Questioning the Universality of Open-Mindedness to Diversity

Malta at this time of the year is home to some unusual faces. Whereas the old British long-stay tourists and the Filipino/Indian migrant workers stick out like a sore thumb amidst the Maltese crowds at any time of the year, groups of Japanese youngsters navigate the country's narrow streets, polite, confused, and looking, in general, all-around out of place. It is vacation time for many of them: Japanese school and work years do not start until the beginning of April while the previous year already ended, giving many just a small window of a few weeks to partake in short-term English language programs in Malta.

Even before I departed Japan for Malta at the beginning of this year, I heard about the unique value proposition of Malta as a place to study English. In terms of cost, it is cheaper than the native English-speaking countries of the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. But it allows for a much more culturally distant (at least from the Japanese perspective) experience of English learning than the much cheaper destinations of the Philippines or Malaysia. Malta's exotic (again Japanese perspective) historical heritage and balmy weather certainly help make it even more attractive.

But if Malta is to continue thinking about making English-language programs a mainstay of the economy, it might be in for a disappointment. In a Japan of shrinking wages, unfavorable exchange rates, and inflationary pressure, not to mention ever-smaller cohorts of young people, the overall market size will only get smaller. And if exotic, warm, and cheap are the defining features of a Malta-based English study, plenty of English-speaking African countries can give Malta a run for its money as long as personal safety can be improved. 

The fact that attracting people to study English is not an easy business to succeed in is further reinforced by the sheer mental hoops that youngsters need to jump through before they take the plunge. Often, being able to afford a short stint in an immersive English-language learning environment is not the only factor in decision-making. Even more important is being convinced, in more ways than one, that the journey is worth the price and the hassle. Even as "English as a global language" becomes universally accepted as a matter of fact, it still takes personal conviction that learning that global language is worthwhile.

My recent studies to get certified as an International University Advocate reminded me just how difficult it is to create that conviction from scratch. The certification is geared toward nudging youngsters around the world to head to another country for higher education, with programs conducted in English dominant as potential destinations. The certification course encouraged counselors to think together with students about studying abroad in a multifaceted way, with acquiring technical knowledge only a minor factor in overall decision-making, secondary to location, work experience, and global personal networks, among others.

Implicit in these hypothetical counseling sessions is portraying open-mindedness and tolerance of change as positive soft skills that can be learned in studying abroad and would be useful for career development whether in the home country or somewhere else. As much as "open-minded" and "tolerant" may be considered universally good when put in words, they can be less universally accepted when channeled into behavior. For those who have never truly interacted with other cultures and social groups growing up, accepting "others'" presence in daily life can be deeply discomforting and mentally taxing.

Indeed, even as someone who has benefited from being able to use English to work internationally, I often also question whether it is a worthwhile activity for many others to spend time acquiring the language. With language being a tool for cultural communication, "improper" use of English (or any other language, for that matter) by someone without the equivalent knowledge of the culture behind the language can be a source of conflict. In such circumstances, not only would knowing the language better not help smoothen communication but make conflict even worse.

Rather than pushing everyone toward the journey of becoming global, open to communication with others, and tolerant of diversity in everyday life, there needs to be a better way to assess who is capable of such and who is not. Throwing all the Japanese students who can afford the trip to English schools in Malta may bring Malta a bit more money in the short term, but may also make it all the less relaxing of a place, as half-baked conversations among those from different cultural backgrounds inundate its sunny streets with a surfeit of uncomfortable misunderstandings. That reality would be to no one's benefit.