The manifold costs of being a non-native English speaker in science

Tatsuya Amano; Valeria Ramírez-Castañeda; Violeta Berdejo-Espinola; Israel Borokini; Shawan Chowdhury; Marina Golivets; Juan David González-Trujillo; Flavia Montaño-Centellas; Kumar Paudel; Rachel Louise White; Diogo Veríssimo

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3002184

journal article Open Access Jul 18, 2023

The manifold costs of being a non-native English speaker in science

Tatsuya Amano

Valeria Ramírez-Castañeda

Violeta Berdejo-Espinola

Israel Borokini Shawan Chowdhury

Marina Golivets

Juan David González-Trujillo Flavia Montaño-Centellas Kumar Paudel Rachel Louise White

Diogo Veríssimo

PLOS Biology Vol. 21 No. 7 pp. e3002184 · Public Library of Science (PLoS)

View at Publisher Save 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002184

Abstract

The use of English as the common language of science represents a major impediment to maximising the contribution of non-native English speakers to science. Yet few studies have quantified the consequences of language barriers on the career development of researchers who are non-native English speakers. By surveying 908 researchers in environmental sciences, this study estimates and compares the amount of effort required to conduct scientific activities in English between researchers from different countries and, thus, different linguistic and economic backgrounds. Our survey demonstrates that non-native English speakers, especially early in their careers, spend more effort than native English speakers in conducting scientific activities, from reading and writing papers and preparing presentations in English, to disseminating research in multiple languages. Language barriers can also cause them not to attend, or give oral presentations at, international conferences conducted in English. We urge scientific communities to recognise and tackle these disadvantages to release the untapped potential of non-native English speakers in science. This study also proposes potential solutions that can be implemented today by individuals, institutions, journals, funders, and conferences.
Please see the Supporting information files (S2–S6 Text) for Alternative Language Abstracts and Figs 5 and 6.

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References

Details

Published: Jul 18, 2023
Vol/Issue: 21(7)
Pages: e3002184
License: View

Authors

T

Tatsuya Amano

V

Valeria Ramírez-Castañeda

V

Violeta Berdejo-Espinola

Juan David González-Trujillo

F

Flavia Montaño-Centellas

Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UK; Institute for Conservation Research San Diego Zoo Global San Diego CA

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Award: DFG-FZT 118, 202548816

Australian Research Council Award: FT180100354

Cite This Article

Tatsuya Amano, Valeria Ramírez-Castañeda, Violeta Berdejo-Espinola, et al. (2023). The manifold costs of being a non-native English speaker in science. PLOS Biology, 21(7), e3002184. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002184

The manifold costs of being a non-native English speaker in science

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