The Importance of English
Why is it important and valuable to learn English? Why should you learn English? Here are our top reasons!
Over 1.8 billion people speak at least a bit of English. Native English speakers are massively outnumbered by non-native speakers, making it a unique language that lots of communities share ownership of.
But just a few centuries ago, English was an insignificant language limited to the British Isles. It’s not the easiest language to learn, so how did English become the lingua franca of international business, diplomacy, science, entertainment, education, technology, aviation and tourism?
The answer is colonisation, empire, the post-war boom in America’s economy and culture, technological advances (like instant messaging) and globalisation. Even with Brexit, English is so established throughout the world that it will probably take centuries for another language become the world’s next lingua franca.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see it!) learning English is now unavoidable if you want to get ahead in business and life.
We know that English can be frustrating to learn: it has countless grammar exceptions, weird spellings, even weirder pronunciation, confusing word order and emphasis, tons of vocabulary and homophones and regional accents. But remember, learning English not only opens up important economic opportunities; it will actually make you smarter! You’ll improve your memorisation, multi-tasking and decision-making skills. You’ll become a better listener. You’ll become more perceptive. And most importantly, you’ll have fun and meet new people at Ingla!
