Did you know that speaking a second language slows down the ageing process? Or that it improves your memory, concentration, problem-solving, multi-tasking, planning and critical thinking skills? Want to be more creative, flexible or empathetic? Learning a second language can help you in these areas too.
English is the world most popular second language and this isn’t surprising when considering the opportunities it can provide. Whether your motivations for learning English are study, career, business or travel-related, speaking English will open many doors.
Need more convincing? Here are our top 10 reasons to learn English.
1. English is the world’s most universal language. Worldwide, more than 1.2 billion people speak English and approximately 370 million of these speak English as a first language.
English is the world’s third most common native language, following Mandarin and Spanish. However, when combining native and non-native speakers, English is the most widely spoken language.
Approximately 900 million people speak English as a second language. So, if you’re an ESL student, you’re in good company.
English is an official language in 67 countries, as well as 27 non-sovereign entities. There are approximately 300 million native English speakers in the USA, 60 million in the UK, 29 million in Canada, 25 million in Australia, and 5 million in New Zealand.
That’s a lot of numbers… and a lot of people who speak English.
2. English is a major international business language.
English is the global language of business. An article published in the Harvard Business Review titled ‘Global business speaks English’ discusses how multinational companies are increasingly adopting English as their corporate language to increase efficiency, close more deals and reach company goals quicker.
With many companies having offices and colleagues based throughout the world, the failure of colleagues being able to communicate in a common language can limit progress towards company goals. Often a colleague in one country may reach out to a colleague in a different country for input on a project, so effective communication in a common language is essential.
Furthermore, increasing globalisation means that companies can’t rely on customers and suppliers being able to speak the same native language that they do. Failure to communicate effectively in a common language can limit growth and disadvantage them against their competitors.
Overall, there is good evidence that learning English will enhance your chances of getting a job at an international company. Oh, and did we mention that bilingual workers often earn more money than their monolingual colleagues?
3. English is an official language of many international institutions.
Have aspirations of working at the United Nations? Passionate about nature and want to get involved with the International Union for Conservation of Nature? Learning English is key to getting your foot in the door at these, and many other, international institutions.
Some of the institutions where English is an official language include:
- United Nations
- NATO
- The International Olympic Committee
- The European Union
- International Union for Conservation of Nature
- World Health Organisation
- World Trade Organisation
- World Bank
- Commonwealth of Nations
- International Monetary Fund
- Universal Postal Union
4. English is the international language of civil aviation.
Want to be a pilot or air traffic controller? All international pilots and air traffic controllers must be proficient in English.
Pilots and air traffic controllers must undergo English language assessments on a regular basis to demonstrate compliance with proficiency standards. They must be confident using both technical and conversational English language and be able to speak, read, understand and write English effectively. The International Civil Aviation Organization sets the English language requirements and pilots and air traffic controllers must demonstrate precise, unambiguous and accurate communication in English.
Failure to communicate effectively has played a significant role in many aviation accidents and led to the loss of life. This is one area where effective English communication can quite literally be the difference between life and death. So, if you’re an aspiring pilot or air traffic controller, learn English and practice, practice, practice. Safety depends on it.
5. English is the universal language of science.
If you want to succeed in science at a high level, particularly in research and academia, you need to know English.
Most of the world’s scientific literature is published in English. If you can’t read or understand English, you’re missing out on the latest literature in your field. And if you can’t write in English? Well, your findings will reach a much smaller audience than they deserve to.
Publishing your findings in English means that they will be more accessible and more likely to be noticed by scientists in other countries. For ESL scientists, writing a scientific document in English can prove challenging. If the findings aren’t clearly understood, due to the quality of the English, the study may not have the impact it deserves.
Speaking English also enables ESL scientists to effectively communicate with colleagues and/or researchers in other parts of the world, and to attend and present at international conferences.
For further insight into the opportunities and challenges of English being the universal language of science, check out this article which discusses how researchers, manuscript reviewers and journal editors can help minimize the challenges ESL scientists face, thereby levelling the playing field and fostering international scientific communication.
6. Movies, TV shows, books, music… English is the overarching language of screen and print media.
English is the international language of media and arts. Due to its worldwide dominance, English media will reach a larger audience than media presented in most other languages.
If you speak, read and understand English, you will be able to watch, read and listen to the original versions of some of the world’s best media without dealing with pesky subtitles, weird voice-overs and/or dodgy translations.
Watching English movies, TV shows and videos can also be a great way to learn English. Screen media provides visual context and keeps you engaged so you learn English without realising it. Watching a movie has to be one of the best ways to study.
Movies also expose you to different English accents (although you probably don’t want to start with an Irish or Scottish movie – even native speakers struggle to understand English spoken with these accents!).
Screen and print media help you to learn everyday English, rather than text-book English. They expose you to the types of words and phrases used by native English speakers in an everyday environment. You’ll hear the tone of voice English speakers use when saying different words and sentences, and the way they pronounce words. You may even pick up some slang along the way, which will make you sound even more like a native speaker.
7. The internet is dominated by English websites.
The internet was developed in the US and UK so English was naturally the initial language of the content. Over time, other languages have become more prominent online, but English still dominates. There are approximately 700 million internet users who are native-Chinese speakers but only 3% of the content on the internet is in Chinese. Compare this to over 50% of English content for only a slightly higher number – 873 million – of internet users who speak English natively.
The internet is where people share ideas, sell products and become known… if you want to do any of these things and reach the widest audience possible, it makes sense to do it in the world’s most universal language: English.
To get the most out of the internet, you need to be able to read and understand English.
8. You can travel the world with English.
We’ve talked about how widely spoken English is and that it is an official language in a whooping 67 countries. From Barbados to New Zealand to Zimbabwe… speaking English gives you plenty of travel options. Even in countries where English isn’t an official language, you’re often likely to find enough people who know enough English to enable you to get by without too much hassle.
Speaking and understanding English will make travelling easier. It will provide you with the opportunity to communicate with people from all over the world and experience a wide range of different cultures. You will have new experiences, create friendships, see things from different perspectives, and gain an appreciation of our wonderful world and its beautiful people.
9. Learning English isn’t that hard. Really.
While there are undoubtedly some tricky aspects of learning English (check out our blog posts on tricky grammar and unexpected pronunciations), English is relatively straightforward in many ways. For example, unlike approximately 25% of the world’languages, there is no such thing as grammatical gender in English. This means that you don’t need to worry about whether a noun is feminine, masculine or neutral, and that nouns can be used without worrying about their gender categories.
The English alphabet is also relatively easy. English is based on the Latin alphabet and contains only 26 letters: 21 consonants and five vowels. Learning to write these letters is straightforward compared to, say, learning to write Chinese or Japanese characters, or mastering the Hindi script Devanagari. In terms of spoken English, unlike languages such as Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai, English is non-tonal. This means that subtle changes in tone/pitch do not change the meaning of a word and this makes pronunciations easier to learn.
One of the great things about learning English is that there are so many resources available. English is the most studied foreign language in the world and because of this, there is a large industry built around ESL learning and teaching. Whether you need help with reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar or punctuation, there’s a mountain of resources available. You can learn English from podcasts, movies, TV shows, music, books blogs… the list goes on.
If you want to talk to a native-English speaker, there are websites that help you easily do that too. The vast array of available resources makes it easier than ever to incorporate English into your daily life.
Research shows that once you’ve mastered a second language, additional languages become easier to learn. This is because you have put in the work building new brain pathways with your first second language, and this makes learning third (and subsequent) languages considerably easier. So, if English is you’re third or subsequent language you’re likely to be in for an easier journey.
10. Learning English is Satisfying and Rewarding.
Learning English is a fun, satisfying and rewarding experience. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of discovering that you can now communicate effectively with a native-speaker, or that you can watch an entire movie in English and understand what’s happening.
With English being so widely spoken throughout the world, the prospects are endless. Whether you’re seeking international educational, career, business, travel, entertainment and/or educational opportunities, learning English really is your ticket to success.