Speaking a second language is one of the most important skills that an individual can have in the business world today. Because of the increasingly globalized nature of the world, more and more business is taking place in a variety of languages; individuals who speak a second language are at a definite advantage in the world of business. However, research suggests that the advantage of speaking a second language is not merely a practical advantage; there are definite cognitive and social benefits that the individual who studies or speaks a second language gleans from the process. Most theorists believe that language is imbued with social-cultural values, and the exposure to a second language and the process of learning it broadens the horizons of the individual intellectually and culturally.
Before discussing the effects of second-language acquisition, it is important to understand the nature of second-language acquisition. Experts agree that children and adults acquire language differently, but there are different theories as to why this is the case. According to Peregoy and Boyle (2008): “In general, language proficiency may be defined as the ability to use a language effectively and appropriately throughout the range of social, personal, school, and work situations required for daily living in a given society” (Peregoy and Boyle, 2008). It is important to note that there is a cultural aspect to this definition: the individual who becomes proficient at another language is not merely able to communicate in his or her own social and cultural context, but also in the social and cultural context in which the language is generally spoken. An English speaker, for instance, who can speak Chinese in an American setting only cannot be considered proficient until he or she has proven him or herself able to speak Chinese in the Chinese cultural context. This distinction is very important for the discussion of socio-cultural values in the acquisition of a second language.
Children learn language differently from adults, and they learn differently depending on the context that they are learning a language. Young children who are learning two languages simultaneously approach language acquisition much more organically than their older counterparts. Take, for instance, a school system like the one that exists in Hong Kong; many children in Hong Kong speak Cantonese as a first language (Atkinson, 2011). However, speaking proficient English is fundamentally important for success in the business world in Hong Kong, and as a result, many children learn English from a very young age, often in pre-school or from their primary caregivers (Atkinson, 2011).
Because these children are learning English outside of the context of the home, they do not absorb the cultural values of the language in the same way that they absorb those in Cantonese. Some become quite adept at English, and depending on their instructor, may have perfect, native-level English; however, they also speak native-level Cantonese and exist in the cultural context where Cantonese is the primary spoken language (Atkinson, 2011). Because of this, these children absorb the culture of Hong Kong rather than the culture that English brings with it.
However, when these children are sent abroad to study, they are much more susceptible to cultural influences based on the English-speaking culture that they are immersed in (Peregoy and Boyle, 2008). Speaking English full-time in the context of a native-English-speaking culture like England or the United States changes the cultural sensibilities of children, even if it does not change their language ability. Cultural context matters immensely when it comes to teaching languages; without cultural context, it is nearly impossible to develop true proficiency in a language.
The converse is also true: when asking children to learn, it is important to engage with them in the cultural context of their primary language and slowly move towards integrating their academic advancement in the cultural context of their second language. Doing too much too quickly can be very detrimental to the educational abilities and the self-confidence of children, and can have an alienating effect. When discussing the problems of non-native English speakers in Vermont schools, the Legislature of Vermont (n.d.) writes:
The schools in the state are always searching for ways and means to incorporate methods and materials which can facilitate the acquisition of English for speakers of other languages [W]e must recognize that language and culture are inseparable. They both contribute not just to the development of personality, but also to the manner in which the individual, and indeed a given society, interprets reality. Language is the most overt expression of culture, and most of the learning process is carried out through language For the child whose language and culture matches that of the school, this can be, in itself, a challenge When we recognize that our success in life depends to a high degree on our educational experiences we must use the home language and culture of the child as tools for cognitive development in the curriculum so as not to deprive these populations of the educational process.
When encouraging students to learn a second language, it is important to provide them with the opportunity to utilize the language in the proper cultural context, particularly for children learning a second language.
Children learning language in an academic environment go through a similar learning process to adults who are choosing to learn a second language, and are not necessarily more adept at picking up language (Ariza and Hancock, 2003). It is a common misconception that adults are slower to learn a language than children are; however, in reality, adults learn language differently than children, and often possess mental blocks and shyness that children do not have when it comes to speaking a second language (Ariza and Hancock, 2003). However, there is no reason that an adult cannot learn a second language from an academic environment with the same level of mastery as a child.
The difference between adults and children is that there may be some linguistic holdovers from the adult’s primary language, or even an accent that remains despite how long the individual has been speaking the language (Ariza and Hancock, 2003). Neither of these things, however, preclude an adult from linguistic proficiency, and having an accent when speaking a second language should not be considered a barrier to linguistic proficiency in any real sense, unless the accent is so heavy that the language is unintelligible to listeners whose first language is the student’s acquired tongue.
There are definite ways that culture can be acquired and an individual’s worldview can be changed through language acquisition, and these ways are very interesting to investigate. One of the simplest experiments that has been done to demonstrate the cultural influences that language can have in an individual is the experiment with color hues and language.
Researchers showed that language-- the mere act of having a name for a certain color-- changed the way the individual’s brain recognized color (Regier, 2007). Individuals from cultures with names for certain colors recognized them as different from similar colors much more readily when presented with a variety of choices than those whose culture and language lacked names for the colors in question (Regier, 2007).
In terms of language acquisition, particularly second-language acquisition, it is easy to see that language and the way in which the individual uses a language can easily remap his or her brain. Using the color experiment as a springboard, it is easy to see that a native English speaker learning a second language may suddenly be expected to find and name a variety of different colors that he or she had no cultural context for before; conversely, he or she may find that his or her second language does not have a name for a color that he or she has always recognized as unique. This phenomenon is not limited to color, of course; many languages have words to describe people, places, feelings, or situations that English does not necessarily have. The lack of translatability of certain words can be a frustrating thing for a language-learner to deal with, but it can also teach the learner a great deal about the culture that the language belongs to.
Another issue that arises sometimes in language is the issue of blame. English is a very blame-heavy language; the passive voice is seldom used in conversation, and the direct object is most frequently the object doing the action of the sentence. This can be a good thing, because it means that the correlation between action and doer is very clear, but for individuals who come from a culture where the passive voice is more frequently used, it can cause problems because they feel as though they are being blamed (even though the active voice is a common English convention).
This can cause cultural misunderstandings among people from different cultures who are not used to the linguistic conventions of their peers’ culture; in business, this type of miscommunication can be very confusing and frustrating for individuals who must work together in harmony across cultural barriers. This is just one more example of the ways in which language and culture can frame an individual’s thinking; without a careful understanding of the intersection of cultural and language, miscommunication and unintended offense can and will happen.
Very few will argue that cultural context means nothing when it comes to second-language acquisition, but the impact of culture on language goes much deeper than many realize. Without teaching the proper cultural context for a language, it is nearly impossible to create second-language speakers who have any kind of true competency in the second language.
References
Ariza, E., and Hancock, S. (2003). Second Language Acquisition Theories as a Framework for Creating Distance Learning Courses. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 4 (2).
Atkinson, D. (2011). Alternative approaches to second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Clark, B. (n.d.). ECAP. First- and Second-Language Acquisition in Early Childhood. [online] Retrieved from: http://ecap.crc.illinois.edu/pubs/katzsym/clark-b.html [Accessed: 15 May 2013].
Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2 (2).
Legislature of Vermont (n.d.). Second Language Acquisition and Cultural Diversity. [online] Retrieved from: http://education.vermont.gov/documents/guide_94_02.pdf [Accessed: 15 May 2013].
Peregoy, S., and Boyle, O., et al. (2008). Reading, writing and learning in ESL. Boston: Pearson.
Regier, T. (2007). Color naming and the effect of language on perception . 15th Color Imaging Conference Final Program and Proceedings.
