Can Cross-Cultural Understanding Aid Second Language Acquisition? Toward a Theory of Ethno-Lingual Relativity

This article explores the hypothesis that having a mind which is open to other ways of looking at the world may facilitate one's ability to learn a new language. The term ethno-lingual relativity is a perspec- tive that is not limited by one's own cultural and linguistic experiences, but rather is open to the contrasting cultural and linguistic patterns of other peoples. Having such a perspective might facilitate second language acquisition, in view of support for this hypothesis-drawn from second language research in language apti- tude, motivation, personality differences, social and psychological factors, acculturation theory, and pragmatic competence.