Whether it’s your mother tongue, second language, you have been learning to speak it from school or self-studying or you want to start learning, in today’s world speaking English can greatly enhance your life. According to statistics, around 1.35 billion people speak English today. That equates to around 17.3% of the world’s population and is now the number one most spoken language, even more than Mandarin. So with that being said, if you’re not one of them or you know someone who you think should start learning, here are 5 reasons to start doing so and speak English today!
#1 Travelling (or ‘traveling’ in the U.S.)
A quick story! A few years ago, my wife and I were travelling through Asia and we had just landed in Tokyo, Japan in the early evening. With only being able to basically say ‘kon’nichiwa’ (hello) and ‘arigatō’ (thanks) (Google translate spellings of the words) in Japanese, we knew that it would be difficult to communicate naturally and to find our way around.
After the taxi driver had dropped us off by some random road and tried to point to us what direction we had to walk, we assumed that our hotel would be close by. I tried using the GPS on my phone but it wasn’t accurately giving me the hotel and took us outside a random apartment that didn’t look anything like a hotel! Tired and hungry, we thought that we were lost.
Out of the blue though, a woman appeared and so we asked her if she spoke English. “Yes i do,” she replied to our relief. We explained that we were looking for our hotel and couldn’t find it. She fortunately knew where it was so she kindly walked with us, guiding us to our hotel, which was a few minutes away.
The moral of the story is that when you are travelling, English can help you a great deal if you are lost, need help with directions or you would like to meet new people. It is the language most used internationally and when there are people from different countries who speak different languages together, English is normally the middle language they use to communicate.
I have been lucky enough to travel to many countries around the world so far in my life and a reason why this has been possible is because I am an English native. From travelling through Japan, South Korea, Indonesia to Brazil and Chile on the other side of the world, I have been able to easily get by and have met so many new people and had many fantastic experiences along the way. By speaking English, you can too!
#2 Professional Opportunities
Whether you’re a Financial Advisor, an International Business Development Manager, you work in the tourist industry or you have English speaking clients, English is the main language used for business interactions. I teach many students who have come to me to help them improve their English as it affects their everyday working life and it is important to be accurate when dealing with people in different business settings. In today’s world, technology is the norm and communicating can range from phone calls, emails, memos to conference calls in person or online. We therefore need to be able to understand English in order to articulate well, give our ideas, feedback and to be punctual at the same time.
Science, technology and medicine also use English as their main language and so if you want to get into these sectors, learning English is a must. These fields can also be quite technical so basic English won’t get you as far as you could; you would need to have a good level to interact with your fellow professionals or attend conferences for example. A lot of people move country, whether it’s for work, for love or for a new challenge and so speaking English fluently can greatly enhance your job opportunites overall.
#3 It’s the language of the Internet
We live in a world where using technology is the norm in our day-to-day lives. From googling information to accessing apps and websites, English is the language that most of these are written in. Therefore, being able to communicate in English is essential otherwise you would be missing out on a whole range of information and access to some of the best content out there.
Around 55% of the Internet’s most visited websites are written in English, which means that you would be able to view them too. Hundreds of millions of people use the Internet everyday and as English is also internationally the most used language, you could also share and communicate with people you meet from all corners of the globe using social media platforms, whats app or email to name a few.
#4 It get’s you access to popular culture
From watching your favourite movies, tv series, listening to music and podcasts or just binging on YouTube videos, how frustrating can it be to try and follow along the subtitles or listen to the dubbing at the same time as see the character’s mouths move at a different pace. Learning English can be a great way to watch or listen to your favourite content in real time and without those distractions.
You could also be killing two birds with one stone as, while you are enjoying yourself watching or listening to your favourite entertainment, you would be improving your listening skills at the same time, listening to different accents, speeds and dialects. It’s a win win situation!
#5 It literally makes you smarter
I won’t lie, English is not an easy language to learn. Though the alphabet is relatively simple, the amount of phrasal verbs, idioms, strange rules (sometimes none at all), exceptions and nuances used can be challenging to say the least. However, if you’re up for a challenge and want to benefit from one of the above reasons to learn English and more, learning a new language will also make you more intelligent.
How? Learning a new language rewires your brain and helps to improve your memory and thinking skills as well helping you to become more creative and increase your attention span. It has also been shown to sharpen other cognitive abilities and at the same time fight dementia as we all age.
It will also make you more resilient to setbacks as there will be times when you will feel that you have hit a plateau or you won’t feel motivated to continue, so to keep going will help you to develop more patience, which will also help you to push those mental barriers and benefit you in the long run.
If you would like to start learning English or know someone who would like to also, feel free to contact me to start your English learning journey!