Reading Texts

HOW MANY PEOPLE SPEAK ENGLISH AND WHY?

It is only in the course of the last hundred years that English has become a number one world language. In the year of 1600, in Shakespeare's time, English was spoken only by 6 million people and was a «provincial» language (as was Russian), while French was the leading foreign language of that century. Three centuries later 260 million people spoke English and now probably one billion people speak English. It has become one of the world's most important languages in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. In number of speakers English nowadays is second only to Chinese. It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. It is used as one of the official languages in Canada and South Africa and in the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language by many people in India, Pakistan, numerous countries in Africa, where there are many different languages and people use English as an «official» or «second» language for government, business and education. Throughout the world many people use English as an international language: some use it for social purposes, others for business or study. In 1992 51% of European schoolchildren studied English as their first foreign language and now this number is much higher.

Decide which of the statements are true and which are false. Mark + the true statements - the false ones.

1. English was the leading world language in the 17th century.

2. At the beginning of the 20th century about 300 million people spoke English.

3. More people in the world speak Chinese than English.

4. English is among official languages of Canada and South Africa.

5. English is often used as a second language by representatives of different nations within one country.

6. English may be called the language of business and commerce.

Why LEARN FOREIGN LANGUAGES?

There are many reasons why we begin the study of a foreign language. One of the main reasons is to be able to communicate orally or in writing with others who use this language. We may be planning to travel in one or more countries where the language is spoken; if we know the language of a foreign country, we can talk to its people 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.

A more general aim is to make our intellectual and cultural horizons wider through contact with people of another culture.

Which is the best way to learn a language? We should remember that we all learned our own language well when we were small children. If we could learn a second language in the same way (but we can't because we aren't small children any more and English cannot be heard all around us), it would not seem so difficult. Think of what a small child does. It listens to what people say, and it tries to imitate what it hears. When it wants something, it has to ask for it. It is using the language, talking in it and thinking in it all the time. If we could use a second language all the time, we would learn it easily.

It is important to remember also, that we learn our own language by hearing people speak it, not by seeing what they write. We imitate what we hear. At school you learn to hear and speak, to read and write; and the best way to learn new words is through the ear. Later on you'll be able to read, spell and write them.

Answer the following questions:

1. What foreign languages are studied at your educational establishment? What is your mother tongue?

2. In what way can a foreign language be useful?

3. What is the difference between learning a foreign language and learning your own language?

4. For foreign languages the classes are divided into groups. Why?

5. What is the most important thing in language learning?

6. What is the difference between learning a living language and a dead language?

7. How much of a foreign language can you learn by television (radio)?

8. How much has your cultural horizon changed since you've begun learning English?

9. Would you like to become a language teacher? What foreign languages would you like to teach?

Unit Two