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 have to face with many challenges when emigrating from their home country to a foreign land. It is thought that the language barrier, one of the prevailing difficulties with immigrants, can cause big practical and social issues. From my viewpoint, I partly agree with this school of thought because of the following reasons.

On the one hand, it is natural that having to speak a language different from a person’s mother tongue can lead to several social problems. Firstly, the breakdown in understanding can drive to a dispute among people speaking different languages. Plus, a clash of speech can affect the ability to socialize and tolerate others with different cultures. Secondly, immigrants with serious limitations of speaking the native language can also be considered as violent people who fail to integrate into a foreign country. They may have depression and meet with discriminatory practices and widespread racism while living in a different country.

On the other hand, there are fewer practical problems caused by speaking a foreign language when living abroad thanks to the regular exposure to a new language and the development of technology. To begin with, people have a chance to get exposed to hearing the foreign language daily, thus making themselves automatically absorb the language skills faster. For example, Vietnamese students in England can put their English to a higher level on account of a frequent usage. Furthermore, computers have made it much easier to find information and get quick translations. Social network websites such as Facebook or Google have been designed to aid those who do not know the language of the country where they settle.   

In conclusion, communicating in a foreign language can result in some social and practical problems for immigrants. However, these issues can be mitigated through people’s effort to learn the foreign language and recent advances in technology.