Could your language affect your ability to save money? Lesson

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Could your language affect your ability to save money?

TedTalk by Keith Chen

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Multiple Choice

The statistic that is used to measure how well an economy is performing, is called

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GDP

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Stagnation

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Multiple Choice

When the size of an economy is growing, it is called a period of

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Economic Expansion

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Economic Recovery

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Multiple Choice

When the size of an economy starts to decrease in size, it is called an

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•Depression

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•Economic Downturn

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Multiple Choice

When an economy decreases in size for 6 months of more, it is called a

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•Recession

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•Depression

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Multiple Choice

When an economy has a long period of very low economic growth, it is called a period of

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•Economic Expansion

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•Economic Recovery

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•Stagnation

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Multiple Choice

When the value of a type of product increases dramatically and it becomes very overvalued, it is called a

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Boom

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Bubble

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Multiple Choice

When the size of an economy starts to grow again after a period when it has been decreasing in size (e.g. a recession), it is called a period of

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•Economic Expansion

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•Economic Recovery

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How different is English from your language? Give some examples.
Do you feel different in any way when you speak English? If so, how? If not, why do you think that is?
Would you say that you behave any differently when you speak your first language and when you speak English? If so, in what way(s)?

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Keith Chen is a behavioral economist who wants to know why people in some countries manage to save more money than people in other countries. It seems strange that this difference exists between nations that have similar levels of wealth and a healthy GDP. Professor Chen thinks that language is the explanation. To test his hypothesis, he studied large data sets taken from major surveys. With a high level of granularity, he compared people from the same demographics across a wide range of countries. Keith Chen’s findings show that those who speak a futured language – that is, a language which features a future tense – are less likely to save money than people who speak a futureless language, a language that does not have a future tense.

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Multiple Select

behavioural economist

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someone who studies the psychology of economic decisions

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an economist who helps companies to set appropriate salaries

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Multiple Select

wealth

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the amount of money that a country owes

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the value of all the items, property and money that a country owns

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Multiple Select

level of granularity

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the degree of detail in which information is studied

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the speed at which a financial report is completed

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Multiple Choice

Keith Chen is interested in why some countries save more than others

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True

2

False

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Multiple Choice

The first graph that Keith Chen shows illustrates the savings rates of poorer, developing countries.

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True

2

False

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Multiple Choice

He shares examples of the similarities between speaking Chinese and speaking English.

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True

2

False

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Multiple Choice

He is particularly interested in two groups of languages: languages which talk about family in simple terms and languages which talk about family in complicated terms.

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True

2

False

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Multiple Choice

He believes there may be a connection between the way our languages make us think about the future and how much money we save.

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True

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False

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Multiple Choice

To test his theory, he uses data gathered by major international surveys.

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True

2

False

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Multiple Choice

He jokes about how patient some people were, spending lots of time answering complicated questions for these surveys.

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True

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False

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Multiple Choice

Chen compares households and families that vary in many different ways.

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True

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False

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Multiple Choice

He finds that speakers of futured languages are 30% more likely to save money.

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True

2

False

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Multiple Choice

Chen’s study found no differences in health and lifestyle between futured and futureless language speakers.

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True

2

False

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Let's discuss

1 Explain in your own words how having, or not having, a future tense could affect the life choices that speakers of these languages make.

2 Describe how Keith Chen uses the survey data to test his theory. What is his process and method?

3 If someone tried to insist that the best savers of money are people from wealthy countries, what would you tell them, having watched Chen’s talk?

4 Other than providing some interesting information, how might Chen’s findings be practically useful?

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Multiple Choice

‘The global economic 1____________________ has reignited public interest in … one of the oldest questions in economics … why is it that countries with seemingly similar economies and institutions can display radically different savings behaviour? …’ ‘… an intriguing new hypothesis … I've been working on … the link between the structure of the language you speak and how you find yourself with the 2____________________. Let me tell you a little bit about 3____________________, a little bit about language, and then I'll draw that connection. …’ ‘Let’s start by thinking about … OECD countries, by and large, you should think about these as the richest, most 4____________________ in the world. And by joining the OECD, they were affirming a common commitment to democracy, 5____________________ and 6____________________. …’

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financial crisis

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free trade

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industrialized countries

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open markets

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propensity to save

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Multiple Choice

‘The global economic 1____________________ has reignited public interest in … one of the oldest questions in economics … why is it that countries with seemingly similar economies and institutions can display radically different savings behaviour? …’ ‘… an intriguing new hypothesis … I've been working on … the link between the structure of the language you speak and how you find yourself with the 2____________________. Let me tell you a little bit about 3____________________, a little bit about language, and then I'll draw that connection. …’ ‘Let’s start by thinking about … OECD countries, by and large, you should think about these as the richest, most 4____________________ in the world. And by joining the OECD, they were affirming a common commitment to democracy, 5____________________ and 6____________________. …’

1

financial crisis

2

free trade

3

industrialized countries

4

savings rates

5

propensity to save

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Multiple Choice

‘The global economic 1____________________ has reignited public interest in … one of the oldest questions in economics … why is it that countries with seemingly similar economies and institutions can display radically different savings behaviour? …’ ‘… an intriguing new hypothesis … I've been working on … the link between the structure of the language you speak and how you find yourself with the 2____________________. Let me tell you a little bit about 3____________________, a little bit about language, and then I'll draw that connection. …’ ‘Let’s start by thinking about … OECD countries, by and large, you should think about these as the richest, most 4____________________ in the world. And by joining the OECD, they were affirming a common commitment to democracy, 5____________________ and 6____________________. …’

1

financial crisis

2

free trade

3

industrialized countries

4

savings rates

5

propensity to save

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Multiple Choice

‘The global economic 1____________________ has reignited public interest in … one of the oldest questions in economics … why is it that countries with seemingly similar economies and institutions can display radically different savings behaviour? …’ ‘… an intriguing new hypothesis … I've been working on … the link between the structure of the language you speak and how you find yourself with the 2____________________. Let me tell you a little bit about 3____________________, a little bit about language, and then I'll draw that connection. …’ ‘Let’s start by thinking about … OECD countries, by and large, you should think about these as the richest, most 4____________________ in the world. And by joining the OECD, they were affirming a common commitment to democracy, 5____________________ and 6____________________. …’

1

financial crisis

2

free trade

3

industrialized countries

4

open markets

5

propensity to save

30

Multiple Choice

‘The global economic 1____________________ has reignited public interest in … one of the oldest questions in economics … why is it that countries with seemingly similar economies and institutions can display radically different savings behaviour? …’ ‘… an intriguing new hypothesis … I've been working on … the link between the structure of the language you speak and how you find yourself with the 2____________________. Let me tell you a little bit about 3____________________, a little bit about language, and then I'll draw that connection. …’ ‘Let’s start by thinking about … OECD countries, by and large, you should think about these as the richest, most 4____________________ in the world. And by joining the OECD, they were affirming a common commitment to democracy, 5____________________ and 6____________________. …’

1

financial crisis

2

free trade

3

industrialized countries

4

open markets

5

propensity to save

31

Multiple Choice

‘The global economic 1____________________ has reignited public interest in … one of the oldest questions in economics … why is it that countries with seemingly similar economies and institutions can display radically different savings behaviour? …’ ‘… an intriguing new hypothesis … I've been working on … the link between the structure of the language you speak and how you find yourself with the 2____________________. Let me tell you a little bit about 3____________________, a little bit about language, and then I'll draw that connection. …’ ‘Let’s start by thinking about … OECD countries, by and large, you should think about these as the richest, most 4____________________ in the world. And by joining the OECD, they were affirming a common commitment to democracy, 5____________________ and 6____________________. …’

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financial crisis

2

free trade

3

industrialized countries

4

open markets

5

propensity to save

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Multiple Select

Profits have risen since the company started trading on ____________________, as it has been able to achieve higher prices for some of its products.

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open markets

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industrialized countries

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free trade

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Multiple Select

Some countries have still not recovered from the recent global ____________________, and remain in serious debt.

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propensity to save

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financial crisis

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free trade

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Multiple Select

As more and more people have been struggling financially, ____________________ have dropped once again.

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savings rates

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open market

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free trade

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Multiple Select

On the subject of climate change, it is widely agreed that ____________________ should take more responsibility for global warming than the developing world.

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financial crisis

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propensity to save

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industrialized countries

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Multiple Select

The new ____________________ agreement was signed today, and both countries are looking forward to exporting goods more cheaply.

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financial crisis

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free trade

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open market

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Multiple Select

When people who do not have the ____________________ face unexpected costs such as car repairs, they feel a great deal more financial pressure.

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open markets

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savings rates

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propensity to save

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Explain how these or other factors affect savings behaviours, and what could be done to change those behaviours and improve GDP.

local culture

historic influences

gender

climate

instability of government

levels of poverty

Could your language affect your ability to save money?

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