A person who has a good command of a foreign language fells at ease not only in his native country but abroad, too, if he finds himself there. I know this on my first hand. Here is a familiar quotation of Johnson’s: “Language is the dress of thought”, and the knowledge of two or more languages will help us to “dress” our thoughts better still.
Learning foreign languages is especially important nowadays. Some people learn foreign languages because they need them in their work others travel abroad, for the third studying languages is a hobby.
Every year thousands of people from our country go to different countries as tourists or to work. They can not go without knowing the language of the country they are going to.
English is one of the world languages. It is the language of progressive science and technology, trade and cultural relations, commerce and business. It is the universal language of international aviation, shipping and sports. It is also the major language of diplomacy. Hundreds and hundreds of books, magazines and newspapers are printed in English, most of the world’s mail and telephone calls are in English. Half of the world’s scientific literature is written in English. English is spoken by more than 350 million people. It is the official language of the UK, the USA, of Australia and New Zealand, it is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the South Africa. Millions of people study and use English as a foreign language. In our country English is very popular. It is studied at schools, colleges and universities.
Learning English is not an easy thing. It is a long process and takes a lot of time and patience. But to know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated person. I want to know English because it’s interesting for me to know foreign countries, their cultures and tradition. English will be of great use in my future profession connected with computers.
