Are African American Parents Interested in Bilingualism

The obvious and accurate answer to this question is a resounding “YES!” The question is raised because there is a void in the pool of research available on even the most general exploration of bilingualism as it relates to African Americans.

According to D. Batts “The body of scholarly research related to parents’ attitudes towards bilingualism have focused on English speaking and non-English-speaking parents’ perspectives about their children’s participation in bilingual programs aimed at teaching English to language minority students.”  Batts went on to “explore the attitudes of African American parents relating to their children learning a second language in elementary school” and went so far as to interview parents of children attending a language immersion program and parents with children enrolled in an elementary school.

Batts found that “in general, African American parents have positive attitudes towards second language learning in elementary schools.”

Research results from the interviews suggest that African American parents with children attending language immersion program have positive attitudes about second language learning in elementary schools. The parents cited two primary benefits for learning a second language.

1. The first benefit is the creation of linguistic capital. The ability to speak a second language is perceived to provide future access to personal and professional opportunities that may not otherwise have been available.
2. The second benefit from learning a second language is cultural sensitivity. The parents indicated that the ability to interact with other cultures was becoming increasingly important in a global environment. These parents viewed learning a second language as a core academic requirement.

Less than half of the African American children that were not enrolled in a language immersion program were studying a second language although their parents held positive attitudes towards learning a second language. The researcher suggests that this could suggest that “learning a second language is a desirable but not mandatory option” for African American parents.

More research is needed to further assess “bilingualism within African Americans’ social structures.”