Researchers and educators see strong demand for world language classes in U.S. schools, though federal policy changes may further complicate schools’ ability to offer such courses.
A new Pew Research Center survey of more than 3,500 Americans conducted this spring found that 4 in 10 Americans say it is extremely or very important for children growing up in the United States to learn a language other than English. More than half of Americans (53%) think it is highly important for U.S. schools to offer Spanish classes.
The survey examined the relationship between Americans’ views of the United States’ global standing and their views on the importance of children learning a language other than English and of schools offering specific languages, said Maria Smerkovich, a research associate at the Pew Research Center.
Researchers found that people who see the United States’ influence in the world as declining are more likely to say that it is important for children growing up in the United States to learn a language other than English.
Yet, the survey also found that even with high demand for language learning, gaps remain in schools’ abilities to offer desired courses.
“We need to help our schools ensure that there are a sufficient number of certified teachers and programs to match the importance that the public is giving to world language learning in schools,” said Larry Paska, the executive director of ACTFL (the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages).
Researchers see high demand for world languages
The Pew report found some nuances in who is more likely to support language instruction in U.S. schools.
For instance, adults who say they live in urban areas are particularly likely to say language learning is important (52%) compared with those who live in suburbs (40%) and in rural areas (28%).
Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to say that learning a language other than English is extremely or very important, and researchers found the difference persists even when controlling for factors like age, gender, education, urbanicity, ethnicity, and place of birth. The report also found that immigrants and Americans born in Puerto Rico are nearly twice as likely as those born elsewhere in the United States to say children learning a language other than English is extremely or very important (60% vs. 36%).
In 2019, about 9 out of 10 U.S. employers told the ACTFL member organization that they rely on employees with language skills other than English, and over half said they saw the demand increasing for multilingual workers in the next five years, Paska said.
But when using 2024 National Center for Education Statistics data, the Pew Center identified gaps between demand for language learning and what schools actually offer.
For instance, while 53% of Americans view Spanish as extremely or very important to offer in schools, only 40% of all U.S. schools offer Spanish as an independent class.
Overall, the 2024 data found that 43% of all public schools reported offering classes in world languages, with the highest percentage by region in the Northeast, at 51%.
Challenges remain to offering language classes
Historically, one of the biggest obstacles schools face in offering world language classes is finding sufficient staff.
The latest National Teacher and Principal Survey found that of the K-12 schools that had teaching vacancies in world languages for the 2020-21 school year, 42.5% of public schools and 31.7% of private schools found it very difficult to fill or were not able to fill the vacancies.
A number of factors play into the difficulty of finding enough world language teachers, including a small pool of speakers in the United States for some desired languages. For instance, the Pew report found that 1 in 5 Americans say it is important that U.S. schools offer Mandarin Chinese. But the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey estimates that only around 1% of Americans speak Chinese languages, including Mandarin and Cantonese, at home.
Federal policy changes, such as President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring English the country’s official language while potentially diminishing the perceived value of bilingualism, the dismantling of the federal office of English language acquisition, and a new proposal to mandate English-only instruction in Head Start programs, all further complicate schools’ abilities to offer more world language programs, Paska said. Changes to visa worker programs may also affect the teacher pipeline.
Yet, state-level policies are headed toward supporting growth in language learning opportunities. For instance, all states and the District of Columbia now offer the seal of biliteracy, a special notation on high school diplomas honoring students’ demonstrated bilingualism. Though work remains to raise awareness of this opportunity for students, Paska said it’s still a useful policy tool.
“I think this is an area of promise for our profession, and we really encourage states and districts to continue making this investment in their seals because that does provide a very visible pathway for kids to demonstrate their language learning.”
