For most non-native speakers, speaking English well has its intrinsic value. It builds your self-confidence and rewards you with a satisfaction of an accomplishment. For many, it comes with a monetary value too.
How much more do you expect to earn if you speak English as a second language very well? A recent article in Forbes magazine, titled The Most Popular Foreign Languages, offers a clue:
But no matter which language they study, the income gains for native English speakers learning a foreign tongue are tiny compared with the gains for non-English-speaking immigrants who learn English.
Aimee Chin, an associate professor in the economics department at the University of Houston, has found that immigrants to the U.S. who transition from speaking English “well” to “very well” have seen their wages rise by 30%.
Chin’s research, published in 2003, evaluated earnings of individuals who had emigrated to the U.S. as children and eventually entered the job market. Chin and her co-author found that compared to a person who speaks English poorly, those who have mastered it earn 67% more.
Well, not a bad return if you invest in improving your spoken English. It surely beats the stock market even during the period of an irrational exuberance.
(You can read the full article at the Forbes’ site)
