Attitudes of parents of pre-school children towards learning a foreign language

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a research whose aim is to examine the attitudes of parents of pre-school children towards learning a foreign language. The sample includes 126 parents whose children attend the ‘Dragoljub Udicki’ Pre-School Institution in the town of Kikinda (Republic of Serbia). The instrument used is the Questionnaire on the Attitudes of Parents of Pre-School Children Towards Learning a Foreign Language. The results obtained confirm the primary hypothesis that the parents of pre-school children have a positive attitude towards learning a foreign language. 121 (96%) of the examinees say that they would like the most for their children to learn the English language. 65 or 51.6% of the examinees agree with the statement that ‘A child should start learning a foreign language as early as possible’, whereas 57 or 45.2% say that learning a foreign language should be compulsory in a pre-school institution.