Speak foreign language can cause some serious problems

Question (Cam 13, test 1, task 2):

Living in a country where you have to speak a foreign language can cause serious social problems, as well as practical problems.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Answer:

When you migrate to/ work in a country where you cannot use your mother tongue, you can confront many serious problems of both social and practical aspects. With this statement, I just agree partially. It is contingent on your ability to use the language spoken in that country. Hereafter, it is called foreign language.

If your ability to speak that language is just at a beginner, it is quite dangerous for you to live in that country. It is because your limited vocabulary and pronunciation can bring you some risky situations. You can imagine that in case you get lost in a strange area, with some new words you have just learnt from book, you will struggle to ask local people to instruct you to come back your home. Another situation of social and practical problem needs to be taken into account. When living there, you have heart attack and you have to go to hospital for health check-up. In hospital, you cannot express all your symthoms by your own words and pronunciation. This can lead to a risk that the doctor do not know exactly your disease. Therefore, he/ she might make a wrong description for you.

In contrast, if your ability to speak that foreign language is at intermediate or advanced level, you just face some problems but they cannot be serious. These problems often come from the difference in culture. For instance, in a community activity like giving charity to the local disadvantaged people, you should communicate by daily words instead of academic words which are often used in schools.

In conclusion, living in a country where you have to communicate by a foreign language can bring you some problems but the seriousness level of these problems is reliant on your ability to speak such language.