This summer I began to participate in the Public Relations Committee of MN New Visions 2000. This group is composed of professionals who are interested in promoting the lifelong study of world languages. As a committee, we decided to focus our efforts on making connections with education officials, legislators and the business community. We believe that the business community is instrumental in our efforts to promote lifelong language learning as business leaders often have tremendous influence over legislative decisions.

In order to begin to determine if there would be interest and support in the business community for more language study, I composed the following questionnaire for my students’ parents:

Approximately 100 parents returned the survey. The parents who answered the questions worked in a variety of professions. Respondents’ occupations included psychology and social work; attorneys and judges; sales; food service; assemblers and mechanics; business owners and managers; education professionals; and religious leaders. Most of the parents were monolingual English speakers. Some had studied a second language for a short period of time (Spanish, French, German, Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Swedish). Three parents spoke languages other than English as their first language (Korean and Spanish). Very few considered themselves to be bilingual.

When asked question #4 "Do you believe that employees in your business benefit or would benefit from being at least bilingual? Explain." Almost all respondents responded that they did believe that being bilingual was a benefit. Both monetary and social reasons for being bilingual were included in their responses. Respondents wrote that bilingual employees would have more opportunities to advance within their companies; their income would increase; they would have better communication with diverse communities, both locally and globally; employee recruitment efforts would be enhanced; being bilingual shows respect for other languages; companies would be better able to market to and communicate with customers from diverse cultural backgrounds; and legal and medical professionals very often scramble to find interpreters and translators.

Responses to question #7 Do you believe elementary schools are doing enough to teach world languages? (Please explain). Middle schools? High schools? Universitites? were also varied, but seemed overall to support the teaching and learning of languages at all levels. While some respondents believed that more opportunities for language learning are currently available than in the past, many expressed the opinion that more language learning opportunities need to be available in the elementary schools. Many expressed the idea that language learning should be required at all levels, should start earlier, be continuous and be more intensive. Many children must now take language classes as an enrichment activity after school. The question was also raised as to what the academic priorities would now be, especially given the current fiscal situations at both the local and state levels.

There seemed to be an overall desire for more language education at the middle school level. Scheduling and budgetary questions are difficult issues to overcome. Some respondents also indicated that teachers need to be better prepared at the middle school level. Finally, respondents seemed much more satisfied with language course offerings at the high school level. However, respondents would prefer to have more languages offered and believe that schools must do a better job of convincing students of the benefits of knowing another language.

While these results are only preliminary, they offer a glimpse into the ideas and beliefs business professionals have concerning language study. It would appear that businesses are looking for more people who are at least bilingual and that being bilingual can assist employees both socially and economically. We as language teachers must continue to work with the business community to foster their support for language learning and move the beliefs into action.