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?

In the era of globalization, there are increasingly more people choose to work or study in a foreign country. Some are concerned that speaking a foreign language in a strange land can lead to not only practical inconvenience but also social conflicts. However, I completely disagree with this type of opinions. The reasons are as follow.

To begin with, with the fast development of artificial intelligence and Internet technology, linguistic barriers have been largely removed. For example, people can use application on their smart phones to translate other languages to their native language instantaneously. As a result, they are able to deal with most kinds of busines, even if they can’t understand the written instructions. Moreover, many companies and governmental institutions are equipped with virtual customer services in different languages. Therefore, immigrants with inadequate language ability can still communicate with these organizations and get their problems solved.

A second reason is that citizens nowadays are generally more accustomed to cross-cultural communication, which can greatly alleviate potential social tensions. According to what I have observed during my time of studying abroad in the U.S., people are normally friendly and willing to provide support to immigrants who cannot speak fluent English, as long as they show respect to the local culture.

In sum, I believe that the concern about the troubles caused by speaking a foreign language is unnecessary.