Why Learn English?












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You may follow along with the audio recording, if you like.






Which language has the most native speakers in the world? English? No. It's Chinese. But English is the official language in 58 sovereign states.  And even in countries where it is not actually the official language, like the United States, the primary language spoken is still English.
For many other countries English is the official second language. It's the first language spoken by around 400 million people in the world.  How English spread around the globe may be controversial, but it is a fact of life.  When people with different languages come together, they commonly use English to communicate.  This makes English a very useful lingua franca.   The main reasons that anyone would consider learning English are:

•    Economic: English is presently the main language of business.  If you want to enter the global workforce, English will open doors for you. In this digital age, when so much business is conducted on the worldwide web, it's advantageous to know English.  About 50% of internet traffic is in English.  
•    Academic: Many international students want to go to the top universities, colleges, and business schools, in the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Australia.  The primary language of instruction is, of course, English.
•    Social: The entertainment produced by that great American export, the Hollywood film industry, is mostly in English.  Learn it and you won't have to read the subtitles...as much.

Think about this: although learning English is challenging, it does have a simple alphabet, unlike some other languages. Learning English can help you grow as a person as you learn about the values, habits and way of life of all the many people who speak English.  Why is studying English important to you?






True or False?
  1. English has the most native speakers in the world.
  2. Three people need to communicate but they have different native languages. A lingua franca can help them.
  3. Half of the internet traffic on the worldwide web is in English.
  4. English's alphabet is hard to learn.
  5. You made a good decision to learn English. 






For further reading:

http://www.5minuteenglish.com/why-learn-english.htm

http://www.esoe.co.uk/blog/4-reasons-why-learning-english-is-so-important/
http://www.experienceenglish.com/social-english/articles/10-reasons-learn-english
http://inlinguamalta.com/blog/the-importance-of-learning-english/
http://www.bridgeenglish.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-learn-english/






Next: The Spread of English with some Funny Accents






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