A large majority of Americans believe children in the United States should learn a language other than English, yet the schools those children attend are struggling to deliver on that expectation, according to a new Pew Research Center survey released in August 2026.
Strong support, limited intensity
In the survey of 3,507 Americans, 78% said it was extremely, very, or somewhat important for children growing up in the US to learn a language other than English.
The numbers soften when intensity is measured more strictly. Four-in-ten Americans say it is extremely or very important for children growing up in the US to learn a language other than English. Another 38% say this is somewhat important, and 21% say it is not too or not at all important.
Women are slightly more likely than men to rate language learning as extremely or very important, at 42% compared with 38%. Adults with bachelor’s degrees are more likely than those with less education to say so, at 45% versus 37%.
Geography shapes the picture sharply. US adults who live in urban areas are particularly likely to call language learning important, at 52%, while suburbanites come in at 40% and Americans in rural areas at 28%.
Spanish leads, but supply falls far short
More than half of Americans, 53%, think it is extremely or very important for US schools to offer Spanish classes. Yet only 40% of all US public schools offer Spanish as an independent class, according to the January 2024 National Center for Education Statistics School Pulse Panel.
Overall, more than four-in-ten K, 12 public schools (43%) offer world language classes, according to the 2024 NCES poll, including 20% of elementary schools and 82% of high schools. That means a majority of American public schools offer no dedicated world language class at all.
The gap is even wider for Mandarin. Twenty percent of US adults say it is important for schools to offer Mandarin Chinese as a language class, but only 3% of K, 12 public schools offer Mandarin or Cantonese as an independent course, according to the 2024 NCES survey.
The Pew report found that 1 in 5 Americans say it is important that US schools offer Mandarin Chinese. Data on the most commonly spoken languages at home in the US comes from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. According to that survey, only a small share of Americans speak Chinese languages, including Mandarin and Cantonese, at home.
A staffing wall schools cannot easily climb
Historically, one of the biggest obstacles schools face in offering world language classes is finding sufficient staff. The 2020, 21 National Teacher and Principal Survey found that, of the K, 12 public schools that had teaching vacancies in world languages, 42.5% 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 credentialed speakers in the United States for some desired languages.
Spanish is the second-most common language spoken at home in the US after English. Data on speakers comes from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Even with that large domestic base, the supply of credentialed Spanish teachers does not keep pace with the public’s stated expectations.
The demand for language skills in everyday American life has grown alongside new technology. Independent field tests of AI translation earbuds have shown real-world accuracy can fall short of marketing claims, a factor some researchers and educators cite when arguing that classroom-developed bilingual fluency remains difficult to replace with a device.
The survey’s release, as back-to-school season began, is a reminder that the communication habits Americans develop early tend to persist throughout adult life, shaping everything from workplace interactions to the kind of signage and information environments people can navigate with confidence.
What the numbers mean for schools
Pew surveyed 3,507 adults from March 23 to March 29, 2026, drawing on members of the Center’s American Trends Panel, a nationally representative group whose results reflect the views of the full US adult population. The survey asked separately about the importance of offering specific languages in US schools.
The results showed a consistent pattern: public enthusiasm for language education outpaces what most districts are currently equipped to provide.
When cross-referenced with January 2024 National Center for Education Statistics School Pulse Panel data, the Center identified gaps between demand for language learning and what schools actually offer.
Researchers note that closing those gaps will require not just curriculum changes but a sustained pipeline of qualified language teachers, a challenge that has grown more acute as overall teacher recruitment difficulties have widened across subject areas.
