The process of globalization is rapidly expanding through numerous factors, such as the development of multinational corporations, the construction of international organizations, and the strengthening of international relations. One contributing factor, that is often marginalized by politicians and citizens alike, is the growing demand for learning foreign languages. More and more people around the world have been taking second, third language classes for multiple purposes, especially professional advancement. Being multilingual has become so essential that many countries such as France and Switzerland, have made it compulsory to learn at least one language other than the speaker’s mother tongue. However, not everyone approves of this development.
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A researcher for The University of Melbourne studied extensively this issue across multiple cultures in the article Language Learning and Cross-Cultural Attitudes. This paper addresses the impacts of learning languages on cross-cultural attitudes. The researchers conducted surveys with multilingual Australian students and Japanese students. They also observed students of different languages at Australian universities. As a result, though the positive correlation of cross-cultural attitude and language learning was not as patent as expected, there were inclinations that students who learned a language different from their mother tongue possessed an open-minded view towards other culture (Ingram, 2004). This might be best supported with personal experiences. I was fortunate enough to be brought up in a family that values being multilingual. I remember explicitly how much I enjoyed every single one of my English class. I looked forward to learning not only the language but also the culture of my native-English speaking teachers. I learned how Australian people called barbecue ‘barbie’, how English people hardly ever used umbrellas on sunny days,… I grew to love the language and the cultures that come with it (in English case, there are a plethora of distinct cultures). Furthermore, I became open-minded towards different …show more content…
One hour of private language tutoring could cost from $20 to $70 (Proctor, 2016). I specifically remember that my mother jokingly asked “I paid $40 for your English class and all you do is watching movies.” On top of that, some people claim that in lieu of the great expenses, learning multiple languages does not “pay off” as multilingual people are reported to only earn 2% more than monolinguals (R. L. G., 2014). However, there are many more evidences that support learning languages. First of all, there are more and more means and applications being developed to help people learn languages at little to no cost, such as Duolingo and Rosetta. As for the seemingly marginal financial bonus, 2% might not seem much in $30,000 but for a 20-year-in-the-job employer, 2% of his/her annual salary could turn into $67,000 bonus (R. L. G., 2014). Moreover, people who speak two languages or more are likely to be employed by generously paid offices. Therefore, in the long run, learning a foreign language is not as costly as some people assume. In conclusion, learning a foreign language is immensely expedient. It helps learners score high on standardized tests, reduce biases in decision making and become more open to other cultures. Although there are opponents claiming that language learning is expensive and produces
A researcher for The University of Melbourne studied extensively this issue across multiple cultures in the article Language Learning and Cross-Cultural Attitudes. This paper addresses the impacts of learning languages on cross-cultural attitudes. The researchers conducted surveys with multilingual Australian students and Japanese students. They also observed students of different languages at Australian universities. As a result, though the positive correlation of cross-cultural attitude and language learning was not as patent as expected, there were inclinations that students who learned a language different from their mother tongue possessed an open-minded view towards other culture (Ingram, 2004). This might be best supported with personal experiences. I was fortunate enough to be brought up in a family that values being multilingual. I remember explicitly how much I enjoyed every single one of my English class. I looked forward to learning not only the language but also the culture of my native-English speaking teachers. I learned how Australian people called barbecue ‘barbie’, how English people hardly ever used umbrellas on sunny days,… I grew to love the language and the cultures that come with it (in English case, there are a plethora of distinct cultures). Furthermore, I became open-minded towards different …show more content…
One hour of private language tutoring could cost from $20 to $70 (Proctor, 2016). I specifically remember that my mother jokingly asked “I paid $40 for your English class and all you do is watching movies.” On top of that, some people claim that in lieu of the great expenses, learning multiple languages does not “pay off” as multilingual people are reported to only earn 2% more than monolinguals (R. L. G., 2014). However, there are many more evidences that support learning languages. First of all, there are more and more means and applications being developed to help people learn languages at little to no cost, such as Duolingo and Rosetta. As for the seemingly marginal financial bonus, 2% might not seem much in $30,000 but for a 20-year-in-the-job employer, 2% of his/her annual salary could turn into $67,000 bonus (R. L. G., 2014). Moreover, people who speak two languages or more are likely to be employed by generously paid offices. Therefore, in the long run, learning a foreign language is not as costly as some people assume. In conclusion, learning a foreign language is immensely expedient. It helps learners score high on standardized tests, reduce biases in decision making and become more open to other cultures. Although there are opponents claiming that language learning is expensive and produces