{"id":351326,"date":"2026-08-03T13:55:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T17:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=351326"},"modified":"2026-08-13T18:22:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:22:25","slug":"what-do-americans-think-about-language-learning-in-us-schools","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/08\/03\/what-do-americans-think-about-language-learning-in-us-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"What do Americans think about language learning in U.S. schools?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A
A kindergarten teacher at Ridgetop Elementary School in Austin, Texas, instructs students in Spanish. (Mikala Compton\/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As children in the United States head back to school this fall, some of them will have world language classes on their schedules. More than four-in-ten K-12 public schools (43%) offer such language classes, according to a 2024 poll<\/a> by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). That includes 20% of elementary schools and 82% of high schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Pew Research Center survey this spring, we asked 3,507 Americans about their attitudes toward language learning. Specifically, we asked whether it is important for children growing up in the U.S. to learn a language other than English, and which languages they think schools should offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are six findings about language learning in the U.S.:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About this research<\/summary>\n

This Pew Research Center analysis looks at Americans\u2019 attitudes toward children in the United States learning a language other than English and the importance of offering different languages in U.S. schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. This analysis expands on our existing research into views of domestic issues<\/a> (such as language learning in U.S. public schools) and how they interact with views of foreign policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We surveyed 3,507 adults from March 23 to March 29, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel<\/a>. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data on the most commonly spoken languages at home in the U.S. comes from the U.S. Census Bureau<\/a>\u2019s American Community Survey. Data on language class offerings at U.S. public schools comes from the National Center for Education Statistics<\/a>\u2019 School Pulse Panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the survey questions used for this analysis<\/a>, the detailed responses<\/a> and the survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terminology<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When referring to survey respondents, the term \u201cimmigrants\u201d includes people born outside the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories other than Puerto Rico. For this analysis, immigrants also include people born in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although people born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens, we grouped them with immigrants because they are born into a Spanish-dominant culture and because their attitudes, views and beliefs often are much closer to those of Hispanics born outside the U.S. than to those of Hispanics born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second-generation American\u202frefers to people born in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) with at least one immigrant parent. Third- or higher-generation\u202frefers to people born in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico) to parents who were both born in the U.S. (excluding Puerto Rico).<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Four-in-ten Americans say it is extremely or very important for children growing up in the U.S. to learn a language other than English.<\/strong> Another 38% say this is somewhat important, and 21% say it\u2019s not too or not at all important.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Most Americans say it\u2019s at least somewhat important for U.S. children to learn a language besides English<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
% who say it is __ important for children growing up in\u00a0the U.S. to learn a language other than English<\/em><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Note: \u201cDon\u2019t know\/Refused\u201d responses were volunteered.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted March 23-29, 2026.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Share this chart<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t