English XP

Why is English important?

Learning English is important to different people for different reasons. These reasons are important to know because they will help you understand how much you should be studying and also more importantly, what you should be studying.

1. Fun

Maybe you just want to learn English because it’s a hobby, something to do in your spare time. Maybe you’re using it so you can watch English-speaking movies or tv shows. For this reason you might not need dedicated classes or to spend a great deal of time learning. Your biggest motivation is that it’s fun. Even though it is being used for fun, the language here is still important, the better your ability, the more you can get out of your hobbies and more enjoyment you can have.

2. Business

If you are working locally in a non-English speaking country and never have to deal with anyone in the rest of the world then you may not need English at all. However, if you are working abroad, speaking with foreigners etc then a good English-speaking ability is vital. Even when speaking to people who aren’t native English-Speakers, English is most of the time used as a lingua franca to help communication.

3. Study

If you want to study in an English speaking country then you need to have a certain level of English. most of the time you will need one of the standard English proficiency tests (IELTS, TOEFL etc) for a student visa and then the University / College etc may need you to take another English test to show you are able to do the course. To get the high marks on these you need a high level of English and a lot of hours studying.

4. Achievement

This one is somewhat related to the first point (fun). Some people are doing this in their spare time as a hobby but want something to show for it like a certificate. It’s not enough to just register for an exam and hope for the best. As well as having a high level of ability you need to study specifically for the exam you are taking as each one is different and requires slightly different skills and mindsets (e.g being able to interpret data in the academic IELTS writing test).

5. Social

Maybe you have english-speaking friends. You feel somewhat confident watching a movie in English but you don’t feel so good when it comes to talking in a group. This confidence comes from practise, learning and more practise! Also remember what I said before about English being a lingua franca, meaning if you can do this well then you can talk to English speaking people from any country!

6. Travel

As mentioned before, English is important for traveling as a student or on a business trip. It is also so useful for traveling abroad on holiday. For starters you have native English speaking countries (England, USA etc) but also most tourist spots will have a lot of people who have a certain level of English. This means you can go to the majority of holiday destinations and be able to do at least the basic things (order food, buy gifts, go on tours etc.)

These are the main reasons why people tend to learn English. What is yours? is it something different? If so, let me know!