Why Learn English: 10 Reasons to Learn English

There are many reasons to learn English, but because it is one of the most difficult languages to learn it is important to focus on exactly why it is you want to learn English.

Here we will look at some great reasons why English is so important. Post this list somewhere you can see it and it will motivate you to keep going even when you are tired of trying to figure out which witch is which!

English is the most commonly used language among foreign language speakers. Throughout the world, when people with different languages come together they commonly use English to communicate.

Why learn English when it is so difficult? Well, knowing English will make you bilingual and more employable in every country in the world.

Despite China, the United States is still a leader in technical innovation and economic development. English is used in the United States and in each of these fields.

English is commonly spoken throughout much of the world due to Great Britian’s expansion during the colonial age. People in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, parts of Africa, India, Pakistan and many smaller island nations speak English.

English is the commonly adopted second language in Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. Speaking English opens these countries and cultures up to you.

Another reason why English is so important is that it is the language of science. To excel in science you need to know English.

English is based on an alphabet  and, compared to Chinese, it can be learned fairly quickly.

English is also the language of the Film Industry and English means you no longer have to rely on subtitles.

In the United States, speaking English immediately opens up opportunities regardless of your ethnicity, color, or background.

Learn English and you can then teach your children English -- or if they are already learning, you can now communicate with them in English.

English speakers in most countries earn more money than non-English speakers. Learning English will open your job prospects and increase your standard of living.

Why learn English

Learning to speak English well may be the best thing you can do to improve your life.

That’s right. Do you think it would be fun to have access to information that other people can’t get? Talk and write letters to interesting people that others can’t communicate with? Impress people around you whenever you opened your mouth? Make big jumps in your career, leaving others miles behind?

You can get all this if you speak English well.

Get access to knowledge

What are you interested in? Is it science? Music? Computers? Health? Business? Sports? Today’s media — such as the Internet, television, and the press — give you almost unlimited access to knowledge about your favorite subjects. After all, we live in the information age, don’t we?

There’s only one problem. Most of this knowledge is in English.

Here are some examples of knowledge you can use if you know English:

•       Most pages on the Web. That’s over a billion (1,000,000,000) pages of information! It’s amazing that learning just one language gives you access to almost all knowledge on the Internet.

•       Books — on any subject, from all over the world. Read books by British or American authors, and books translated from other languages. Whatever you’re interested in, you can read about it in English!

•       The press. Only English-language magazines and newspapers can be bought in every part of the world. You don’t have to search for Time, Newsweek, or the International Herald Tribune!

•       Science. English is the key to the world of science. In 1997, 95% of the articles in the Science Citation Index were written in English. Only about 50% of them were from English-speaking countries like the USA or Britain. (source)

•       News reports. Watch international television networks, such as CNN International and NBC. They broadcast news much faster, and more professionally, than smaller, national networks. And you can watch them everywhere in the world.

Communicate with people

We like to call English “the language of communication”. Why? Because it seems all the people in the world have agreed to use English to talk to each other.

•       About 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English. Another 1,000,000,000 are learning it. (source)

•       75% of the world’s letters and postcards are written in English. (source)

•       Almost all international conferences and competitions are conducted in English. For example, the Olympics and the Miss World contest.

•       Diplomats and politicians from different countries use English to communicate with each other. English is the main language of organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and the European Free Trade Association.

If you can communicate in English, you can:

•       Contact people from all over the world. Talk about your ideas and opinions on Internet discussion groups. Send e-mail to interesting people. Learn about their life and culture.

•       Travel more easily. Communicate with people wherever you go — English is spoken in more than 100 countries (source). Ask directions, have a conversation, or... ask for help. Who knows, maybe English will save your life someday!

Push your career forward

If you want a good job in business, technology, or science, get out of that armchair and start learning English now! (If you already have a good job, start learning before you lose it!)

Knowing English will let you:

•       Put “excellent knowledge of English” on your CV. Get your dream job, and earn more money.

•       Gain technical knowledge. English is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer science, genetics, and medicine. If you’re going to read about technology, you’ll probably have to do it in English.

•       Learn computer science. Read technical articles without difficulty. Or write your own articles!

•       Be a world-class businessman (or -woman). It’s simple. International business is done in English. And all business today is international. So if you want to play, you have to know English — to contact other businesspeople, go to conferences, read international business newspapers and magazines, etc.

•       Become a better scientist. Contact scientists from other countries, go to international conferences, visit academic centers abroad. Learn about new scientific discoveries by reading papers, books, and magazines.

•       Use your computer more effectively. Most computer applications are in English, so you will understand them better — and become a better employee.

•       Learn new skills for your job. The section “Get access to knowledge” explains how English helps you learn.

Enjoy art like never before

English lets you feel the culture of the world like no other language. With a good knowledge of the English language, you can do wonderful things:

•       Watch American and British films in the original. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to dubbed versions!

•       Read great books. Every famous book was written in English or it was translated into English. There is an amazing number of titles — from classic plays like Hamlet to modern thrillers like Jurassic Park.

•       Enjoy English-language music more. Believe us: music is much better if you can understand the words.

English is easy to learn

English is not only the most useful language in the world. It is also one of the easiest languages to learn and to use:

•       Simple alphabet — no special symbols such as é or ä. Type in sweet, part, film on your computer. Now try süß (German), część (Polish), фильм(Russian). Which is easier?

•       Easy plurals — simply add s to a word. One car, five cars; one telephone, two telephones... There are very few exceptions.

•       Short words. Most of the basic words are short: run, work, big, go, man. Long words are often shortened: sitcom = situational comedy, fridge =refrigerator, OS = operating system. Speaking English saves you time. :-)

English: The man is blind.

German: Der Mann ist blind.

English: This is a blind man.

German: Das ist ein blinder Mann.

English: I see a blind man.

German: Ich sehe einen blinden Mann.

•       Call everybody “you”. You can say “Do you speak English?” to your friend or to your teacher. In other languages, you have to use the right word for the right person. In English, everybody is equal. :-)

•       English is everywhere. You can easily access English-language television, music, websites, magazines, etc. You don’t have to learn from boringtextbooks. You can learn and use your English at the same time. Using your English is especially important because it increases your desire to learn.

Get satisfaction

English is not only useful — it gives you a lot of satisfaction:

•       Making progress feels great. We’ll never forget the moment we discovered we could speak with Americans or watch TV in English.

•       You will enjoy learning English, if you remember that every hour you spend gets you closer to perfection.

•       Using English is fun, too, because every sentence you speak or writereminds you of your success.

YES YOU CAN .....

Learn English Without Grammar Study

Most students who learn English think they must study English grammar rules. Likewise, most English language schools and most English teachers make grammar study the core of their lessons.

While few students enjoy this approach, most resign themselves to years of boredom in the mistaken belief that grammar study is a necessary evil. Most believe that English grammar study is necessary to master the language.

New research, however, refutes this belief. Research in the field of English language education increasingly finds that grammar study is a very inefficient and ineffective way to master English.

Based on the research of Dr. James Asher, Dr. Stephen Krashen, Dr. Ashley Hastings, and Dr. Brenda Murphy, new teaching methods are yielding powerful results-- without grammar study.

These methods utilize an intuitive approach to teaching the language. Students imitate the learning methods of native speakers. They acquire English grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation without studying lists or rules.

Rather, teachers employ carefully designed stories, conversations, and movies to teach grammar patterns naturally and effortlessly.

Research at Shenandoah University found that students using these intuitive methods learned 35% faster than students who studied English with traditional grammar-based methods.

Dr. James Asher's research found that students who use the new intuitive learning methods learn 4-5 times faster than students who use traditional study methods.

British English and Australian Slangs

English Grammar Secrets

Must or have to

We can use 'must' to show that we are certain something is true. We are making a logical deduction based upon some clear evidence or reason.

 There's no heating on. You must be freezing.

 You must be worried that she is so late coming home.

 I can't remember what I did with it. I must be getting old.

 It must be nice to live in Florida.

We also use 'must' to express a strong obligation. When we use 'must' this usually means that some personal circumstance makes the obligation necessary (and the speaker almost certainly agrees with the obligation.)

 I must go to bed earlier.

 They must do something about it.

 You must come and see us some time.

 I must say, I don't think you were very nice to him.

We can also use 'have to' to express a strong obligation. When we use 'have to' this usually means that some external circumstance makes the obligation necessary.

 I have to arrive at work at 9 sharp. My boss is very strict.

 We have to give him our answer today or lose out on the contract.

 You have to pass your exams or the university will not accept you.

 I have to send a report to Head Office every week.

In British English, we often use 'have got to' to mean the same as 'have to'.

 I've got to take this book back to the library or I'll get a fine.

 We've got to finish now as somebody else needs this room.

We can also use ' will have to' to talk about strong obligations. Like 'must' this usually means that that some personal circumstance makes the obligation necessary. (Remember that 'will' is often used to show 'willingness'.)

 I'll have to speak to him.

 We'll have to have lunch and catch up on all the gossip.

 They'll have to do something about it.

 I'll have to get back to you on that.

As you can see, the differences between the present forms are sometimes very small and very subtle. However, there is a huge difference in the negative forms.

 We use 'mustn't' to express strong obligations NOT to do something.

 We mustn't talk about it. It's confidential.

 I mustn't eat chocolate. It's bad for me.

 You mustn't phone me at work. We aren't allowed personal calls.

 They mustn't see us talking or they'll suspect something.

We use 'don't have to' (or 'haven't got to' in British English) to state that there is NO obligation or necessity.

 We don't have to get there on time. The boss is away today.

 I don't have to listen to this. I'm leaving.

 You don't have to come if you don't want to.

 He doesn't have to sign anything if he doesn't want to at this stage.

Why English is important

IF YOU are currently learning English in a school, college or institute of further education, you join approximately one billion other people around the world who are engaged in the same pursuit. However, as you try to memorise proper grammar, and try to avoid the mistakes common to most students of English, you may wonder why you are learning the language in the first place.

So, why is English important?

After Mandarin, English is spoken by more people than any other language, and is the native language of more than 350 million people. More people speak English than those who speak the Arabic and French languages combined.

Moreover, English is the international language of diplomacy, business, science, technology, banking, computing, medicine, aviation, UN & NATO armed forces, engineering, tourism, Hollywood films and arguably the best pop and rock music in the world.

English has plenty of words to choose from. In fact, an English speaker is offered the biggest vocabulary of any language with a choice of 500,000 to 1,000,000 words (including technical and scientific terms).

But don’t panic, most English speakers do very well with a vocabulary of around 20,000 words.

English can be fun too. For instance, the music of such stars as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson and Madonna has encouraged fans to speak the language of their idols, whilst others have enrolled in English classes to improve their understanding of the dialogue in films and TV shows.

Or perhaps they have embraced English to enjoy the writing of Stephen King, George Orwell or J.K. Rowling. They may even have an interest in speaking English just to converse with travellers from other countries, who communicate by using the English global interlingua while travelling abroad.

Finally, if you are studying English at school, college or university, remember that getting an ‘A’ grade in English is almost worthless, in terms of communication, if you cannot speak the language. Spoken English is used in the best careers, the best universities, and is increasingly being used at job interviews. So like it or not, English is a very important language to learn how to speak.

100 People: A World Portrait

The world population has now reached 7 billion people. This milestone inspired us to conduct research to update our statistics, and the changes over the past 5 years are remarkable.

In 2006, only 1 person out of 100 would have had a college education-- today that number has jumped to 7 thanks in part to advances in higher education in Asia.

If the World were 100 PEOPLE:

50 would be female
50 would be male 

26 would be children
There would be 74 adults,
8 of whom would be 65 and older

There would be:
60 Asians
15 Africans
14 people from the Americas
11 Europeans

33 Christians
22 Muslims
14 Hindus
7 Buddhists
12 people who practice other religions
12 people who would not be aligned with a religion

12 would speak Chinese
5 would speak Spanish
5 would speak English
3 would speak Arabic
3 would speak Hindi
3 would speak Bengali
3 would speak Portuguese
2 would speak Russian
2 would speak Japanese
62 would speak other languages

83 would be able to read and write; 17 would not 

7 would have a college degree
22 would own or share a computer

77 people would have a place to shelter them
from the wind and the rain, but 23 would not 

1 would be dying of starvation
15 would be undernourished
21 would be overweight 

87 would have access to safe drinking water
13 people would have no clean, safe water to drink

(http://www.100people.org/statistics_100stats.php?section=statistics)

Advice on Learning English Fast

The world is moving at a fast pace and it is becoming more and more international. English is clearly the world's language and it is essential to learn it and learn it fast.

Although it is impossible to learn English well in only a few weeks, it is very possible to find extremely efficient study methods. Some students seem to learn fast while others study for years and hardly learn anything at all. Intelligence and natural language ability play less of a role than a good study method and real motivation.

Learn from Native speakers

If you want to learn English in the fastest way possible, it is absolutely necessary you follow a good plan. You need to listen to native English speakers. If you don't have any around, download some free podcasts on Itunes and listen on your computer or MP3 player. You can do this from anywhere.

Listening to native English speakers will allow you to realize what kinds of English words are important to learn and which ones are not. It is useless to study random words from a dictionary. This is the slowest way possible. Native English speakers know the definitions of less than half of the words in the dictionary, and many of the other words are very specialized and seldom used. There is often another way to express yourself without the need to get caught up with high level vocabulary.

If you pay attention to native speakers, you will soon realize they use a lot of slang and relatively simple vocabulary, especially in their regular daily lives.

If you can learn the majority of what is said on movies, TV, and in podcasts, your English will improve very quickly. You will find you do not need to study too many words and phrases. Just study the most common ones and make sure you understand them and are able to use them.

Importance Of English Language

English language comes to our aid in our commercial transactions throughout the globe. English is the language of the latest business management in the world proficiency in English has brought laurels to many businessmen. English is a means not only for international commerce; it has become increasingly essential for inter-state commerce and communication. 

A language attracts people because of the wealth of literature and knowledge enshrined in it. English poses no danger to other languages. English is available to us as a historical heritage in addition to our own language. We must make the best use of English to develop ourselves culturally and materially so that we can compete with the best in the world of mind and matter. English language is our window to the world. 

English language is one tool to establish our viewpoint. We can learn from others experience. We can check the theories of foreigners against our experience. We can reject the untenable and accept the tenable. We can also propagate our theories among the international audience and readers. 

Learning to speak English must be part of resolutions for 2013!

English is one of the most frequently used dialects in the world, which often is the primary reason why a lot of individuals are desiring to study this as a second language.

If you are hoping to work in foreign countries, it’s actually essential to understand how to speak English since it is regarded as the principal international working language. You’ll have fewer issues conversing and handling some other nationalities if you furthermore know the basic principles of English.

On the other hand, things could be very tough, especially if your homeland is not very savvy with the language. English is one of the most prominent languages because it is the official language spoken by most of the leading places throughout the world.