Attitudes of Secondary School Counselors and Superintendents toward Foreign Language Teaching: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study, conducted recently in the State of Illinois, describes the attitudes of public secondary school superintendents and guidance counselors toward the study of foreign languages. Concluding statements based upon the analysis of the data revealed that: 1) the majority of superintendents and counselors generally do support the study of foreign languages in the public schools; 2) secondary school counselors exhibit a significantly more favorable attitude toward foreign languages than secondary school superintendents; 3) attitudes toward the study of foreign languages do not vary with the size of school districts; 4) the majority of the two groups of educators believe that every student should be “encouraged” to take a foreign language; however, most educators believe that every student should not be “required” to take a foreign language; and 5) the majority of the secondary school educators believe that cultural understanding is the major justification for taking a foreign language course.