Press "Enter" to skip to content

Does language proficiency determine intelligence?

As the year 2024 draws to a close and a hopeful new year approaches, diversity, inclusion, and multiculturalism are at the forefront of discussions. We are gradually coming to accept in society that diversity—the product of differences in cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives—enhances our collective experience. 

One issue that still requires more deliberation is how we come to perceive linguistic diversity—especially dialects and non-native speakers of English. With diversity now increasingly being embraced, inclusivity for all dialects and linguistic backgrounds should have no discrimination.

But, of course, it is expected that people who speak and write Standard English are in high regard, not to say highly placed. In schools, they always excel in the writing classes with high grades and comments on clarity and precision. This becomes problematic when this proficiency in Standard English is mistakenly perceived as the only indication of intelligence or educational success. 

Regrettably, students whose first language is not English are often seen to be “less smart” because of several deep-seated beliefs and prejudices.

One of the biggest misconceptions deals with the notion that language, specifically in the ways of English, is equated with intelligence. English is considered the lingua franca of the world and, as such, is often used as a yardstick by which success is measured, both in academics and professional circles. In countries where it is the most spoken language and is used in instruction in schools, business, and government, the person who can speak, write, and understand it clearly is seen as having intellectual capacity. 

This forms an explicit hierarchy between native English speakers and those for whom English is a second language, ESL; this unfortunately and wrongly assumes that ESL learners are not intellectually capable.

But it is a terribly limiting assumption because it completely fails to recognize something rather obvious: intelligence is not language proficiency. Intelligence covers a huge swath of skills, ranging from problem-solving to creativity to critical thinking and emotional insight—none of which is then based upon one’s language use in speech or writing. ESL students are often thinking complexly but have difficulty articulating that thinking in English; their thoughts have been too easily misconstrued as a lack of cognitive ability.

This dynamic becomes most pronounced in academia, where even the ability to write logically and grammatically correct essays in English is framed as a mark of intellectual capability. Grammatical errors or distinctive accents are more likely to be judged harshly, their content or ideas flowing into insignificance in light of language struggles. 

What most of the people generally tend to overlook is the fact that all these ESL students in common are actually thinking in their mother tongue, which involves translating every thought into the English language—what is called a cognitively exhausting process, taking much unnecessary mental effort. However, this effort is seldom or never recognized or appreciated.

Secondly, besides assuming that proficiency in the use of language relates to intelligence, many forms of cultural and social biases come into play. English, particularly Standard English, occupies a privileged status in most parts of the world when it comes to international business, academia, and global communication. It grants native speakers an unconscious feeling of linguistic superiority. They might perceive non-native speakers as “inferior” or “less educated” just because their variety of English does not conform to the norms of Standard English.

This can be so subtle: impatience on the part of native speakers when an ESL learner needs a little more time to articulate their point, for example, or making judgments about a person’s intelligence by her or his accent. More overtly, there are instances of discrimination against nonnative speakers when a job or academic opportunity is denied, presumably because of an inadequate mastery of the spoken language. 

This bias blinds itself to the fact that many ESL learners have to face much more than some grammatical intricacies of a new language and yet are excelling in many other fronts of their lives, be it mastery over technical skills, valuable opinions during discussions, or fluency in several languages.

Actually, the process of learning a new language is intellectually undermining in itself; cognitive flexibility, problem-solving, and perseverance are needed. Switching from one language to another, grasping various grammatical structures, and plunging into new cultural contexts certainly means an intellectual strength, little acknowledged by these people who equate intelligence with languages. It is not uncommon for ESL learners to work with various linguistic frameworks within their minds; instead, this should be acknowledged as an intellectual act in itself, not a deficiency.

Apart from that, another factor that propels this trend of ESL learners being perceived as “less smart” is the undue emphasis on accents and grammatical errors. The presence of an accent among non-native speakers when speaking in English makes them a focal point for other speakers of that target language. The content of their speech will mostly be ignored because people listen to the uniqueness of their accent or, even more, to the grammatical errors they will have made. 

An emphasis on form over substance feeds into the stereotype that ESL learners are somehow less competent even when their ideas may be equally complex or astute. Accents alone often carry social and educational status. Often, an “accent” is seen as prestigious while another may be stigmatized. 

This adds further bias against ESL learners, whose pronunciation in English carries an “unfamiliar” or “non-standard” accent. Due to their unfamiliar accents, they are promptly perceived to be less educational or less competent, though this bears no correlation with intelligence.

Similarly, one finds grammatical errors such as wrong conjugation of the verb or structure of the sentence. Usually, it is assumed to be a condition associated with ignorance or lack of sufficient care. However, grammatical errors are a nature of language learning like every other learning activity. They do not testify to the general intelligence of the person. Many ESL learners communicate effectively even when they make some mistakes, which shows resilience and adaptability in mastering a new language.

This is increasingly an inclusive society, increasingly globalized—the notion of the person who is not able to fit into the mold of Standard English should be challenged along with other misconceptions and biases about language proficiency and intelligence. Instead of judging these people, we should show respect and appreciation for the diversity of languages and dialects that color our world. This means realizing that intelligence is not packed in one language or variant, and the language of the students brings very important insights and skills into the classroom.

Schools and workplaces should therefore be more proactive in creating an environment that values linguistic diversity. This could not only mean providing more support for ESL learners but also opening discussions to multiple languages and educating native English speakers about the cognitive demands of learning a second language. 

At University of Maryland, Baltimore County, students have two options for English Composition – ENGL 100 and ENGL 110. ENGL 100 is for students who went to high school in the United States and are fluent in Standard English. ENGL 110 is for international and ESL students. ENGL 110 comes with an extra lab component to help students catch up and ease into the grammatical ways of writing in Standard English.

There is a divide that is created between students between this. “There is a certain shame in being in ENGL 110,” an anonymous source told The Retriever. “When I told my peers in other classes that I am enrolled in ENGL 110, I could feel judgment radiating from them. It was humiliating.” The source continued to express that during group projects, her peers in her other classes would assume that she wouldn’t be able to do any of the writing parts because she was an ESL student.  

It is a perception based on deep-rooted misconceptions and cultural biases that ESL learners are less intelligent than other learners. Intelligence and language ability are not synonymous, and the struggles of ESL learners to master English should be recognized as a testament to their resilience and cognitive flexibility rather than their deficits. 

We must move away from questions of grammatical accuracy and accents so that a shift of emphasis onto the content of what is said can be the building block toward creating a society of social inclusion and equity, valuing linguistic diversity, and acknowledging intellectual contributions across languages.

Hasitha Bhandaru is a sophomore Information Systems major and an Opinions Staff Writer for The Retriever. Contact Hasitha Bhandaru at: h177@umbc.edu