Introduction

I’m convinced that the limits of my language mean the limits of my world. Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about. And I believe words do two major things: provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness. Throughout the history of the mankind people needed some second language to understand each other. As one wise person said: “Talk to people in their own language; if you do it well, they’ll say: “God, he said exactly what I was thinking”; and when they begin to respect you, they’ll follow you to the death”. And I’d like to speak more detailed about the importance of learning English nowadays.

Main Part

To begin with, I’d like to mention that the English language is very common and very useful for the people round the world. And there are so many English words that are used internationally. I mean, in the sphere of computers, radio, television, sport, aviation, business, commerce and many others. So, it is just the universal language. And some people even think very soon teachers will start using English to teach children other subjects. By the way, there is no common opinion about the importance of knowing British life, habits, institutions. Some people incline to think that cultural roots of English aren’t important at all, while others believe that people have to know at least a little bit about the background and the culture of the country before they can fully understand the language. Moreover, the same words sometimes mean different things to different people. For instance, the word “tea” can be a drink to some people in one country and in another in means an entire meal. Anyway, English is very important in the work situation, particularly, if people work in big companies and have to travel a lot and do a lot of business between countries. But still, there are quite a large number of professions, in which people are happy just to stick to their own language. As to the way English is taught in different educational institutions, on the one hand, personal contact the “student-teacher” is a very important one, and on the other hand, modern technologies allow people to learn foreign languages in a different way. From my point of view, the best result is achieved when these two methods are combined. And I would also like to confess that I belong to the group of people, who don’t think English will ever become more important that the language of the native speaker. Obviously, English plays a very essential role in lives of many people, but your own language, culture, traditions, just personal and national identities are far more important to you. And I believe it’s good to respect those and to hold to them.

Conclusion

To sum it up I’d like to adduce the saying of one great German poet: “Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own”. That’s why in order to understand oneself and environment one has to study foreign languages.

The typical pastime activities of young people in Britain and in Belarus (“An Interview”)