Jessica Andrea Lopez Gaviria

How does foreign language learning contribute to globalization?

Globalization demands to be able to interact with each other through different languages

according to the necessities and interests of each country. However, we have seen that

English has become one of the most popular languages to learn, otherwise to be part of

globalization, it requires empathy, humanization and competences to be active in a world

which appeals a society united but respecting the difference, where the intercultural

awareness is the key of globalization because it has quickly become one of the most

important aspects to collaborate through education, technology and economic development.

Society needs people with global knowledge where the education works perfectly to

achieve such a global goal, moreover the study of a language guarantees a positive social

impact into the community which permits individuals to improve their lives and

understanding of the world where we live in.   Educational institutes must spread the

opportunities of learning English as lingua franca of this century, where it is not only a

language to learn but also a way to communicate to learn diverse cultures, globalization is a

process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and functioning

together (Chomsky, 2006).

It is incredible how technology advances in huge steps day by day, in which the society 

have to be updated and improving the use of these technological tools, which permits the

efficient development of several tasks not only in education but also in professional fields,

technology gives us the chance to know more about the world with just a click of a

mouse, we can have access to different cultures where acquiring a foreign language it is not

an obligation, it is a necessity, learners are part of the world, technology is the bridge we

needed to reach other cultures, additionally we value and reflect upon our own, as Bax said

“when computers are treated as always secondary to learning itself, when the needs of

learners will be carefully analyzed first of all, and then the computer used to serve those

needs” (Bax, 2003: 15).

Learning a foreign language enhances our society in terms of economic development, since

a language such as English permits and facilitates the interaction among countries, where

business and well-trained candidates can trade experiences, knowledge and products with

each other, helping our own country in the quest of better conditions and life improvement.

on the other side professional manage of a foreign language in Colombian backgrounds

demonstrates professionalism and commitment with our community´s economic progress, so

more international companies can express or put their interest to work or commerce with

us, to show the world our talents, culture., economic globalization through a foreign

language opens a huge door for those who are ready to be part of internationalization. 

In conclusion intercultural awareness is the key of globalization, society needs people with

global knowledge, learning a foreign language contributes people to be aware of the

importance of culture in a connected and united world, education leads these perspectives on

how individuals perceive and appropriate culture into a global world, where technology

gives us the chance to know more about the world with just a click of a mouse, however

we do not know what future will bring, technology is unpredictable, we are still in the path

of globalization and it is not a lie to say that technology will predict how globalization will

be perceived in a couple years, economic progress will depend on how we interact with

each other, the possibilities and opportunities it brings, where part of being ready on these

changes is, learning English as lingua franca.

REFERENCES

Oana-Roxana IVAN. FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE AGE OF
GLOBALIZATION. Universitatea de Vest Timişoara
http://www.quaestus.ro/RePEc/dcc/journl/ivan.oana.pdf

This work was partially supported by the strategic grant
POSDRU/CPP107/DMI1.5/S/78421, Project ID 78421 (2010), co-financed by the
European Social Fund – Investing in People, within the Sectoral Operational Programme
Human Resources Development 2007 – 2013.”