Title: Research on Influencing Factors of Foreign Language Acquisition: A Linguistic Economics Perspective
Authors: Xiaoquan Pan, Jicheng Shen
Volume: 10
Issue: 7
Pages: 227-233
Publication Date: 2026/07/28
Abstract:
Based on the theoretical framework of linguistic economics, this study investigates the interaction mechanism between the Language Environment (LE) and Economic Incentives (EI) on foreign language proficiency. The research confirms that LE, as an investment field for human capital, constrains acquisition efficiency through its scarcity, manifested in three dimensions: (1) The richness of native/institutional/economic environments directly determines input quality and practice cost; (2) Environmental deficits lead to significantly increased investment in time and funds; (3) EI serves as the core leverage mechanism, where individuals optimize resource allocation through discounted expected returns; however, overly instrumentalized motivation may weaken cultural internalization. A key finding is the symbiotic logic between LE and EI: high-quality environments reduce the cost of competence conversion, while explicit economic returns enhance the efficiency of environmental utilization. Accordingly, policy recommendations are proposed: dynamically allocate key language resources; construct an integrated system of market-oriented foreign language curriculum to maximize the social return on foreign language human capital investment.