Why is it so important to
learn English?
There
are many, many reasons why learning a new language is a good
idea. It allows you to communicate with new people. It
helps you to see things from a different perspective, or get a
deeper understanding of another culture. It helps you to
become a better listener. It even has health benefits, as
studies have shown that people who speak two or more languages have
more active minds later in life!
Those
are all reasons to learn any language – but did you know that
there are 6,500 languages still spoken in the world
today? With such an enormous number to choose from, why pick
English?
Here are five big reasons that learning
English can improve your life.
-
It’s the Official Language
of 53 Countries
400
million people around the world speak English as their first
language. Not only that, but English is listed as one of the
official languages in more than a quarter of the countries in the
world. That’s a lot of new people you can communicate with
just by improving one language!
-
It’s the Most Widely Spoken
Language in the World
What’s
more, English is the rest of the world’s “second language”. While
Chinese Mandarin and Spanish are the mother tongues of more people
overall, most people in the world choose to learn some English
after their native language. In fact, one in five people on the
planet speak or understand at least a little bit of
English.
This
makes English one of the most useful languages you can learn. After
all, you can’t learn all 6,500 languages in the world, but at least
you will be able to communicate with people from all different
countries using English.
-
It Can Help You Get a
Better Job
Companies are becoming more international, and English is
listed as an essential skill for more and more jobs. There are some
organisations that now conduct all their business in English, no
matter where in the world they are based. If you want the best paid
opportunities, learning English is a great
idea.
-
It Makes It Easier to
Travel
As I
said before, English is the world’s second language. This means
that learning English makes it much easier to travel anywhere you
want. For example, aeroplane announcements, train timetables,
emergency information and street signs are often translated into
English, particularly in countries that use a different type of
alphabet. Plus, even if you don’t find other travellers or local
people that speak your mother tongue, you are practically
guaranteed to find someone who understands some
English.
-
It’s the Language of the
Media
Most of
the content on the internet is written in English. Many of the
world’s biggest news outlets, including TV, newspapers, magazines
and radio, are produced in English. Some of your favourite films,
TV shows and pop music are probably English-language. Go to any
international film festival in the world and you will see that all
films are either in English or have English
subtitles.
English
is the international language of media and arts and so, if you want
to access as much as possible for yourself, without relying on
translations, it’s the most powerful language you can learn
today!