Text 4. Learning English

Inmy opinion, English is easier to learn than many other foreign languages because its grammar is not very complicated. Still, its a tricky language to learn because English pronuncia­tion is very difficult. There are more exceptions than rules and you have to look up words in the dictionary to check up their pronunciation because you can't rely on rules.

I can't say exactly which is most important in learning a language: grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation. Of course the main thing in a language is its vocabulary. If you don't know the words, you won't be able to express your idea even if you know lots of grammar rules. Some students think that being able to communicate is the most important thing in learning a language and they do not care that they make many mistakes in speaking. However, grammar and pronunciation are of great importance, too. If you mispronounce some word, the meaning can be different and people won't be able to understand you. The same thing is with grammar. Of course if you omit's' at the end of the verb, this won't make much difference, but if you mix up verb tenses, people will misunderstand you. In my opinion, we should be concerned with both communicating and accuracy. To sum up, I think that all these aspects are very important for successful communication.

As for me, I enjoy learning English because it is a very beautiful language. 1 like all activities but most of all I prefer reading. It's a very enjoyable activity because while reading you can learn a lot of new things, for example, you can learn some information about English-speaking countries. Besides, read­ing is easier for me than speaking or listening because I don't have to concentrate and recollect the necessary words. If I don't know any word in the book, I can always look it up in the dic­tionary. What is more, when I read English books, I learn lots of new words and enlarge my vocabulary. We don't have lots of opportunities to communicate with native speakers or to listen to an English speech so reading is the best way to stay in touch with the language. Today we have an opportunity to find plenty of interesting English websites and to enjoy this language.

There are a lot of useful learning strategies that can help us improve our English such as reading English books, using a cas­sette recorder or watching English films. But in my opinion, the best way of learning a language is to practise a lot. Today we have an opportunity to go to an English-speaking country and talk to native speakers. In my opinion, it's the best way to enlarge my vocabulary, to improve my grammar and pro­nunciation and to train my speaking and listening skills. That's why I'd like to go to Great Britain and take a course at an Eng­lish school.

Answer the following questions:

1. Why do people in Russia learn English? 2. Does everyone need to learn English? Why? 3. What do you think is the best way of learning a foreign lan­guage? Why? 4. Why do you learn English? 5. Is it difficult for you to learn English? Why? 6. Are you a good language learner? Why? 7. Would you like to learn any other foreign language in addi­tion to English? Why? /Why not?