Second Language Case Study

With globalization, multilingual skill has become a language advantage in many industries. Millions of people are using more than one language on a daily basis to communicate and to work. In general, first language appears to be more proficient than second language. Given that first language is developed throughout an individual’s daily life, while the second language is often required in a classroom setting.

Despite the bilingual individuals who master two language at a native user level, most of people are differentiated in behaviour and thinking process under their first and second language environment. Many studies have been done that showed the use of a foreign language affects judgment and decision making. Thinking and reasoning are

That when under a second language environmental setting, people tend to rely more on systematic process rather than their intuition and affection. Hence the decision biased is therefore reduced. The reasoning behind this theory is originated in the distancing mechanism caused by the second language, which filters people’s thinking process of immediate intuitive system, and leaves it to a more deliberate mode of thinking. With the increase of the reliance on systematic thinking, decision biases are hence

He indicated that a foreign language may provide greater distance afar the intuition in thinking process, is because it is less grounded in the emotion system than a native tongue is. His research has found even when people fully comprehend the meaning of taboo words, reprimands, expressions of love, and advertisement slogans, they react to them less emotionally in a foreign language (Ayciceği & Harris, 2004; Dewaele, 2004; Harris, Aycicegi, & Gleason, 2003; Puntoni, de Langhe, & van Osselaer, 2009). The reduced emotional response diminishes an individual’s reliance on his intuition and affection in thinking process, and thus pushes people to rely more on their systematic and analytic process. Further leads to a more rational thinking in decision making process.

Favreau & Segalowitz (1983) provided a more cognitive theory behind the Enhanced-Systematicity. That the distancing from intuition and affection could be caused by differences in people’s automatic reaction towards thinking in different languages. That is to say, a foreign language is typically processed less automatically than a native language. With less automatic feature in processing, the second language refers people to a more deliberate mode. Thus the reliance on systematical thinking becomes heavier and therefore guides people to a more analytic decision making