- Each nation has its own language. People naturally speak the language spoken by the ancestors. I speak Vietnamese because I was born in Vietnam, where my parents and everybody around me speak the same language. You speak English because you were born in England. Most of us wish to know more than one language because we all know that the advantages we enjoy from the knowledge of living languages are many and various. Today English is more and more widely used all over the world, in general and in our country, in particular. The number of English learners in different foreign language centers and in foreign language colleges is ever-increasing. This proves that English has become more and more necessary to most of us and especially to those who study and work in schools, government offices, and foreign companies or organizations.
- I’m now a secretary of a trade company. I’m unable to do my job effectively without my fairly good knowledge of English. Every day I receive a lot of letters and orders from customers, most of which are in English and from abroad. My duty is to read and answer all these letters and orders; at the same time, I also have to deal with foreign businessmen who come to do business with my company. And, it is because my English is not very good that I’m so interested in learning English now.
- And me, I’m a scientist. English is extremely necessary for me. Being a science cadre, I have to read and study science magazines, documents, and books from other countries to catch up with the latest scientific inventions and achievements of the world so that I can put them into practice in the real situation of our country. Moreover, English help me deal with other foreign scientist in training courses, scientific conferences, and exchanges of science and technology. Learning English enables me to know more about not only in the field of science but also in other domains of the society.
- And me too, I’m only a college student of natural science. However, English also becomes extremely necessary for my subjects. Apart from the materials written in Vietnamese, I have to read documents, magazines, and books in English to have a better knowledge of what’s I studying. Furthermore, as you know, a professional knowledge is not enough for a student to get a good job in the future.
- Whatever you may say, English is still my favorite language because it gives me the key to the door of numerous fields of life: intellectual, commercial, and political.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
- What’s your purpose of learning English?
- Reading books
- Broadening knowledge
- Serving careers
- Going abroad further study
- Going overseas
- Getting a job
- Relaxing
- Earning a living
- At what age can people learn English most quickly and effectively?
- Is it easier to study English with a native English teacher than a Vietnamese one?
- What would happen if people all over the world spoke one single language?
- “The more languages a man speaks the more a man he is,” is it true?
- Which of the following reasons has made English become a world language?
- Powerful economy
- Spoken at British colonies
- Easy grammar
- Used in science & technology
- Thanks to the US
- Works of world-famous literature
- Do you think that a knowledge of English is necessary in trade, law, and government service?
- Which of the following skills is your big obstacle? How to overcome it?
- Reading skill
- Speaking skill
- Listening skill
- Writing skill
- What’s Foreign Language, First Language, or Second language? Give specific reasons and details to support your position.