Abstract- Research Exploratory Essay

Within this exploratory essay,I am hoping to reach all of those who are considered minorities and educate them on the importance of stepping out of their comfort zone to learn something that they desire rather than curving their entire personality to fit within the bubble that society has placed us in. All of the sources utilized within my essay have all contributed to supporting the argument that language expectations should not play a role in an individual’s desire to learn a new language, but instead as John McWhorter indicates they should consider the personal benefits that come with knowing more than one language.

Should social language expectations play a role in an individual’s
desire to learn a new language?

Society places large amounts of expectations and standards on individuals, where disparate groups of people are assigned to certain standards. Although many choose not to realize that minorities are specifically expected to conform to society’s idea of normality, it the truth. Their every action is belittled when it comes to the way they act to what they decide to do with their lives. For instance, minorities are typically the ones who speak more than one language, however if they have an accent they are viewed as speaking what should be their dominant language incorrectly. In society’s eyes, the only way to fix this mistake is to tame the individual’s tongue to the point where they are able to pronounce words correctly. In today’s `world there are several people who learn new disparate languages, not because they want to, but instead because it is expected from them. Nowadays it can be difficult to find someone who learns things, because it is their desire. Many people tend to focus on others, relying on them for happiness as well as their route to success, essentially hindering them from discovering who they are as an individual. In today’s society, it can become quite difficult to be exposed to opportunities that will help you exceed within your career if you don’t know English or if you only know English. An individual’s personal capabilities just don’t seem to be enough to satisfy society if it does not meet their standards. I believe social language expectations should not play a role in an individual’s desire to learn a new language, but instead as John McWhorter indicates they should consider the personal benefits that come with knowing more than one language.

Society places several disparate expectations on different groups of people. Such expectations can either motivate individuals to become the best version of themselves or it can break them by trying to meet them. Certain groups of people are assigned to certain expectations and if these individuals don’t live up to their expectations, they are looked down upon. Society does not want outsiders apart of their community, but rather those who conform to meet standards. Throughout her essay “How to Tame A Wild Tongue,” author, cultural theorist and feminine philosopher Gloria Anzaldua attempts to educate her audience about the difficulties she as well as others had faced within the Chicana culture. She argues that one must embrace their culture and their connecting native tongue and that we should work on educating ourselves with the fact that there are disparate languages because we desire it. Anzaldua states “but more than we count the blows, we count the days the weeks the years the centuries the eons until the white laws and commerce and customs will rot in the deserts they’ve created, lie bleached” (Anzaldua 32). In essence, Anzaldua questions the superiority of the white race as she realizes that individuals who speak more than one language will always be criticized for the way that they speak because of where they come from. She believes all individuals long for cultural things that provide us with the feeling of home. Regardless of how we feel, we will always have a connection to our cultural background and it is a part of who we are. Instead of conforming to society’s expectations, we should embrace our culture as well educate ourselves with others and the languages that connect to them because it can be beneficial to us.

Linguist and Columbia University professor John McWhorter further supports this argument by proposing the idea that people should learn new languages regardless of the fact that English is a universal language and translation technology is improving by the minute, within his TED Talk “4 Reasons to Learn a New Language”. He believes that individuals should step out of their comfort zones and learn new things for their own benefit, instead of feeling obligated to do so. McWhorter supports his argument by providing examples as to why people should learn new languages as well as targeting how being multilingual can personally benefit us. For example, he states “why bother to learn another one when it’s getting to the point where almost everybody in the world will be able to communicate in one” (McWhorter). He had fundamentally educated his audience with the expectation that the 6000+ languages being spoken today will drastically drop to the hundreds by the end of the century and that English will take over as the main language in almost every country. In addition, he utters that if an individual wants to fully absorb a culture, they have to be able to control the language connected to the culture to some degree. In order to participate in the culture of others, one must understand the language. Furthermore, McWhorter connects our personal health to knowing more than one language, dementia is less likely to occur to you if you know more than one language-better and your multitasking skills will improve. “Bilingualism is healthy” (McWhorter). Dementia is a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning. McWhorter also expresses his feelings on learning a new language, how one can have fun, for instance in Arabic and Spanish, conjugating means keeping certain consonants in place and adding in other letters. He believes if can be fun to play around with. People who speak more than one language, also speak in different word orders. McWhorter had also brought up the fact that people nowadays have a simpler time learning new languages.

Furthermore, throughout their article “An exploratory study of demographics, goals and expectations of private online language learners in Russia”, Olga Kozar and Naomi Sweller examine the goals and expectations of online language learners in Russia and how much technology plays a role in their interest of different languages. Kozar and Sweller accomplish this by locating any similarities between the students who learned the language for professional and personal reasons. According to the article “there are theoretical and practical reasons to study these students as it will (i) contribute to our understanding of a new social practice in the field of language learning and (ii) inform a wider educational community about a shifting demographic of current language learners” (Kozar, Sweller 39). In essence, much of the exploration of the goals and expectations of these online language learners not only revolves around the interest in language but also that technology plays a huge role in today’s society and generation. Much of these students are adults who may not have time to attend a course physically, but would rather take a course that revolves around their schedule. Kozar and Sweller exemplify how and why the desire to learn the English language has increased within the country. For example, “the two decades which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the adoption of neo-liberal market ideology saw an unprecedented interest in learning English” (40). This has not only resulted in technology growth but also the Russian society’s desire to learn English in both the professional and personal aspect.Essentially, these Russian students are learning the English language, because they have a genuine interest in improving their capabilities for either personal or professional reasons. It can be difficult to absorb and master a new language, however these individuals decided to dedicate time everyday to comprehend another’s native tongue and culture.

Additionally Ashley M. Williams challenges the idea of how one must learn anew language because they desire it, within her article “Fighting words and challenging expectations: Language alternation and social roles in a family dispute”. She explores the role of disparate dialects and expectations play in a family household. Williams is apart of the department of linguistics at the University of Michigan who argues that “language alteration can be involved in structuring and restructuring family relationships in talk” (Williams 317). In essence, her argument revolves around the fact that disparate dialects can relate to the role someone plays within their family. For example, Williams states “the daughter repeatedly attempts to adopt an authoritative ‘parent’ role, while the mother sometimes takes on an advice-seeking ‘child’ role” (Williams 317). This is a result of the daughter being fluent in both Cantonese and English, whereas the mother is mainly fluent in Cantonese. In essence, the mother is placed within the advice-seeking role because she wants to comprehend what is the best route to take for her career. She wants her daughter’s advice as to where the best place for her is. Furthermore, in this case dialects change between the daughter, Liz, and her mother, May when they are around other people. One of the translators of the recording believed that Liz had become too Americanized as someone who is Chinese would be in touch with their culture realizing that they must respect those above them, in this case, May. For example, “she tells her mother that she wants to help her make the decision about work and states that her mother is incapable of making a decision on her own” (Williams 319). Although her intentions may be in the right place, by wanting to help her mom with work, she belittles the effort her mom puts in to make a decision. This seems to contradict the idea that one should not learn a new language because society expects it as it is expected that parents teach their children a new language, not the other way around. However, May increases her knowledge on the English language to improve her own well-being and to be successful in life.

Finally, Rosina Lippi-Green analyzes and examines the hardships individuals encounter when they first learn a new language or focus on another within the excerpt “Sound House” of her book English with an Accent the second edition. It can be extremely difficult to be bilingual, trilingual etc. as you can end up mixing up words for one another or forgetting them. Lippi-Green asserts the fact that it is the best to learn multiple languages as a child because “children are born with two things: a set of language barriers wired into the brain…a set of tools which goes along with these blueprints” (Lippi-Green 48). In essence, she is not implying that it is impossible to learn or relearn a new language as you grow older but it can be quite difficult. However, knowing more than one language helps improve memory, which is extremely helpful when learning a new language. It is said that a fetus listens to all the types of languages spoken at home by the parents, that way when they are born they have some type of understanding on what is being said to them. However, they must set down the base of their home and differentiate disparate words and later on layer their home by learning to communicate. Furthermore, Lippi-Green exemplifies the pressure society implements on bilingual individuals especially as children. Many children learn two languages throughout their childhood, however when they demonstrate their capabilities, society tells them that it is “weird” and expect them to only speak the dominant language. Therefore, these multilingual individuals become insecure and focus on the main language being spoken within their region. As they grow older they realize that it is important to be bilingual as it exposes them to more opportunities. As a result, these individuals want to relearn their native language but have lost touch with their “blueprints”. The author acknowledges the fact that it becomes more difficult to learn or relearn a language as you become older, however as the online Russian student within Kozar and Swellers examination, one must work extremely hard to find similarities and differences. It is important to take advantage of your opportunities if you speak more than one language rather than allowing society to tell you what languages you should speak.

Given these points, I can support the idea that one should learn a new language because they desire to, instead of the fact that it is what society expects of them. As someone who was looked at differently for being bilingual, not paying attention to what society has to say may be one of the best decisions an individual can make. As a result, one does not ignore their abilities, but instead embraces them and consequently benefits from them in the future. Society places minorities in a bubble, that we have to learn to pop because if individuals curve their personalities to fit into the bubble, they are hindered from determining their true selves. Instead, we must step out of our comfort zone and not only recognize and embrace our culture but also recognize that there are several disparate ones. People will always find interest in another culture or language, which leads to them learning about it. The best way to learn something new, is to want it yourself because if you feel obligated to learn something, it will become difficult to fully absorb it. All six authors mentioned above has utilized their work to support their argument or proposition in regards to language and how it shapes us into who we are. First, Gloria Anzaldua argues that one must embrace their culture and native tongue, that we should educate ourselves with the fact that there are disparate languages because we desire it. This correlates to John McWhorter’s proposal within his TED Talk “4 Reasons to Learn a New Language” that individuals should step out of their comfort zones and learn new things for their own benefit, not because they feel obligated to do so. In addition, through their article “An exploratory study of demographics, goals and expectations of private online language learners in Russia”, Olga Kozar and Naomi Sweller examine the goals and expectations of online language learners in Russia and how much technology plays a role in their interest of different languages. Furthermore, Ashley M. Williams argues that disparate dialects can impact the role someone plays within their family, how one improves the way they speak because it’s required in today’s society within her article “Fighting words and challenging expectations: Language alternation and social roles in a family dispute”. Lastly, within the excerpt “Sound House” of her book English with an Accent the second edition, Rosina Lippi-Green analyzes and examines the hardships individuals encounter when they first learn a new language, focus on another and everything in between.

Works Cited
Anzaldua, Gloria. How to Tame a Wild Tongue. “Borderlands/La Frontera”
1987.

Kozar, & Sweller. (2014). An exploratory study of demographics, goals and expectations of private online language learners in Russia.
System, 45(1), 39-51.

Lippi-Green, Rosina. The Sound House. 2nd ed., English with an Accent,
1997.

McWhorter, John. 4 Reasons to Learn a New Language | John McWhorter. YouTube,YouTube, 28 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQRjouwKDlU.

Williams, A. (2005). Fighting words and challenging expectations:Language alternation and social roles in a family dispute. Journal of Pragmatics, 37(3), 317-328.

Cover Letter
Throughout phase 2 I have gained several significant insights from the disparate sources provided to us in class to read at home. We have had the chance to learn from different authors and their journey with the English language and how they have come to accept the fact that their native tongue is what make them who they are and it is important to embrace it. Many of these authors are minorities themselves which means that they have an understanding of what it is like to live in a society where your every action is criticized because of who you are and where you come from. I personally have an understanding as to where they come from, as I was criticized for being bilingual growing up and at some point I did not want to be. However, as the years have gone by I have grown to comprehend the ideas that people such as Gloria Anzaldua and John McWhorter have proposed. Moreover, this phase has helped me realize how my writing has improved throughout my time within this course. My learning and writing experiences have mainly been impacted by concepts such as exigence, purpose and evidence. For instance, exigence has played a huge role in my learning experience as I had to learn how to embrace my native tongues as well as my culture. Doing this has helped me improve within both areas as well as be introduced to many more educational and professional opportunities. In addition, my writing has also improved as I have learned how to compose summaries about texts more efficiently. It is essentially being able to recognize the author’s claim and what type of evidence they utilize to support their claim. The summary assignments in class have helped me improve my utilization of rhetorical devices as well. This phase’s assignment has helped me achieve some of the Course Learning Goals listed in the syllabus including critically evaluate information and arguments from a variety of sources and points of view, locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives on the internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, and bias. I believe I was able to demonstrate my capabilities on locating research sources as I was able to work on it during class. I was also able to critically evaluate information and arguments from a variety of sources and points of view by working on summary assignments as well as charting a text. Throughout each text we have read in class and at home, I have been able to further comprehend that it is important for individuals to recognize the importance of language and how it can be personally beneficial to them. In addition, society cannot force one to learn something they do not desire, they must understand the importance of learning something new such as a language and wanting to learn it rather than feeling obligated to do so. Furthermore, I was able to recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaging in writing situations. When in class, we have practiced identifying the disparate rhetorical strategies authors have utilized in order to fulfill their purpose.