Text a. Learning Foreign Languages

Learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and effort. Nowadays it is especially important to know foreign languages.

English is one of the most speaking languages in the world. Over 300 million people speak English as a mother tongue. It is the national language of Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. It is also one of the official languages in Canada, the Irish Republic and the Republic of South Africa. As a second language it is spoken in India, Singapore, Pakistan and many other former British and US colonies in Africa and Asia.

Millions of people speak English as a foreign language. It is the major international language of communication in politics, science, business, education, mass entertainment and international tourism. Half of the world’s scientific literature is in English. It is also the language of computer technology. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization.

English is a wonderful language. It is the language of William Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Walter Scott, Charles Dickens.

The great German poet Goethe said, “He, who knows no foreign language, does not know his own one”. To know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated man, for every good specialist.

V ocabulary

a foreign language	иностранный язык
the national language	государственный язык
a mother tongue	родной язык
mass entertainment	массовая культура ( развлечения )
science, n	наука
scientific, adj	научный
technology, n	техника
important, adj	важный
necessary, adj	необходимый

I. Complete the following sentence. “For me, learning English is ______________________________.” Use one of the following words: a pleasure a hobby an opportunity an investment a necessity an effort a problem a pain a nightmare

II. Read the text ‘Learning Foreign Languages’ and answer the questions:

1. Is it easy for you to learn a foreign language?

2. Why do people learn foreign languages?

3. Why do you learn exactly English?

4. Do many people in the world speak English as a mother tongue?

5. What language is used by scientists?

6. Do you like English?

III. Do you agree or disagree with these sentences? Why?

1. Everyone should learn more than one language.

2. People who live in the same country should speak the same language.

3. If a language is used by very few people, it’s important to keep it alive.

4. Learning to speak is more important than learning to write.