Task 2. Living in a foreign country

Please help me with this task.

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?

People who live in a foreign country and do not speak the local language face plenty of issues ranging from social isolation to difficulty in performing day-to-day tasks. I completely agree with this notion that language barrier is a significant concern for expatriates. Not only is it hard to join a social circle, but moving around within the city also proves to be a challenge.

Loneliness is the top complaint people have who live in a place where a different language is being spoken. When a person moves to a totally new place, leaving behind his acquaintances and family, he needs to find a new circle of friends. However, due to limited communication, mingling with the locals becomes rather tough, for this reason one can feel out of place. Many a time people move back to their own country citing a reason that they missed the human bond that they had.

Aside from the feeling of being lonely, other problems that need tackling are related to daily activities. This can include navigation through the roads. If a person is not able to understand the road signs or street names, going from one place to another becomes a significant challenge in itself. China is one such place where an intensive network of trains and subways are present, yet many signs are in Chinese language especially in smaller cities. Non natives have considerable difficulty deciphering these signs. They end up being lost and need to rely on Google translators or guide books for finding their ways.

To conclude, where moving to a new destination can be exciting, at the same time an unknown language can cause interacting with other people and travelling within the city a daunting task.