The Return on Investment of Studying a Second Language

The ROI of Studying a Second Language
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The ROI of Studying a Second Language
Section 1
Summary
Colin Baker and Wayne Wright assert that the world’s population has between a half and two-thirds of bilinguals. However, monolingual English-speakers from England and the United States of America might consider bilinguals as inferior. A monolingual viewpoint makes politicians, teachers, and administrators perceive bilinguals’ two languages as distinct systems (Baker & Wright, 2017). Specifically, it is related to the language-as-a-problem orientation that leads to education programs that hinder the usage of home language. Some students learn a second language to help them transition into the educational institution. Semilinguals entail students that lack the ability to express themselves, grammar knowledge, or vocabulary of using two languages. Long-term English learners (LTELLs) is the phrase given to students with limited English proficiency even after studying the language for five years and above. In some cases, second-language learners from a particular community are misrepresented or marginalized based on their lack of English proficiency since they are not native English speakers. Emergent bilinguals are second and third learners of a specific language. Additionally, heteroglossic or holistic perspectives of bilingualism perceive it as the norm and handle bilingual languages as co-existing and interconnected (Baker & Wright, 2017). Overall, the dynamic of bilingualism conceptualization extends beyond additive, subtractive, or autonomous of the first and second language.
Connection
I have read that a foreign language makes a person less emotional. I agree with that since when I am using my native language I become more emotionally invested in things. However, using a foreign language allows me to avoid emotions when making decisions. For example, when using a foreign language I can recommend one person to be killed to avoid the death of five people. However, when speaking my native language, I can hesitate to suggest the killing of one individual d...