Why You Need a Foreign Language & How to Learn One: Online Version
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CHAPTER 1
Does an English-speaker really Need a Foreign Language?
THE BELIEF THAT "EVERYONE IN THE WORLD SPEAKS ENGLISH"
This misconception is vast and multifaceted, and the next chapter is dedicated to examining it in detail. As a preliminary remark, note two points: 1.) The whole world does not speak English. Rather, much of the world knows some English, and 2.) Even when you are dealing with people who have skills in English as a secondary language, there is much to be gained by the ability to resort to their language when necessary. (The full implications of this point will become clear in Chapter 7.)
ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES ARE GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED
Great Britain is an island. The United States is surrounded by oceans to the east and west; and our northern border is occupied by a sparsely populated country that also speaks English. Australia is an island continent in the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand and Canada are similarly isolated by geography, when compared to the interlocking, tightly clustered nations of continental Europe.
The Internet and modern air travel have made geographic isolation a less significant factor than it was at the beginning of the last century; but the psychological effects of geographic isolation have a long half-life. This is especially true in the United States, where much of the population still lives in relatively wide open, isolated spaces.
THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD REPRESENTS A DOMINANT CULTURE
The English-speaking peoples are arguably the freest, most prosperous people on Earth. I personally am thankful for this; I am not an apologist for the triumph of Western Civilization or American culture. Nonetheless, it would be myopic and ultimately delusional to ignore the rise of China, Japan, Brazil, and other non-Anglophone nations to world power status. This means that learning the languages of these nations is worth our time and effort.
Copyright 2005 Beechmont Crest Publishing
