Learning a Foreign Language

Foreign languages are absolutely necessary for people nowadays, because of our growing international contacts with foreign countries.

There are many reasons, why we begin to study foreign languages. One studies a foreign language to be able to communicate with other people who speak this language, other study it for future career.

If we are planning to travel to countries where the language we can speak is spoken, we can communicate with people there and understand what they are saying to us.

If we are working in any branch of science, we naturally wish to read scientific books and magazines in other languages to raise our professional level. Making business nowadays also means the ability of speaking foreign languages.

The ability of speaking one or two or even more foreign languages helps people from different countries to develop mutual friendship and understanding. We can also make our intellectual and cultural horizons wider through contacts with people of another culture.

It is also very interesting to read foreign literature in its original form. We can also read foreign newspapers and magazines and understand films in foreign languages without any help and translation.

As for me I learn English, because English is a very popular language all over the world. It is used in many parts of the world and there is a lot of business correspondence and literature in English.

Also I am going to learn Spanish, because it is also a widely spread language.

I think, it is very important to speak at least one foreign language either English or German or French and Spanish or any other one.

There is a saying: the more languages you speak, the more times you are a human being.

Post-reading task

Answer the questions:

1. Are foreign languages necessary for people nowadays?

2. Why do we begin to study foreign languages?

3. How can a foreign language help people?

4. How can you explain the meaning of the saying “The more languages you speak, the more times you are a human being”?

5. What opportunities and advantages does a bilingual person have?

Vocabulary:

foreign — dealing or concerned with another country, area, people

necessary — needed to achieve a certain desired effect or result; required 

nowadays — at the present time; these days

growing —increasing in amount or degree; intensifying

reason—a consideration which justifies or explains.

To be able — used to talk about ability, awareness, and possibility

to communicate — to express oneself in such a way that one is readily and clearly understood

branch of science — an area of specialized skill or knowledge, especially academic or vocational, that is related to but separate from other areas

to raise smb’s professional level — to become more skillful and competent

mutual — common to or shared by both or all of two or more parties

horizon —the range or limit of scope, interest, knowledge, etc

wider — more extensive 

in the original — composed firsthand, being not changed

compulsory — mandatory, obligatory

secondary school —a school that is intermediate in level between elementary school and college and that usually offers general, technical, vocational, or college-preparatory curricula.

higher school — an institution of higher learning which, on the basis of secondary (general or special) education, carries out the preparation of highly qualified specialists for practical, pedagogical, scientific, or scholarly activity

correspondence — e-mails, communication, writing letters 

at least — not less than

SPEAKING

MULTILINGUAL: Talk with your partner(s) about which of the following languages you would really like to learn / know and why? Would you like to be fluent, have a working knowledge or know enough to survive? Would you also like to be able to read and write in these languages?

German

French

Russian

Spanish

Chinese

Arabic

Korean

Japanese

Urdu

Swahili

2. LANGUAGE OPINIONS: How far do you agree with these opinions on language? Talk about them with your partner(s).

1. The number of languages you speak is the number of times you are human.

2. If the whole world learned English, there’d be fewer communication problems.

3. To be successful in the world, it’s now better to learn Chinese.

4. English should become the official world language.

5. The English language is a form of imperialism. It erodes other cultures.

6. It’s a sin for any nation not to make its citizens at least bilingual.

7. There should be just one world language in the future.

8. My mother tongue is too beautiful to die.