New polling data found that Latino families in California have a particularly high interest in bilingual education and dual-language immersion programs, reinforcing national data on families’ demand for multilingualism in schools.
While research abounds regarding the academic, linguistic, and cultural benefits of bilingual education programs, such as dual-language immersion programs, there isn’t as much insight into families’ interest and opinions on these offerings, said Conor Williams, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation.
This year, the think tank led six focus groups across California discussing bilingual and dual-language programs with families of various racial/ethnic backgrounds, and socio-economic backgrounds.
Researchers, led by Williams, then built survey questions based on those conversations and polled about 1,000 families in the state.
When asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 how interested they were in bilingual education and dual-language immersion programs (1 being no interest at all, and 10 being extremely interested), on average, respondents said 7.9 for bilingual education and 7.8 for dual-language immersion programs. Interest in these programs was more pronounced among Latino families, and families with higher levels of education and income.
“We can go ahead and put to bed the notion that there is widespread majority support for English-only education amongst Latino communities in California, and I think probably more generally,” based on the latest poll and others, Williams said.
Families raise concerns about bilingual education programs
The latest poll findings add to existing national results on families’ interest in multilingual programs for their children.
In a nationally representative poll conducted by the firm Morning Consult for the Century Foundation last year, a majority of 579 parents said they would prefer to enroll their children in a bilingual school where they can gain proficiency in a second language in addition to English over a school focused only on English. Researchers cited the various benefits bilingual programs offer students as drivers of this preference.
The Century Foundation’s new California-focused poll defined bilingual education as “programs that generally provide language and academic instruction in two languages to non-native English speakers, with a goal of moving towards English-only instruction and meeting grade-level academic proficiency standards.” It defined dual-language immersion programs as a “unique type of bilingual education program in which students from different language backgrounds learn each other’s languages at the same time.”
The California poll found that Latino families were the most likely of the racial-ethnic groups polled to say it is extremely or very important for their children to become bilingual. But even as they place high value on bilingualism, and express high interest in education programs supporting it, 60% of surveyed Latino families said the most effective way to help their child become bilingual was at home through family and home language use.
The poll also found that most families overall have at least some concerns regarding bilingual or dual-language programs.
“One big one was they just don’t think schools are really prepared to support bilingualism well,” Williams said. They said schools may teach language too formally or approach bilingualism incorrectly.
Others expressed concerns rooted in misconceptions, such as that bilingual programs may hinder English-language acquisition. (Research has shown the opposite effect .)
While these concerns were less prominent among Latino families, their existence leads to key questions about how schools should invest in and strengthen bilingual offerings, Williams said.
The concerns also suggest more work needs to be done in dispelling misconceptions about these programs, said Jeff Hutcheson, the director of advocacy and public policy for TESOL International Association, a professional association focusing on English-language teaching.
“What’s being done with that research? How is it being communicated out? How’s it being provided in a consumable way to the public?” Hutcheson said. “How is it being provided in a consumable way to a local education agency, the school board, at the state level, to demonstrate how this enhances the educational environment?”
Challenges remain in expanding access to bilingual education
Williams is interested in seeing researchers in other states replicate the Century Foundation’s poll to compare findings. Polls in Texas and Arizona, with complicated and different language politics, would add to the national conversation on bilingual education, as well as the linguistically diverse Chicago metro area, he said.
California itself has had a complicated history with bilingual education, including English-only instruction mandated by law from the 1990s into the 2010s.
Though Williams and Hutchenson both acknowledged that even with polls showing high demand from families for this type of education program, challenges remain in actually meeting that demand.
It will require more money for dual-language immersion grants for schools and for alternative certification pathways that make it more flexible and efficient for bilingual teacher candidates to work in California classrooms, Williams said.
“[California] owes its extraordinarily high-potential, linguistically diverse students more tangible, concrete resources. A commitment to supporting all of the languages they speak, that has to be a priority,” Williams said.
