Accoding to "Britons 'nervous to speak foreign language when abroad'" (Sellgren, 2015), The British Council's survey found that a quarter of British adult get nervous to use foreign language when travelling to others countries, and 40% of them are embarassed by their language skill; in addition, 36% of the UK hope local people communicate in English, while there are only 16% who said that they can speak others lanuages very well. This serious sign occurs in the university too, due to a significant drop in popularity in studying foreign langauge, which will affect competitive advantages of the country in the fields of international relation, economy and cultural diversity.
On the other hand, I think, people who have never practise English will get more troubles because it is a standard qualitification, which is required by almost companies nowadays. Some organisations ask for a result of TOEIC, IELTS or TOEFL, and welcome for employee who aboard graduated. When I started my career at international media agency, I had to take English test set by my company and joined an interview in English too, while working there everyone are encouraged to use English for sending e-mail and creating presentation, whereas the third language skill is a plus.
I am not surprised at all that Britons or US citizen hope others to speak English, but if we consider in term of politics and economy, it is necessary to understand what people in different area thought for protecting dipomatic benefits, so having skill in the third language is very important to the country. Furthermore, linguistic diversity represent varied beautiful cultures, and teach us to respect and adapt to live with people who have different background.
Since I was born, I have grown up in Chinese family, in the same time, I have learnt many thai traditions, both have its positive aspects, while I do not agree with some aspects. However, I can completely say that I love cultural hybridization and it is very charming. I believe that many people fall in love in cultural heritage too, and that why even some English speakers choose to study others languages; nonetheless, they may not use it in daily life, but he/she already helps those languages to survive and are alive!
Reference
Sellgren, C. (2015, August 6). Britons 'nervous to speak foreign language when abroad'. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-33787756
Although I can't speak them, I'm glad I studied a couple of languages at university. In fact, neither language is really a living language today, although both are still used as written languages, and a Finnish radio station does actually broadcast in Latin (Why Finland? I have no idea, but I'm glad they do.)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ling that English is useful, but my own experience in Thailand is that this works the other way, too: it has been very useful to me to have learned a little Thai, because a lot of Thai people either cannot speak English, or can only communicate in at a very basic level. That said, my own Thai is pretty basic, but it still helps a lot more than zero Thai.
I also agree with Ling's comments on diversity. Learning a language is the best way to learn the culture and the history that is recorded in that language - I've never actually studied in a university history department, but I had to learn a lot about Roman and Greek history when I studied the language. (I don't know much about their modern history, it's mainly focussed on the period around 1,000 to 3,000 years ago.)
Thank you Peter for your comment. I just know today that AUA provides Thai class for foreigner, It's very interesting and I see thai officers try to teach some of Thai slangs to the others. I think exchanging culture through language will be useful for both sides, and It will bring more understanding in cultural difference. If I have to move to live in other countries, I might learn their local languages too.
DeleteHi Peter,
DeleteI agree with you that most Thai people can not speak English, even if very basic vocabulary such as 'spicy' or 'this one', some waitress needs to ask their workmates for helping. So, I think that it would be helpful if I can speak some basic Thai in my daily life. However, I feel a little embarrassed to speak Thai that even if 'hello' and 'good bye'. I always speaking English for those people I meet.
In my opinion they are nervous to speak other languages while travelling to foreign countries because they think that do not have a good communication skill to communicate to native people. As I am know Chinese while I travel to Singapore, which can use both English and Chinese, I also speak English to them, but most of the citizens they speak Chinese. I do not speak Chinese to them because I think that if they answer me in Chinese I can bear them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I spent a year in Taiwan just after graduating, I was at first very embarrassed to speak Chinese, which I had studied at university, but had little opportunity to practise. Because of the way I'd learned, I could read and write Chinese better than I spoke it, but after a couple of months in Taiwan, surrounded by people many of whom did not speak English, or were unwilling to speak English, I did improve a lot.
DeleteBut then I moved to Thailand, and have pretty much forgotten all of the Chinese I could once speak. Like blogging in English, I think it takes regular, daily use, at least until it's pressed into the brain like a native language.
I see your point Ter and the same situation happened with me too! When we try to use local language with natives, some of them usually think that we can speak their language very well for sure, then it make me get nervous and avoid to say it like I am an expert.
DeleteI agree with Ling that the third language is very important to the country in term of economic growth. If you cannot communicate, you surely cannot make a deal with the foreigner who is interesting investing in new country.
ReplyDeleteAlso understand why most native English people feel uncomfortable to speak other languages. Maybe because they haven't experienced the time when they try to talk to the locals and they don't understand what they are saying before. But when I traveled to Japan, I learnt that at least trying to speak other languages make a good impression for the tourist. Just a basic like "Thank you" and "Hello" is enough.
After you start your master degree there, I'm sure that you will gain a higher Japanese skills and can say more than 'thank you' and 'hello', living there will persuade you to try to communicate with local people like some Japanese traders try to understand Thai because there is a significant increase in a number of Thai tourist in Japan.
DeleteSometimes, I used to think why not every country in the world speaks only one language so that everyone will be able to communicate without learning new languages. In fact, when I think in different aspects, linguistic diversity makes various cultures, beliefs, thoughts and so on as you mentioned. Learning new languages and using them are part of social and cultural adaptation. Thus, it is common to feel occasionally nervous and dispirited, and then those feelings will gradually disappear when frequently practicing and using. I realize that speaking other languages, not a native language, that are used in many countries is challenging, but if you can do it, a lot of good opportunity will come to visit you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Feem for your comment, we have the same agreement!
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ReplyDeleteWhen I go abroad, I felt nervous about speaking the languages too, especially Chinese; however, this kind of a bit anxiety can improve my speaking skill, which made me familiar with their cultures too.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I really like your writing style, it's easy to read and to understand, and you also used the various vocabulary. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Pun. Your support will encourage me to try my best; however, I have to practise a lot in term of both grammar and vocabulary :)
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