Learning Foreign Languages

The problem of learning languages is very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of mankind is known to double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet.

Today English is the language of the world. Over 300 million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada and the South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US colonies.

English is not only the national or official language of some thirty states, which represent different cultures, but it is also the major international language of communication in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organizations. It is the language of literature, education, modern music, and international tourism.

The problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is especially urgent in Ukraine today.

So far there is no universal or ideal method of learning languages. Everybody has his own way. Sometimes it is boring to study grammar or to learn new words. But it is well known that reading books in the original, listening to the BBC news, communicating with the English-speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language.

1.	socially demanded -	соціально затребуваний
2.	explosion -	вибух
3.	mankind -	людство
4.	to double -	подвоїтися
5.	information exchange -	обмін інформацією
6.	mother tongue -	рідна мова
7.	native speaker -	носій мови
8.	to represent -	представляти
9.	communication -	спілкування
10.	urgent -	нагальний

Interesting facts you didn’t know

1. The English language as we now know it began to emerge in the 14th century from a variety of dialects including Old North and Late West Saxon.

2. Language, grammar and particularly spelling only really became standardised with the publication of Dr Johnson’s Dictionary in 1755.

3. More English words begin with the letter 'S' than any other letter of the alphabet.

4. Mandarin Chinese is the only language spoken by more people around the world than English.

5. Around one in eight of all letters in written English is an ‘e’.

6. The longest common words that can be typed on the top row of a keyboard are 'proprietor', 'repertoire', 'perpetuity' and 'typewriter' itself.

7. The three words most common in spoken English are ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘the’.

8. The top three words in written English are ‘the’, ‘of’ and ‘and’.

9. The word 'uncopyrightable' consists entirely of different letters. Along with 'dermatoglyphics’ (study of fingerprints), it is the longest such word.

10. The English language grows at a rate of about one new word every two hours.