Most Say It's ''Very Important'' to Learn Second Language

NEW YORK—In today’s international society, it is vital for American children to learn a second language, according to a majority of Americans in a Media General-Associated Press poll.

In fact, languages were deemed so important that most Americans believe instruction should be offered in elementary school.

Fifty-seven percent of the 1,462 adults who participated in the nationwide telephone survey said it was “very important” for English-speaking children to learn another language, while 29 percent said it was “somewhat important” and 11 percent said it was not important at all. The rest were unsure.

The respondents were less sure when asked about the success of bilingual education, that is, teaching children most courses in their native language rather than in English.

Non-English-speaking children are usually taught basic subjects like math and social studies in their own language while they tackle English in a separate class.

Forty-two percent of the respondents believed this method was successful in teaching children English, while 24 percent said it was unsuccessful. However, 34 percent of the respondents didn’t answer or didn’t know, indicating a great deal of uncertainty.

When asked if this traditional method of bilingual education was successful in teaching children such basic subjects as math and social studies, the responses were about the same. Thirty-eight percent believed it was successful, 23 percent believed it was unsuccessful, and 39 percent were unsure.

When it comes to teaching English-speaking children a foreign language, 84 percent of the respondents said foreign language instruction should be available in elementary school. Of those, 24 percent said language instruction should be required and 60 percent said it should be optional.

Nearly all said it should be available in high school. Forty-seven percent said high school students should be required to study a foreign language, and 50 percent said it should be available as an option.

Forty-six percent said foreign languages should be a requirement for college admission, while 49 percent said they should not.

On bilingual education, Secretary of Education William J. Bennett wants to give local school districts more flexibility in formulating programs for students who don’t speak English. One alternative program involves classes in which students are taught basic subjects in English but are allowed to ask questions in their native tongues.

In the Media General-AP poll, 46 percent of the respondents said students who don’t speak English should be placed in all English-speaking classes, while 36 percent said they should be taught basic subjects in their own languages. Eighteen percent were unsure.

Respondents in the Media General-Associated Press poll included a random, scientific sampling of 1,462 adults across the country Nov. 8-14. As with all sample surveys, the results of Media General-AP telephone polls can vary from the opinions of all Americans because of chance variation in the sample.

For a poll based on about 1,400 interviews, the results are subject to an error margin of 3 percentage points either way because of chance variations in the sample. That is, if one could have questioned all Americans with telephones, there is only 1 chance in 20 that the findings would vary from the results of polls such as this one by more than 3 percentage points.

Of course, the results could differ from other polls for several reasons. Differences in exact wording of questions, in the timing of interviews and in the interview methods could also cause variations.

Media General Inc., a communications company based in Richmond, Va., publishes the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Richmond News Leader; the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, and the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina. The company’s television stations are WXFL in Tampa, WCBD in Charleston, S.C., and WJKS in Jacksonville, Fla.



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