№3 Learning English
I think it’s natural that language belongs to each of us. Everyone uses words. There is almost nothing in our lives that isn’t touched by language. We live in and by language. We are all interested in the origin of words, in how they appear and die. It is interesting that the rise of English is a story of a wonderful success.
The knowledge of this language is very important in the life of people in the whole world.Nowadays, more than 750 million people all over the world use English, and half of those speak it as a mother tongue. Of all 2700 world languages, English is one of the richest and has a vocabulary of about 500 000 words. At the beginning of the 21st century English is more widely spoken and written than any other language has ever been. It has become the language of the planet, the first truly global language, ¾ (three quarters) of the world’s mail, telexes and telegrams are in English. More than half of the world’s scientific periodicals and 80% of the information in the world’s computers are also in English. It is considered that English is the main language of business. It’s the language of sports: the official language of the Olympics. Everybody can easily think of the reasons for learning English. Of course, it`s fun and you can listen to songs or even sing them. Besides, it`s so effective to know social English when you travel to different countries and can easily speak with foreigners. What`s more, if you have some knowledge in English, you will be able to read books in English and discuss them. It`s great to know English as you can use computer programs in English and connect your future job with this Language, you may have a pen friend or enjoy singing songs in English.
It`s clear that there are many different ways of learning English. But most people begin to learn it school. To master the language and then keep it up and brush it up children have grammar and vocabulary drills, learn poems by heart, make up and act out dialogues, write tests and dictations.
What`s more, many people take English courses outside school or go to international camps or just have private lessons at home. Without any doubt, reading books, newspapers and magazines, watching TV programmes and films in English or using educational computer programs are very helpful. Moreover, I think listening to music is very effective because when you like songs, you can guess the meaning of words you don`t know from the context or look them up in the dictionary and make a note of the most useful ones to enlarge (расширить) your vocabulary, phrasal verbs and grammar structures.
It is a fact that almost every pupil in Russia learns English. Children learn how to read and write, they learn grammar, vocabulary, intonation and pronunciation. As for grammar, it shouldn’t be taught in isolation. I consider it’s better to practise grammar together with vocabulary. Practice helps you memorize the words. In my opinion, you will remember words better if they’re connected with your hobbies. As far as I know, one of the problems for learners of English is phrasal verbs and idioms. You should learn phrasal verbs by heart to use and understand them. Speaking about idioms, you should keep yourself up-to-date with them not to sound rude. It`s obvious that English intonation is awful! I mean, it’s the most difficult part of pronunciation because if you get it wrong, people will think you’re rude. Intonation is far more difficult than learning to pronounce words correctly. There is no doubt that the most difficult feature of the language is “social English” as there are no written rules. It’s important to learn both formal and informal English – how to be polite, what sort of English to use in different situations and how to understand what is said. Learning “social English” is very useful, take writing letters, for example.
As for me, I have been learning English for 7 years. English helps me when I travel abroad: I can communicate with people from different countries. I am sure that English will help me in my future life and job. It goes without saying that nowadays it is necessary to know a foreign language if you want to have a good and well-paid job. In our modern world, when countries have close relationships (отношения), international companies need their workers who know at least one foreign language. That’s why I pay much attention to learning English. I also learn French/German, and maybe I will learn another foreign language later.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the knowledge of foreign languages, especially English, is very important nowadays. More and more people start learning English as English has taken the position of the world language.
Task 3. You are going to give a talk about learning English. Don’t forget to give an introduction and a conclusion. You should speak continuously.
Remember to say:
- about the importance of English nowadays, the reasons for Learning English;
- about the ways of learning English, problems and difficulties for learners;
- how you are going to use English in your life.