Could you imagine living in a country in which you aren’t fluent in their language? Some people living here in America are not English speaking. They go through different challenges everyday. Some of us don’t know what it’s like for these people who live somewhere without knowing their language. Could you imagine going to a grocery store and trying to ask where something is? Right here this basic grocery shopping could be a challenge. Going to a restaurant and trying to communicate to the serve would be hard. You can’t even go out and have a good time without communicating to another person. Every time they step out of the door is a challenge. Not being able to speak the global language English can be tough especially if your primary language is Spanish or Chinese. If you have a question and you need to call somewhere, more than likely the person who picks up the phone will speak English and maybe only English. Yes, there is a chance there will be a bilingual speaker, but it’s never a guarantee. You could be driving and you get lost and want to ask someone for directions. Not being able to speak English could leave you with some trouble especially if that person only speaks English. When you go to the doctor, the doctor may only speak English. What if something is seriously bothering you and you can’t communicate to the doctor. How is the doctor supposed to know what is wrong? Even though there are native speakers they are trying to learn English.
The primary language in the United States is English. So the other native speakers will have to adjust to this language. They know if they want to live in the United States they will have to learn this language. Sometimes they don’t even live in the United States but their job requires them to talk to someone and more than likely they will speak English as well. In order to make English more global spoken, China are having English being taught in the third grade rather than high school. So these children are learning English much earlier and may come easier to understand and comprehend in a younger age. Maybe people are traveling around the world to get to know languages better and to practice them. They like to experience the different cultures of how they act and how the speak. Spending some time in a different country you can pick up some of things that go on. You might be able to understand what some phrases mean, and will be able to understand it in the future.
English is starting to become the global language, so it is important to get to know this language either by taking some courses or trying to figure it out on your own. English is not only used here in the United States but in other countries as well. It is important to know this language for future jobs because there may be a time when there is a huge meeting or an email from a company. You will have to be able to understand this language of English.
The fact that English is the business language of the world makes me feel like I have a huge advantage in growing up in an English speaking family and country. In traveling around major tourist places, I can be fairly confident that someone will speak English and be able to assist me at the hotel or tell me what’s on the menu at a restaurant. Your opening question was thought provoking. Because I do speak English and have lived in America all my life, I have never been in the place where I cannot communicate with the people around me. It is true that simple experiences for me like going to the store is a challenge for others living here who do not speak English fluently.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that when people travel they enjoy the experience of new cultures and new languages. This is true for me. When I’ve gone to Mexico it is fun to use the little Spanish I know to order my food and have simple conversations with the locals, but to have to rely on my limited Spanish all the time for every day tasks would be frustrating and if I was in that situation, I would feel like an outsider until I was able to communicate with the people around me, it would not feel like home. I do think that it is important for people living in English speaking countries to learn the language, not only for them to succeed educationally and financially, but also socially.