d his respective mother tongue, mainly Mandarin, Tamil or Malay. However, due to the different races in Singapore, English has easily dominated our daily lives as a common ground for communication. This has resulted in a stark difference in proficiencies of both languages, with many sidelining their mother tongues.

Understanding the benefits of bilingualism can aid in improving Singaporeans’ perceptions on their mother tongues, thereby encouraging them to appreciate their languages and culture. Moreover, bilingualism can act as an incentive to future employers, especially when applying for career positions which require decision-making.

Preliminary Research: Explaining the Foreign-Language Effect

It is undeniable that language has a strong influence on the way we think and the choices we make. A well-known phenomenon would be that people are more reluctant to take risks if an impersonal decision is presented as a potential gain rather than framed as a potential loss, even though the outcomes are identical (Tversky & Kahneman, 1981).

1. In Risk-Taking

People are generally risk averse, constantly forgoing multiple opportunities despite how attractive it can be. This is so as people are usually affected emotionally twice as much by loss as they are affected positively by gains of an equivalent amount. However, new findings have shown that such aversion to loss is drastically reduced when the decision is made in their foreign tongue (Keysar, Hayakawa & An, 2012).
Typically, people associate their native language with emotions, which may confuse their logical thinking. Therefore, it is theorized that speaking in a foreign language makes people more rational by creating a psychological distance, causing them to switch from automatic to systematic thinking (Jarrett 2012). This lack of emotional connection with their foreign language leads to a more rational thought process.
By regularly making decisions in a foreign language, bilinguals might be more willing to take risks and welcome opportunities, as they exhibit less myopic loss aversion. In the long run, this behavior could be very much beneficial.

2. In Moral Issues