Executive Director Spotlight: Where Does Language Fit in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?
Learning English changes lives. You’ll hear me say this over and over again because it’s true. But recently, something occurred to me that illustrates clearly why.
A few months ago , I attended an event organized by the City of Rockville and participated in a group discussion with leaders from other organizations. We talked about how challenging it can be to address the needs of the people we collectively serve. I mentioned that needs can vary greatly, based on each person's specific situation (housing instability, childcare, computer literacy, language, and so on) and that sometimes, these needs must be addressed in a particular order, before progress can be made.
This instantly reminded me of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – the theory proposed by Abraham Maslow in the 1940s that organizes human needs into five levels. Maslow's model suggests that people must meet lower-level needs before moving on to higher-level ones, starting with basic physiological needs (food, water, shelter), then safety, belonging, esteem, and finally, at the top, self-actualization.
As I thought more about it, I realized that without language – without the ability to communicate effectively with those around you – it becomes much harder to move up that pyramid. Take “safety needs,” for example, which includes employment, health, and security: how much harder is it to obtain a well-paying job and financial security, or navigate daily life confidently, without a strong command of the language? Or consider “belonging”: how connected to their community can someone feel if they struggle to communicate with neighbors, teachers, or coworkers? And if these needs are harder to meet, then self-actualization – the top of the pyramid, that sense of fulfillment and purpose that comes from realizing one’s potential – becomes ever further out of reach.
This is why learning English changes lives. It opens the door to progress at every level of Maslow’s hierarchy, from meeting basic needs to achieving personal goals and dreams. Without that access, people may struggle to move beyond the lower levels of the pyramid. Of course, there are exceptions – language alone does not define one’s path to fulfillment. But for many, learning English greatly increases their chances of reaching higher, of feeling secure, connected, and empowered.
