TOEFL® essay: A universal language should replace all languages

[Gaby0501]

Hi Alan!
I will appreciate any comments and score you recommend on my essay. Thanks in advance, Gaby

A universal language should replace all languages. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a universal language.

Language is one of the important things we all share. Without a language people couldn’t communicate. Some people think a universal language should replace all other languages. While there are many advantages about speaking an universal language, there are also some disadvantages to take into acount.
An advantage of having an universal language is that it will be easy to learn. Everybody at school will learn it and speak it correctly. I live in Spain and it would be easy to learn for example only English at school, instead of Spanish, Catalan, and other dialects we have in Spain. Another advantage would be for travel purposes. Tourist will be able to travel to any part of the world without having language difficulties. Finally, having an universal language could save time and money. People could save money they spend in translation of documents like for example College or University transcripts. Translating documents from one language to another takes a lot of time and money that could be spent for other things. Also with an universal language, an international conference or meeting wouldn’t need interpreters.
On the other hand, having a variety of languages is one of the richest things we all have in our world. Replacing all languages to a universal languages is like taking a piece of their culture, traditions and history. Each language is unique and the beauty of each language could be lost because people will start using only one language and forget their national language. For example, in Spain there are other languages beside Spanish. 30 years ago, dialects like Catalan or Vask weren’t alouded at school, and people where forced to speak only Spanish. Now children can learn these dialects at school together with Spanish. They can now share their parents language and gain their identity.
In conclusion, we must balance all the advantages and disadvantages of creating an universal language. To have an universal language could be easy for everybody to learn, it could be beneficial for tourism, and could save us time and money when translating documents, but also some think each language represent each country’s culture and history. So, deciding about one language is not an easy task.

TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between a student and a university advisor

[Iruna_02]

You've made a few mistakes, like "aluded" "beside" and "Vask", which sould be "allowed", "besides" and "Basque", but that's something we all do.
I think you've explained enough arguments for and against having a universal language but I didn't like at all you calling Catalan and Basque dialects, because Cataland and Basque are fully right languages, even if they are not the official language of any country.