WHY WE LEARN ENGLISH

People began to speak many centuries ago, and since then they have been speaking different languages. Every language reflects the soul, behaviour and temperament of each nationality. Peoples createdtheir own alphabets and rules, but they always wanted to communicate with each other, to understand and to know more about each other. Languages help people to understand each other better, they help them to solve different economic and political problems, which stands before them, and so people learn foreign languages.

All languages are different. Some are very hard, some are easier, some are similar, but there are no identical languages in the whole world. There are more than 2 700 languages in the world. Many of them are "alive" because people use them, but there are some "dead" languages, for example Latin.

Two thousands years ago, Latin was the world's most important international language. Today this title belongs to English. It's a global language of travel, business, pop culture, sport and science.

Over one billion people speak English. That's almost one fifth of the world's population. For over 400 million it's their first language. For the other 600 million it's either a second language or a foreign language.

Today, in fact, over 250 million people are learning English. That's more than the population of the USA.

The average person in Britain has a vocabulary of between 10 and 15 000 000 words. In his plays William Shakespeare used a vocabulary of about 30 000 words. Shakespeare was born over 400 years ago. At that time, only six or seven million people spoke English.

Now English is spoken practically all over the world, it has become the world's most important language in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. It is spoken as a mother tongue in Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Besides, a lot of people speak English in Japan, India, China, Africa and many other countries. English is one of the official languages of the United Nation Organization. Half of the world's scientific literature is in English. It is the language of computer technology.

To my mind English is worth studying. There is a proverb: "A new language is a new world". "Knowledge is a power", one great man said. Speaking a foreign language one can not only read the papers, magazines and original books by outstanding writers, but

as well watch satellite programmes, travel easily to different parts of the world. Besides, understanding and speaking a foreign language became necessary while applying for a good and well-paid job.

Now I know that it is a must for XXI century professional no matter what job to choose. The world is getting smaller and international connections tighter. A lot of foreign delegations keep coming to our country, hundreds of joint ventures have appeared in every city of our country recently. So without doubt you can't do without learning this beautiful language.

VOCABULARY

to reflect [ri'flekt] - отбивать, отражать

soul [səul] - душа

behaviour [bi'heɪvjə] - поведение, манеры, поступки

to create [krɪ(:)'eɪt] - создавать

similar ['sɪmilə] - подобный (to smth. - до чего); похожий, подобный

average ['æv(ə)rid3] - нормальный, обычный, заурядный, средний

a mother tongue [tʌŋ] - родной язык

worth [wə:θ] - достойный, заслуживающий, достойный

satellite ['sætəlaɪt] - спутниковый

to apply [ə'plaɪ] for - обращаться с просьбой, заявлением

(особл. в письменной форме) о (что-то), претендовать на

well-paid job [wel peɪd dʒəub] - хорошо оплачиваемая работа

joint venture ['vəntfə] - совместное предприятие

do without [wiðəut] - обходиться без

QUESTIONS

1. What was the world's most important international language two thousands years ago ?

2. How many people speak English as their first language, a second language or a foreign language ?

3. How many languages are there in the world?

4. How large is the vocabulary of the average British person ?

5. Where is spoken English?

6. Why do you learn English ?