A Study of Student Attitudes toward English as a Second Language in Puerto Rico

The results of a questionnaire designed to investigate Puerto Rican students' attitudes toward learning English show that there is a predominantly positive attitude toward English-as-a-second language in the Puerto Rican town studied in this survey. The questionnaires solicit information from students in grades five through eight concerning personal data, students' contact with English, amount of English used, parental attitudes, and student attitude toward learning English. The shortcomings of Puerto Rico's standardized English curriculum may result from inappropriate teaching methods rather than from a negative attitude on the part of the students. The students may be receiving too much language material in too little time without reinforcing what is learned in class through use outside of class. English might be better taught as a foreign language. English and Spanish versions of the questionnaires are provided along with graphs illustrating the results of this survey. (VM)