Foreign languages топик по английскому. American System of Education

Главная

Семья

We know a legend about the Babylonian Tower: once people decided to build a tower which would be so high that it would reach the heavens. Certainly, to build it lots of people gathered together. All of them were able to understand each other because one language was spoken then. The work was being done successfully but God became angry about it and punished the builders: he created lots of languages. The people lost contact with each other. The work couldn’t be completed.
These legend makes us think about the importance of languages and ability to understand each other. Actually, we take the language we speak for granted — it seems to be just a means of communication. But once we are in other countries, we are baffled because we can’t explain what we need! Using gestures can be fun but certainly it takes a lot of time and it’s often imprecise.
So here comes the question: how could all people understand each other? Probably, one language should be chosen to be learnt by everyone?
No one chose English to be that one but, nevertheless, we must admit that English nowadays could be called a world language. Here are facts which prove it:
— geographically, English is the most widespread language on Earth, second only to Mandarin Chinese in the number of people who speak it;
— it’s the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States of America, of Australia and New Zealand;
— English is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of South Africa and the Trish Republic;
— another 100 million people chiefly living in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and in many African countries speak English in additional to their own language;
— 75 % of the world’s mail and 60 % of the world’s telephone calls are in English;
— it’s the language of business, technology, sport and aviation.
We see that it’s a must to know the English language nowadays. Perhaps, that’s why English is the most popular language taught at school in our country. Many pupils start to learn it at the age of six. I assume that it’s good — it’s a well-known fact children can master a language more easily in comparison with adults. And it takes much time to do it: in order to have perfect knowledge you are to learn all aspects of English: grammar, vocabulary, phonetics. Four activities: speaking, listening, reading, writing — will lead you to mastering the language.
Though lots of people claim that the English language is an easy one, there are its own difficulties. Like articles, for example. For us, who speak Russian as a mother tongue, articles have often been a problem. Tenses usually confuse learners, too. And I suppose the most difficult things in English are prepositions and set expressions — only by learning them by heart you will master them.
Naturally, there are lots of pluses of English. For instance, verbs have rather few inflec¬tions, and adjectives do not change according to the noun. English is a very flexible language: the same word can operate as many different parts of speech. For example, we can water flowers and have water to drink; time to go and to time a race; a paper to read and to paper a bedroom. Moreover, English has a very open vocabulary (this involves the free admission of words from other languages and the easy creation of compounds and derivatives). Most world languages have contributed some words to English at some time, and the process is now being reversed. Purists of other languages are resisting the arrival of English in their vocabulary — too many English equivalents started to substitute original words.
Another aspect of English which is not considered to be simple is pronunciation. Lots of words in English are written in the same way, but they are pronounced differently. There are even some funny poems about it.

Think of comb and tomb and bomb,
Doll and roll and home and some.
And since pay is rhymed with say,
Why not paid with said I pray?
Think of blood and food and good;
Mould is not pronounced like could.
Why is it done, but gone and lone –
Is there any reason known?
A moth is not a moth in mother
Not both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and bare.

We should bear in mind that a language is not simply words: it’s part of culture. A word, its pronunciation and spelling can tell us a lot about the past of a country. We can notice that frequently words from different languages are similar. What historical information can this fact give us?
Well, let’s take a look at the history of English.
When Julius Caesar invaded Britain in BC 54-5, the ‘Celtic’ tribes lived on the British Isles. Their Celtic languages still survive as ‘Gaelic’ in Scotland and Ireland, ‘Welsh’ in Wales, and ‘Manx’ in the Isle of Man, as well as ‘Breton’ in France.
So, the Romans brought Latin to Britain, but even before them the tribes from the East (the territory which is now known as Germany) had brought different dialects of the Germanic language in there. That’s why modern German and English have many similar words.
Later, the Vikings brought the Norse language, and the Normans from France (led by King William the Conqueror in 1066) brought the Old French language.
What is known as Middle English is the mixture of Old English and French. Nowadays even for native English speakers it’s very difficult to understand.
When the Renaissance came in Europe, English was not very different from the English used today. And the most famous writer of that time is William Shakespeare. Today we use lots of sayings Shakespeare gave us, and often we don’t realize that they came from his plays and poems. Probably you know some of these: «All the world’s a stage», «All’s well that ends well», «Love is blind».
As settlers from Britain moved across the world, English continued developing. First of all, it borrowed lots of words from other languages. Secondly, English started to fall into categories: British English, American English, Australian English and the like. Though the differences between them are slight, they exist.
Certainly, the fact that English is so widespread, has a very rich vocabulary and is comparatively easy to learn contributes to the popularity of this language. But, of course, not everyone is satisfied with the primary position of English. Actually, why not any other language be a world one? Does it mean that English is better in some way? People from France still can’t put up with the fact that French is no longer as popular as it used to be. And it’s bad that native speakers of English sometimes feel superiority: they needn’t take pains to learn other languages.
We know that there was an attempt to create an artificial language. It was called Esperanto. It would be a very good idea to use this neutral language as a world one. Moreover, it’s said to be very easy to learn and, at the same time, you can express the most sophisticated ideas with the help of it. Though Esperanto nowadays is not extremely widespread, its popularity is growing.
Anyway, I’m sure English will remain to be a very important language. Surely people will continue to learn it because it’s very pleasant both to speak and to listen to English. The rich vocabulary enables you to describe the slightest changes of emotions, the most exact thoughts. Famous writers entertain and amaze you and the convoluted history of English itself attracts more and more people to start learning this language.

Learning a Foreign Language

Foreign languages are absolutely necessary for people nowadays, because of our growing international contacts with foreign countries.

There are many reasons, why we begin to study foreign languages. One studies a foreign language to be able to communicate with other people who speak this language, other study it for future career.

If we are planning to travel to countries where the language we can speak is spoken, we can communicate with people there 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 to raise our professional level. Making business nowadays also means the ability of speaking foreign languages.

The ability of speaking one or two or even more foreign languages helps people from different countries to develop mutual friendship and understanding. We can also make our intellectual and cultural horizons wider through contacts with people of another culture.

It is also very interesting to read foreign literature in its original form. We can also read foreign newspapers and magazines and understand films in foreign languages without any help and translation.

As for me I learn English, because English is a very popular language all over the world. It is used in many parts of the world and there is a lot of business correspondence and literature in English.

Also I am going to learn Spanish, because it is also a widely spread language.

I think, it is very important to speak at least one foreign language either English or German or French and Spanish or any other one.

There is a saying: the more languages you speak, the more times you are a human being.

Изучение иностранного языка

Иностранные языки абсолютно необходимы для людей в настоящее время из-за возрастающих международных контактов с зарубежными странами.

Имеется много причин, почему мы начинаем изучать иностранные языки. Одни изучают иностранный язык, чтобы общаться с другими людьми, которые говорят на этом языке, другие изучают его для будущей карьеры.

Если мы планируем поездку в страны, где разговаривают на языке, на котором мы можем говорить, мы можем общаться с людьми там и понимать то, что они говорят нам.

Если мы работаем в каком-нибудь научном отделе, мы, чтобы поднять наш профессиональный уровень, естественно желаем читать научные книги и журналы на других языках. Занятие бизнесом в настоящее время также означает способность общаться на иностранных языках.

Знание одного или двух или даже большего количества иностранных языков помогает людям из разных стран развивать взаимную дружбу и взаимопонимание. Посредством контактов с людьми другой культуры мы можем также развивать наш интеллектуальный и культурный потенциал.

Что касается меня, я изучаю английский язык, потому что английский язык очень популярен во всем мире. Он используется во всем мире и на английском пишется много деловой корреспонденции и литературы.

Еще я собираюсь изучать испанский, потому что это также широко распространенный язык.

Я думаю, что очень важно говорить по крайней мере на одном иностранном языке: английском или немецком, французском или испанском или любом другом.

Существует поговорка: чем на большем количестве языков вы говорите, тем больше раз вы человек.

Questions:

1. Are foreign languages necessary for people nowadays?
2. Why do we begin to study foreign languages?
3. What language do I learn?
4. What language am I going to learn?

Vocabulary:

foreign - иностранный
necessary - необходимый
nowadays - в наши дни
growing - возрастающий
reasons - причины
to be able - быть в состоянии, уметь
to communicate - общаться, разговаривать
branch of science - отрасль науки
to raise smb"s professional level - поднять чей-либо профессиональный уровень
mutual - взаимный
horizon - горизонт
wider - шире
through - через
in the original - в оригинале
compulsory - обязательный
secondary school - средняя школа
higher school - высшая школа
correspondence - корреспонденция, переписка
at least - по крайней мере

People in Europe started to learn languages in the 11th century. It is known that Yaroslav the Wise knew a lot of foreign languages. But at those times learning foreign languages was a privilege of rich people.

Today millions of people all over the world learn foreign languages. They are very important in our life. People, who know foreign languages, are necessary for the development of the technologies, economy and arts in the modern society. For example, a good engineer or a qualified worker should be able to read some technical papers for the imported equipment.

Learning foreign languages is especially important in our country. People want to learn foreign languages to write to their penfriends, or to communicate with them personally. People also want to read works of famous writers in the original, newspapers and magazines. During the classes of foreign languages one can train his memory and thinking. In addition, a foreign language helps to know the native language better. A person who learns a foreign language, at the same time gets acquainted with the culture of the country, its literature, history and geography.

Перевод

Люди в Европе начали изучать языки в 11 веке. Известно, что Ярослав Мудрый знал много иностранных языков. Но в те времена обучение иностранным языкам было привилегией богатых людей.

Сегодня миллионы людей во всем мире изучают иностранные языки. Они играют большую роль в нашей жизни. Люди, которые знают иностранные языки, необходимы для развития техники, экономики и искусства в современном обществе. Например, хороший механик или квалифицированный рабочий должен уметь прочитать некоторые технические документы для импортного оборудования.

Изучение иностранных языков особенно важно в нашей стране. Люди хотят изучать иностранные языки чтобы переписываться со своими друзьями, либо общаться с ними лично. Люди также хотят читать произведения известных писателей в подлиннике, газеты и журналы. На уроках иностранных языков тренируется память и мышление. Иностранный язык даже помогает знать родной язык лучше. Человек, который изучает иностранный язык, в то же время знакомится с культурой страны, ее литературой, историей и географией.

Если Вам понравилось — поделитесь с друзьями :

Присоединяйтесь к нам в Facebook !

Смотрите также:

Самое необходимое из теории языка:

Предлагаем пройти тесты онлайн:

Здесь Вы можете найти топик на английском языке: Learning Foreign Languages.

Learning Foreign Languages

The great German poet Goethe once said: He who knows no foreign language does not know his own one. Learning foreign languages is especially important nowadays. Some people learn foreign languages because they need them in their work, others travel abroad, for the third studying languages is a hobby. Every year thousands of people from Russia go to different countries as tourists or to work. They can not go without knowing the language of the country they are going to. A modern engineer or even a worker can not work with an imported instrument or a machine if he is not able to read the instruction how to do it. Ordinary people need language to translation the instruction or the manual to the washing-machine or a vacuum-cleaner, medicine or even food-products. Some people are as a rule polyglots.

Historian’s diplomats need some languages for their work. If you want to be a classified specialist you must learn English, the language of international communication. English is one of the world languages. It is the language of progressive science and technology, trade and cultural relations, commerce and business. It is the universal language of international aviation, shipping and sports. It is also the major language of diplomacy. Hundreds and hundreds of books, magazines and newspapers are printed in English, most of the world"s mail and telephone calls are in English. Half of the world"s scientific literature is written in English. English is spoken by more than 350 million people. Geographically, it is the most widespread language on earth, second after Chinese. It is the official language of the UK, the USA, of Australia and New Zealand; it is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the South Africa. Millions of people study and use English as a foreign language.

In our country English is very popular. It is studied at schools, colleges and universities. Learning English is not an easy thing. It is a long process and takes a lot of time and patience. But to know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated person. I want to know English because it"s interesting for me to know foreign countries, their cultures and tradition. English will be of great use in my future profession connected with computers.

Топик Изучение иностранных языков подробно рассказывает, как важно их знание. В первую очередь, это необходимо для обмена информацией. И английский язык – основной международный язык общения: носители английского языка живут в Великобритании, США, Австралии, Новой Зеландии; это один из официальных языков в Ирландии, Канаде, ЮАР; второй язык в странах – бывших колониях Британии и Америки; один из официальных языков ООН и других политических организаций. Но чтобы знать английский в совершенстве, надо много трудиться.

The problem of learning languages is very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at present time when the progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of mankind is known to double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet.

Today English is the language of the world. Over 350 million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, the South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US colonies.

It is the major international language for communication in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organization. It is the language of the literature, education, modern music, international tourism.

Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is espicially urgent today. Learning a foreing language is not as easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and patience. But to know English is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist.

It is well known that reading books in the original, listening tothe BBC news, communicating with the English speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreignlanguage.

(Пока оценок нет)

Foreign languages топик по английскому. American System of Education

Learning Foreign Languages

Related topics: