| Human communication and social economic activities cannot go without language, and basically, a person at least master one language. Language economists demonstrated human capital feature of language skills from theoretical and empirical points of view and attached importance to language skills capital investment as a form of human capital investment. With the development of globalization, economic interaction and culture educational exchanges among different countries and nations are progressing constantly and frequently, language environment diversifies for individuals, and language skills are required more and more in economic and social activities. Under this background, people are working hard at learning and mastering some other languages than their native tongue for adapting to the opportunities and challenges followed by internationalization and becoming more competitive in their jobs and interpersonal communication. Faced with more and more complex and multilateral language teaching, as well as resource constraint like time and currency, how can individuals make decisions on language skills capital investment to realize the maximization of utility? Which foreign language to learn? And just one language or several ones? What factors influence the language investment? Discussions on the above questions become increasingly common and practical.Meanwhile, governments around the world take native language teaching more and more seriously. On the one hand, they strengthen foreign language teaching at home and enhance residents'foreign language skills so as to occupy the superiority in international competition. On the other hand, they actively promote their own language around the world so as to enhance the influence of their native language and international status. No matter foreign language teaching at home or language promotion abroad, their policy effect will be realized by influencing and changing decisions of individuals' language skills capital investment. What influence and how will the government make on individuals' decisions of language skills capital investment? It is obviously significant that, on the base of decision analysis on micro-level behavior, leading government variable in and analyzing government measures and mechanism which influence individuals' language skills capital investment is helpful for us to further comprehend individuals'language skills capital investment, language planning and language policy of the governments.Therefore, based on the studies at home and abroad, by means of theory and method of mainstream economics, and economics of language and human investment theory as theoretical basis, this essay starts with the specific characteristic of language skills capital investment, with the analysis of cost-interest as mainline and language teaching market and labor market as starting point of supply and demand. This thesis makes an overall and deeper study on individuals'language skills capital investment, so as to provide the theoretical guidance and explanation on individuals'language skills capital investment, complete the basic theory of individual language behavior in economics of language, and provide scientific theory support for language teaching and Chinese language promotion of China.The thesis is trying to reply the following three questions:First, what is basic principle of language skills capital investment, and how to build its basic analytical framework? Second, how to build analytical model of cost-interest, how will individuals make choices of language skills capital investment, and what factors will affect their investment decisions under either condition of state intervention or no state intervention? Third, will microscopic characteristics, such as age, native language, nationality and parents' income, influence on language skills capital investment? And how they influence?This essay is divided into seven chapters centering on the three questions:The first chapter is introduction and chapter two is the basic theory of capital investment of language skills. Chapter three and four are two analyses paths based on different income forms of language skills capital investment under the condition of no state intervention. Chapter five adds variable of government and take the Confucius Institute as an example, then analysis the individuals' language skills capital investment which is under government influence. Chapter six is empirical analysis of influences of microscopic characteristics, such as age, native language, nationality and parents' income, on language choice and learning behavior. Chapter seven is review and conclusion. Specific arrangements are as follows:Chapter One:Introduction. It mainly introduces the origin of questions, existing research results, considerations and framework of this thesis.Chapter Two:Basic Theory of Individuals' Language Skills Capital Investment. This chapter interprets the basic theory of individuals' language skills capital investment from the angles of economic characteristics of language itself and specific characteristics of language skills capital investment. Based on the above, chief elements of language skills capital investment study are introduced, which is the premise and foundation of the following analysis. First, the economical characteristic of language itself is discussed from the three dimensions, namely function attribute, product attribute and value attribute. Then, analysis language skills capital and specific characteristic of its investment and proposed the profitability and externality of language skills capital investment. And then, the influence mechanism of the above two features on the language skills capital investment is analyzed. Finally, construct figure of main element analysis of individuals'language skills capital investment study with cost-interest as its mainline and list main elements that influence individuals' language skills capital investment and their interrelations.Chapter Three:Economics Income-Based Individuals'Language Skills Capital Investment Analysis. This chapter analyzes individuals'language skills capital investment which aims to gain economic income and build cost-interest model of individual language skills capital investment and consumer utility function of human recourses under the condition of no government influence, and then analyze how individuals distribute time and product to work, language skills capital investment, and consumption. According to above analysis, Three points of view presented: First,mercantile rate of return is an important decision-making factor that influence the individual to decide whether to carry out language skills capital investment and how much to invest. Mercantile rate of return is mainly decided by the following factors, capital stock of language skills, price of language educational product, wage rate of language skilled personnel, and so on.Second, language skills capital investment will have effects on individual utility indirectly by influencing individual wealth restriction. When customer utility reaches its maximum, marginal product value from time for satisfying language skills capital investment is equal to that from time for household production. Third, labor market is the social agency for the accomplishment of individual language skills capital investment. Language skills capital investment is influenced by "need restrict" of labor market. Products of language education is where individual approaches and produces factors of language skills capital investment, which is influenced by "approach difficulties" of language education market.Chapter Four:Communication Income-Based Analysis of Individuals'Language Skills Capital Investment. This chapter analyzed individuals' language skills capital investment without government influence which aims to gain communication income. Communication value is a key distinctive property of language skills capital investment compared with other human capital investment, therefore, analysis from this perspective will provide a new way of language economics study. This thesis makes a study on model of theory of games of individual language skills capital investment in the following two cases:multiple languages and multiple communities; two languages and two communities, it obtains important enlightenment. Then, commenting on these existing theories, this thesis set up the decision model of individual language skills capital investment under the situation of three languages and three communities. From the above analysis, we can draw the conclusion that, different from investment decision under the condition of economic interest, from the view of communication interest, whether individual learns one language or not is determined by the number of users of this language, number of native citizen learners, cost of learning of this language for individual and so on.Chapter Five:Individuals' Language Skills Capital Investment Under Government Influence. This chapter leads in variable of government and discusses the main measure and influence of government on the individuals'language skills capital investment, especially take the Confucius Institute as an example, explains the influence and influence mechanism of the Confucius Institute on individuals'Chinese language investment. From the economic income perspective, the thesis analyzes the effect of government influence on individuals' language skills capital investment decision in the way of influencing labor market and language education product market. From economic income perspective, without government's compulsive means to adjust individual decisions, government adjusts individual language skills capital investment mainly by influencing supply and demand of language education product market and factors which handle supply-demand of language skills capital investment. From the communication income perspective, the purpose of government is to improve communication income of native citizens, which can be realize by providing native citizens with allowance for learning foreign language, or providing foreigners with allowance for learning their language. With a certain budget, to realize national maxim utility, government should choose the combination of the best amount of native citizens who learn foreign languages and foreigners who learn their language, so as to make their marginal utility's comparison equal to comparison result of cost of native citizens learning foreign languages and cost of foreigners learning their language. Meanwhile, from the perspective of location of Confucius Institute for International Chinese education market and the influence on individual's cost-interest of Chinese investment, this chapter explains the construction of the Confucius Institute not only fulfilled the requirement of Chinese language learning in the international community but also produced greater demands.Chapter Six. Empirical Analysis of Chinese Learning Behavior of the Non-Native Chinese Speakers. By questionnaire survey to non-native Chinese learners, this thesis discussed influences the main reasons and purposes of learning one language, and the influences of individual's micro characteristics on language choice and study behavior, which was the supplement and response to theoretical analysis of individual language skills capital investment mentioned above.The outcome of survey shows that main motive and purpse of learning Chinese for non-native speakers are to gain economic profit and personal interest,which are influenced by nationality,mother tongue,ect. From the study, this article got four significant enlightenments:First, economic benefit is the main purpose of learning Chinese for Chinese learners. To accelerate economic development of China and provide more jobs related with Chinese skills for international labor market is the fundamental way to keep the enthusiasm for Chinese Language learning. Second, The important factors of current non-native Chinese speakers'learning Chinese is their affection and interests in Chinese language and culture. It is an important target, as well as an approach of Chinese language going to the world to make great efforts to build Chinese culture and its international communication, and to increase its influence and inspiring power. Third,learning cost is an important influencing factor of learning Chinese. Since non-Chinese native learners conventionally have few approval of "low cost" of learning Chinese, it will be a significant way of cutting learning cost to attract individuals to learn Chinese. Forth, individual's micro characteristics, such as native language, nationality and parents' job will affect the reasons and purposes of learning Chinese. Therefore, to match and satisfy needs of Chinese learners, we should further study Chinese teaching and promotion in different countries, so as to take meaningful measures for different learners.Chapter Seven:Review and Conclusion. Made a summary of the principle view, conclusion and innovation of this thesis and propose the future research area.This thesis makes a pioneering systematic study on the individuals'language skills capital investment. It's the basic research result of the linguistic economics which make a deep analysis to individual level of language learning and provide micro base to national language planning and international promotion of language. Under the background of higher requirement of economic society to language skills and increasing complex and polybasic problem of individuals' language skills capital investment choice, analysis of individuals' language skills capital investment in this thesis reaches both clearness and pertinence on the base of the two paths:economic income and communication income of individuals'language skills capital investment. This analysis, which is the first both at home and abroad, has theoretical and realistic significance. This thesis makes the problem of language skills capit al investment to be established in requirement restraint of labor market to individuals'language skills capital investment and restraint of difficulty of obtain in language teaching market, then find operational stance to analysis of supply and demand of individuals' language skills capital investment and lay a foundation for further research.
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