The English language
English is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is the mother tongue of around 400 million people living in Britain, Ireland, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. English is spoken as a second language by another 300 million people. Besides, English is learned by many more people worldwide as a foreign language. All in all, 1.3 billion people speak English, and the number is constantly increasing. English has become a global language. It is used by people who speak different languages to communicate with each other.
English has achieved the status of a world language over a long period of time. There have been various historical and cultural reasons. In the seventeenth century English was spread by settlers going from Britain to America. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the spread of the English language was facilitated by the expansion of the British Empire. Many countries which were part of the empire kept English as their official language after independence. As an official language, English is generally used in government, public administration and the law. Some countries feel that using English gives them an advantage in international affairs. More recently, the military and political power of the US has contributed to the spread of English. People in many countries who have contact with people from English-speaking countries are expected to learn English. Since the middle of the 20th century, English has been an official language of international organizations such as the United Nations.
Economic factors are also important. Britain and the USA are both major business and financial centres. A knowledge of English is often seen as necessary for success in business. In countries which have become tourist destinations English has been chosen as the main foreign language used in hotels and at tourist attractions.
Advances in technology and telecommunications have also helped to establish English as a global language. Many inventions important to modern life, such as electricity, radio, the car and the telephone were developed in Britain or the USA. English became the language for international communications in air traffic control and shipping. Now, major computer systems and software developers are based in the US. English is the lingua franca of the Internet.
English is also spread through leisure activities. The US is home of the cinema, and English language films are shown throughout the world.
The status of English as a global language has unfortunately tended to mean that British and American people assume that everyone in the world speaks English. So, they do not bother to learn foreign languages.
Essay 1:
At the moment more and more people in Russia are taking up English. Some people believe that a knowledge of the English language is a must. However, others suppose that the increase in the number of people learning English is due to the fact that it is fashionable now. Whose opinion do you share? Why? Why do some people give up learning English soon after they take it up?
Essay 2:
Some people think that one should learn a foreign language mainly to build a good professional career; others believe that it is much more needed for general education and social development. What is your opinion? What do you think is the main reason for learning a foreign language?
(Muzlanova,Task 21) Nowadays in some schools pupils study two or even three foreign languages. What can you say for and against it? Would you like to learn several foreign languages?
Most people understand that without a knowledge of foreign languages it is difficult to survive in the modern world. Therefore they send their children to schools where they can study two or even three foreign languages. However, is it good to study several languages simultaneously?
On the one hand, foreign languages are the main part of our culture so they help us to expand our outlook. We cannot broaden our minds if we see the world only from the perspective of our own culture. In addition, learning languages is a good exercise for the intellect. Moreover, if pupils know at least one foreign language, they learn new languages much faster.
On the other hand, many pupils find it confusing to learn two or three languages at a time, especially languages that are similar, because children usually mix up lots of words. Besides, some languages are tricky enough to learn. For example, in English there are more exceptions than rules. In this case, children can be overloaded with homework. More than that, some pupils do not know their native language well and learning several foreign languages could prevent them from mastering their own language.
In conclusion, I want to say that learning languages is extremely beneficial and I would like to know different foreign languages. However, I believe children should not learn too many languages at the same time so as not to get confused. They ought to get a solid base in one language before they start learning a new one.