6 ways to shut down ‘Don’t learn a second language. Everyone speaks English anyway.’
By: Nichlas Walsted
Tags: Culture, Language, Language Learning, Business, Travel

As a language learner, I cannot count the number of times I have been slapped with: “Why bother. Everyone speaks English”.

If that renders you speechless, stupefied, flabbergasted… just ABSOLUTELY dumbfounded… then here are the top 6 arguments to shut down the language haters no matter who they are.

“Thinking that everyone speaks English…”

1. “… is bad for business.” (For the businessman)

“Everyone speaks English” is one of the most expensive assumptions in the world. The UK is annually losing 3,5% of its GDP, equivalent to £48 billion due to failed export caused by monolingualism. This study is not accounting for cultural differences, which is stifling the economy just as much.

2. “… is ruining your holiday.” (For the tourist)

“Everyone speaks English” is one of the most negative assumptions whether you want to leisure at the poolside in the sun or experience a foreign culture. Locals will instantly become more forthcoming if you try to speak their language (even poorly) and give you tips and tricks on extraordinary local secrets.

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Not speaking the local language can also be very expensive in shops, cabs, and restaurants as locals often charge people speaking English publicly extra.

3. “… is making you feel excluded.” (For the expat)

“Everyone speaks English” is the number one reason why millions of expats worldwide end their contracts early. Corporate language is often English, but whenever you are social in a group, people subconsciously switch to their native language. You then seek out other expats to satisfy your social needs and end up in an expat bubble. This will decrease your chances to learn the local language and culture even more. This is a problem as they always rank in the top 3 reasons expats return home early.

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Like many others, you will feel alone.

4. “… is making your stay insignificant.” (For the exchange student)

“Everyone speaks English” is the second most frequent excuse not to learn the local language. The most prevalent being “I am only here for six months.” Similar to expats, exchange students seek out other exchange students to fulfill their social needs. Locals are challenging to reach and understand, but knowing the language and culture, you will make it easy for them to fit you into their lives. For instance, introducing you to their families or friends. If you don’t, you will return home without knowing any locals. So the next time you visit, your exchange friends will have left, and it will feel like you were never even there.

5. “… is worsening international relations.” (For the diplomat)

“Everyone speaks English” is a common understanding amongst diplomates as it is the official language for diplomacy. Understanding the language and culture of the country, they are serving in can help them prevent international conflicts that stem from miscommunication and cultural differences. In some cases, the language skills of diplomates have even stopped a war.

6. “… is… wait… you think that everyone should just speak their language?!… Really?” (For the nationalist)

“Everyone should just speak their native language” is in line with the nationalist idea that humanity is better off if every country sticks to governing themselves. Let’s stop all this nonsensical international collaboration rubbish. The concept of international cooperation is uniting to solve problems like climate change and world conflict… and I think that it works better than to turn the blind eye and wait for things to resolve themselves… but again, I might be wrong.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

From my perspective, the world is a 510-billion-square-kilometer-basketball containing both good and bad adventures, natural wonders, new cultures, and extraordinary people.

There is an extravaganza of stimuli just waiting outside your front door.

Staying indoors knowing what’s outside would kill me. The only explanation coming to my mind is that nationalists haven’t dared to open their doors yet.

And if you want to learn languages speaking with native speakers is the way to go.

Visit: www.swaplanguage.com