...Why is English the international language? The fact that English is now the main international language is indisputable. In all aspects of international life – trade, science, diplomacy, education and travel – the common language is English and has been for decades. There are two main reasons why English is the current lingua franca; political history and economics. First, one of the main reasons why English is the international language in the world today is the fact that Britain was the global superpower in the nineteenth century and America is the global superpower in the twentieth and twenty-first. For example, these two English-speaking countries were the most important countries in terms of the military and trade. By conquering and colonising so much of the world, their customs, culture and way of life became common in those parts of the world. This is why so many ex-British colonies now have English as the national language, with many of their people speaking English as a first language. Second, a further reason for the spread and of English is economics. By being the global political and military superpower, these two countries also became the leading trading nations and many countries and territories needed to learn English in order to trade with them. The USA is currently a major trading partner with almost every other country on the planet due to the size of the consumer economy. This explains why in many countries, English is a...
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...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...
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...School Students’ oral English Interest Abstract With the opening-up of China, English teaching has been getting more and more attention, especially since Beijing won the bid to hold the 2008 Olympic Games，the economy and society developed quickly in China and different cultures have come into contact more and more, there is no denying that English will play an important role in communication. As a result, English teaching and reform are coming to a turning point, how to improve students' spoken English is the core issue of students and teachers. Students are more and more eager to learn English well especially the oral English, but a lot of difficulties and barriers in the way. Therefore, how to stimulate middle school students' oral English interest becomes more and more important. In this paper, the author pays attention to studying the present situation of Middle school students Oral English study, and propose some personnel but effective strategies to stimulate students’ oral English skills. Key words：Oral English, interests, communication. Table of Contents Abstract…………………………..........................….............................................……….ii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………........…………iii Outline…………………………………………………………………………………… v 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… 1 2. The Significant Value of Oral English………………………………………………… 2 2.1 English is the most widely used languages…………………………………………. 2 2.2 Oral English Skills is the Necessary...
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...What was the change of the language culture after Hong Kong handover to China in 1997? By Kay Yim Hoi Man Hong Kong's culture was born in a fusion of East and West. It not only kept many Chinese traditions, but also experienced a baptism of western culture. Since the cause of the First and Second Opium War from 1983 to 1986 , Hong Kong was become a British colony. Therefore, many Britons came to Hong Kong for development and eventually English became the major language(¶4). However, the proportion of Britons lived in Hong Kong were gradually declined as there were large numbers of Mainland China immigrated to Hong Kong since 1974.Luckily, Hong Kong was located on a favorable geographical location, where could attract numerous of people from Western and Asian ,especially the majority of other cities in China ,for example Shanghai.( ¶1)(7)As a result, there had the reduction of multilingualism and the enlargement of Cantonese as usual spoken between 1960s and 1990s.(157)( ¶3) From my point of view, the adoption of "Biliterate and trilingual” policy (¶2) was probably good after Hong Kong handover to China. In the past, British government did not excluded the unique cultures of Hong Kong such as Cantonese and Traditional Chinese. Most of them were willing to accept and even actively to encourage people to learn. However, after Hong Kong returned to China, China government had interfered in Hong Kong Culture. Formerly, we would use traditional Chinese as our local written...
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...English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingua franca.[4][5] It is an official language of almost 60 sovereign states, the most commonly spoken language in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, and a widely spoken language in countries in the Caribbean, Africa, and South Asia.[6] It is the third most common native language in the world, after Mandarin and Spanish.[7] It is the most widely learned second language and is an official language of the United Nations, of the European Union, and of many other world and regional international organisations. English has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the fifth century, are called Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England.[8] Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible as well as the Great Vowel Shift.[9] Through the worldwide influence of the British Empire, modern English spread around the world from the 17th to mid-20th centuries. Through all types of printed and electronic media, as well as the emergence of the United States as a global superpower, English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions...
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...Importance of English in the modern world～ PHAM ANH QUOC Student No.1720131024 Table of Contents 1) Introduction 2) A Brief History of the English Language 3) The Importance of English in the modern world 4) Conclusion 1) Introduction Since the dawn of humanity and the rise of civilizations, language has always played a very crucial role in multiple aspects of our society. In many ways, language could be considered to be the lynchpin, or more accurately, the “brick and mortar“ in the development process of human as a species. Utilizing language, we are able to effectively communicate with each other, form meaningful emotional relationships and work together toward a common goal. Language gives us the ability to freely express our thoughts and convey even the deepest emotions without any restrains or boundaries. Furthermore, it also happens to be the essential catalyst to the human’s imaginative mind – because in fact, without language there would be no culture whatsoever. The world with no language is a place where art don’t exist, music would never be written and no literature masterpieces to enrich the human soul. And that is a dead world. Language is so important because it’s what separates us from animals and elevate humanity to the apex of natural evolution. Therefore, it is possible to say that language is inseparable from our own identity, constituting the very essence of a human being. Throughout history, there has been countless numbers of languages all over the world...
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...English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingua franca.[4][5] It is an official language of almost 60 sovereign states and the most commonly spoken language in sovereign states including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and a number of Caribbean nations. It is the third-most-common native language in the world, after Mandarin and Spanish.[6] It is widely learned as a second language and is an official language of the European Union and of the United Nations, as well as of many world organisations. English arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England as a fusion of closely related dialects, now collectively termed Old English. These dialects had been brought to the south-eastern coast of Great Britain by Anglo-Saxons settlers by the 5th century. The word English is the modern spelling of englisc, the name used by the Angles and Saxons for their language, after the Angles' ancestral region of Angeln. The language was also influenced early on by the Old Norse language through Viking invasions in the 9th and 10th centuries. The Norman conquest of England in the 11th century gave rise to heavy borrowings from Norman French: thus a layer of elaborate vocabulary, particularly in the field of governance, and some Romance-language spelling conventions were added to what had by then become Middle English.[7] The Great Vowel Shift that began in the south of England in the 15th...
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...in one hundred years English will become the most widely understood language. If current trends continue, in the future one can imagine a world in which humans all share a single universal language. Having a common language would potentially open the doors to many opportunities for increased economic activity and cultural interaction. Additionally, as we travel into the 22nd Century, lesser used and more complex languages that are spoken today will become extinct. Subsequently, the few languages that survive will evolve into simplified versions making them much easier to learn. In agreement with McWhorter, is Andres Martinez, a reporter for Time Magazine who wrote, “Why Mandarin Won’t Be a Lingua Franca.” English is one of the languages that will withstand the test of time because of its strong presence in the world today. Martinez lends insight into how the French have watched English gain dominance in spheres of economic influence. A universal language does not mean the demolition of the diversity of cultures that we observe today, it simply means that English will be a middle ground among the nations. A professor and writer from Harvard Business Review, Tsedal Neeley, goes one step further asserting that English already is the universal language of trade in his article, “Global Business Speaks English.” He recounts a business deal that went south simply because two parties could not speak with one another, as a turning point and wake-up call that English was imperative for companies...
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...English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingua franca.[4][5] It is spoken as a first language by the majority populations of several sovereign states, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and a number of Caribbean nations; and it is an official language of almost 60 sovereign states. It is the third-most-common native language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.[6] It is widely learned as a second language and is an official language of the European Union, many Commonwealth countries and the United Nations, as well as in many world organisations. English arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and what is now southeast Scotland. Following the extensive influence of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom from the 17th to mid-20th centuries through the British Empire, it has been widely propagated around the world.[7][8][9][10] Through the spread of American-dominated media and technology,[11] English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions.[12][13] Historically, English originated from the fusion of closely related dialects, now collectively termed Old English, which were brought to the eastern coast of Great Britain by Germanic settlers (Anglo-Saxons) by the 5th century; the word English is simply the modern spelling of englisc, the name of the Angles[14] and Saxons for their...
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...Tommy Tunnell Foreign Languages in School Texas school districts require students to have at least 2 years of foreign languages in order to earn a diploma. With modern translation technology and the fact that English is spoken almost everywhere on Earth, this is outdated, unnecessary, and the time spent on learning a language could be spent on more important topics such as math and science. In sci-fi movies and television shows, we often see characters speaking into a small device in their hand and having it translate what they say into an alien language. The United States Military has had a translator like this for some time, and now with voice recognition technology and the existence of Google Translate, it is now available for everyone. The Google Translate app on smart phones allows one to speak a phrase or sentence into the phone and translate it into over 65 languages in a matter of seconds. When you can speak a phrase and translate it into another language so conveniently, learning another language seems like a waste of time. English is spoken everywhere there is language. It is easily the most widely spoken language on Earth with many street signs and billboards and posters all over Europe being written in English alongside or under their native language. Many international business owners also make an effort to learn English in order to associate with other businesses. It is the language of Earth. If we grow up speaking it, it’s really just an advantage. With...
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...February 2015 Language Narrative The two types of languages I speak are English and Arabic. Even though Arabic is the official language in the United Arab Emirates, English is widely spoken throughout the country. There are several differences in tone and the type of grammar used in both languages. For a person who doesn’t speak Arabic, the language may be a bit intimidating and loud. The English language is bit more casual and friendlier. The Arabic language has a variety of phrases and is slightly more formal when compared to English. If I was working in the U.A.E and my boss happened to be an Emirati (local) I would try to speak in Arabic with him/her because in comparison to the English language, Arabic has a wide variety of formal phrases. This helps show more respect and dignity towards your superior. Also, since I am a local citizen who has the ability to read, write in Arabic and spoke English to another person who also is a local. I would probably come off as flashy or a person with attitude and so, it’s not wise to speak English at such occasions. English on the other hand is widely spoken with people who don’t speak Arabic. Speaking English to a non-local citizen it is just like speaking Arabic with a regular Emirati (local) and no bad impression is portrayed. The main reason for classification, is that one should know when and where which language is appropriate or accepted by a given set of audience. Even though I am fluent in both languages I prefer speaking...
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...Can English be Dethroned? How many languages do you speak? Is English your second language? Most people would agree that English is the current lingua franca of the world, which is the most commonly used language. And as global economy continues to grow, more than ever before will be studying English. Some others believe that English will eventually be replaced to be the world’s lingua franca. Even though some people oppose the future status of English as a global language, I believe that they are wrong because they do not see the advantages that English has. English is the language that you cannot ignore in our world today. It is considered like a link to connect people from everywhere in business, education and communication. The English language is and will be important in a global society. People need it in their life all around the world because they need a common language. This is the main reason why English is the most widely spoken and the most commonly studied language in the world. First of all, some people do not accept English as a main language, on the contrary, they have a strong ambition to change it because they think if they adopt English as a global language, there would be some people who may stop using less their native languages. In contrast, I believe those people should not react in that way, they should see the advantages of English as a global language instead of the disadvantages. Also, people who have English as a second language do not use it for...
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...UTTARA UNIVERSITY UTTARA DHAKA SUBMITTED TO MD. RAJIB SENIOUR LECTURER OF UTTARA UNIVERSITY SUBMITTED BY UNITY 31ST C-UTTARA UNIVERSITY UNITY Members name | Id no | Aklima khatun koly | F21321111126 | Amena sultana adar | F21321111111 | Musratjahan | F21321111119 | Jarin khan | F21321111107 | SUBJECT – IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISG IN TOURISM The history of tourism The tourism industry is fast becoming an important revenue gene rator for Malaysia. It was another record breaking year as Malaysia registered 17.54 million visitors (17,546,863) in 2006, slight ly surpassing the target of 17.5 million. This is an overall increase of 6.8% compared to the previous year. Thototal tourist receipts for 2006 was RM36.2 billion, an increase of about 13% compared to 2005. This is, however, RM1.4billion less than the targeted figure of RM37.6 billion(Tourism Malaysia, 2007). 2007has been designated by the Malaysian governmentas Visit Malaysia Year with the theme“Celebrating 50 Years of nationhood”. The Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato' SeriAbdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi officially launched the Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007at 8pm on 6 January 2007, during a grand ceremony...
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...English Language Importance Do you think learning English is important?English is currently the most wide spread language in the world, it is second only to Mandarin Chinese in terms of the amount of people which speak it, but second to none in terms of the number of people learning it. It is currently the primary language used on the World Wide Web, in the political and business arenas. It has even become the language of today's pop culture. So yes, I definitely think that learning English is important.While English may not have as large a quantity of speakers as Mandarin it is still more widespread and herein lays its importance. Mandarin Chinese is hardly spoken outside Chinese communities, however in many regions of the world where English is not the native language, it is still widely spoken and integrated in the curriculums of educational institutions. In many countries Malaysia, for example, where there various ethnic groups with their own unique language, English is used as a means of communications between all of them. So we see that the importance of English doesn't lie in the quantity of people that speak it but in way we use it. Today the USA's influence on world information is dominant, English, being their native tongue, the same is true for Britain. The music and other types of media that come out of these two countries are broadcast around the world. Most of the world's largest pop stars record English albums, which are played and requested in all the corners...
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...org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ COMPUTER ASSISTED TESTING OF SPOKEN ENGLISH: A STUDY TO EVALUATE THE SFLEP COLLEGE ENGLISH ORAL TEST IN CHINA Xin Yu and John Lowe Computer Assisted Testing of Spoken English: A Study to Evaluate the SFLEP College English Oral Test in China Xin Yu and John Lowe University of Bath Introduction ‘If you want to encourage oral ability, then test oral ability’ (Hughes, 1989:44) Since its opening up to the outside world in the 1980s and the introduction of economic reforms that have involved engagement with the global economy and wider community, the Chinese government has become determined to promote the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language among its citizens. In particular, it has mandated the study of English for all college and university students and has made the passing of the College English Test (CET) at Band 4 level a requirement for obtaining a degree. With some ten million candidates annually (and rising) CET Band 4 has become the world’s largest language test administered nationwide (Jin and Yang, 2006). In a deliberate attempt to harness the backwash effect of examinations on teaching and learning, the Ministry of Education has insisted that all college and university students (generally when in their second year of study) must sit the CET Band 4 written papers that test reading, writing and listening skills in English. Aimed largely, but not exclusively, at those students majoring in English, there is also a higher level, Band 6,...
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