parents who responded said they deliberately set aside time for first-language instruction. Seventy-four percent of the parents who returned questionnaires reported spending one to two hours a day, about four times a week, working with their children on language skills and other subjects. Most of the study time was devoted to reading. Schools can't do it all.
Parents have to pick up the slack.
The international students also reported working with their children on math and counting, and writing and spelling. To a lesser extent, parents used computers, map study and graphs, and other activities in tutoring sessions. The children also drew pictures, played games, listened to music and sang songs with their parents in their native languages. The parents supervised their youngsters' English-language homework and supplemented it with work in their native languages. They also made sure their children interacted with children of the same language background.