why you learn english essay

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• "Why Should I Learn English?" – 10 Compelling Reasons for EFL Learners

English has been described as “the language of opportunity”, and by the time you get to the end of this article, we’re pretty sure you’ll agree.

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If you’re currently in the throes of trying to pick a language to study at school, or you fancy taking on a new language in your spare time, we’re willing to bet that the English speakers of this world would join us in giving you the following words of advice: if you have to choose one additional language to learn during the course of your years at school, make it English. Why? Let us count the ways…

1. English is one of the most widely spoken languages

Although it comes second to Mandarin in the total number of speakers, English is the language you’ll be able to use most widely, as it’s spoken in more countries than any other language. That means that English is the language that will give you the best return for your efforts; after all, intellectual challenge aside, there’s little point putting a huge amount of time and effort into learning a language that you’ll hardly ever have the opportunity to use.

As well as the UK, a whopping 60 of the world’s 196 countries have English as their official language:  the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, to name but a few. It’s the language of diplomacy and the official language of the European Union, the United Nations, NATO and the European Free Trade Association, not to mention many Commonwealth countries. What’s more, English is the commonly adopted second language of people in a great many more countries, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Holland. In total, around 1.5 billion people speak English worldwide – and another billion are in the process of learning it. Will you make this number even bigger by learning it yourself?

2. English will open up more opportunities for you

Being able to speak English allows you to communicate effectively in numerous countries, and this opens up lots of possibilities for you in terms of the countries you could choose to seek work in one day – not to mention travel to as a tourist. You won’t have to worry about getting lost when you travel to an English-speaking country, as you’ll easily be able to ask for directions, and taking guided tours, ordering food and chatting to the locals will no longer be a source of stress.

What’s more, careers that involve lots of travel or international exposure, such as the airline, tourism and film industries, use English as their official language, and many employers in these sectors are likely to require evidence of a certain level of proficiency in English before they will consider employing you. This means that if you can speak English, you’ll find that you have a greater number of possible careers to choose from after you finish at university.

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3. english will make you more desirable to employers.

Being fluent in a second language clearly demonstrates a powerful brain and reflects someone who has put in the huge amount of time, resources and commitment needed to master another language. But while being bilingual is impressive full stop, no matter what combination of languages you speak, adding English to your CV will be particularly useful. Not only is it an especially complex language to get to grips with, a fact that reflects well on you for having mastered it, but as we’ve seen, it’s also an incredibly useful language to learn because so many countries speak it. You’ll be in a much stronger position to apply for jobs overseas if you’ve reached a good level of fluency in English.

English has been referred to as “the language of business”, and it’s not hard to see why. If you have ambitions to become an international businessperson, it’s essential that you’re able to speak English fluently; business conducted internationally is done in English more often than not. Even if you’re not thinking of living and working abroad, that doesn’t mean you won’t find English a helpful language to put on your CV. There may well be plenty of English-speaking multinational corporations with offices in your home country. What’s more, English skills are just as desirable to employers in your own country and language as they are to employers in English-speaking countries. Here are just three examples to give you an idea of the kind of situations in which English may come in useful in your own country:

• Business meetings – being able to speak English puts you in a position to be able to attend or hold international business meetings. Where several languages are represented, the chances are that the meeting will be conducted in English – and if you’re the only one in your team who can speak English, you may find yourself being put forward to attend important meetings, advancing yourself up the career ladder in the process.
• Customer service and sales – you’ll be able to help with any English-speaking customers your employer may have – and sell to them. This gives you the chance to build relationships with overseas customers, and the ability to build relationships is an important business skill that puts you at an advantage over non-English speaking fellow employees and makes you more valuable to the company you work for.
• Marketing and communications – if the company you end up working for markets its products or services to English-speaking countries, or releases other sorts of communications such as press releases to these countries, your knowledge of English may come in handy for translating marketing materials or communications with customers or sales prospects. The cultural knowledge you’ll acquire through learning English may also come in handy in knowing how to pitch products and ideas to English-speaking nations.

4. English gives you access to some of the world’s best universities

English is widely regarded as the language of higher education. Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and MIT are just a few of the famous universities that occupy the lofty heights of the top of the world education league tables, and you’ll need to speak English fluently for access to any of these, as they’re all English-speaking. It goes without saying that if you are able to study at one of these institutions, you’ll start your career with an illustrious name on your CV – and the benefits of that speak for themselves. If English isn’t your native language, you’ll need to take an English test during the admissions process to prove that your level of English is up to scratch for the demands of the academic environment. If you have your sights set on a top university, the effort you put in to study English as early as possible in your school years will be rewarded when it comes to the choice of universities to which you can apply.

5. English is the language of some of the world’s greatest literature

If you learn English, you’ll be able to enjoy works by some of the world’s most famous writers , in the language in which they were intended to be read or heard. The works of Shakespeare will take on a new meaning when you’re able to speak English, and you can look forward to enjoying such influential classics as Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and her sister’s Jane Eyre , George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm , Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and many, many more. Translation rarely does a writer true justice, so the only way to appreciate a classic literary work properly is to read it in its original language. Even better, through doing so, you’ll deepen your knowledge of English by enriching it with new words and sentence structures.

6. English allows you to get more from popular culture

The world’s highest-grossing movies are made in Hollywood, and needless to say, they are made in English. How many times have you been to see an American blockbuster and been frustrated by having to keep up with fast-paced subtitles? And how many times have you hummed a favourite pop song, but not been able to sing along because it’s in English and you don’t know the words? There’s a solution… Kiss those annoying cinema subtitles goodbye and get more out of the music you enjoy by learning English.

7. English allows you to attend international conferences and events

Major sporting events such as the Olympics are held in English, and so are international conferences, so competitors and delegates will need to be able to speak English to be able to get the most out of taking part. You may find yourself needing to attend conferences as part of your chosen career, so learning English now will be of enormous benefit to you in years to come. Not only will you be able to understand the talks, but you’ll get a lot more out of the networking opportunities that come with such events if you can talk effectively in English. You never know – there may be a new employer or client among the crowds of fellow delegates, so make sure you can communicate with them!

8. English has a simple alphabet and everyone’s equal

The English alphabet is straightforward, making it easier to master than the symbols or pictures that make up some languages. If you’ve struggled to learn more complex alphabets, you may find you make more progress with English, which shares an alphabet with many other languages.

There are no complicated symbols and characters to get to grips with in English, either; even in French, which essentially uses the same alphabet, there are several accents used on certain letters that alter the pronunciation. Not so in English. Furthermore, not matter how important they are, everyone is addressed as “you” – there are no polite and informal variants to agonise over (as there are in French with “tu” and “vous”, for instance), so you won’t need to worry about inadvertently creating social awkwardness by being overly familiar. And unlike many European languages, there are no masculine and feminine words to remember – it’s “a dog”, not “le chien”.

9. English gives you wider access to knowledge

Did you know that 55% of the world’s webpages are written in English? This absolutely dwarfs that of any other language, with the next most widely used language on the internet being Russian (which constitutes just 6% of pages). Knowledge of English therefore allows you to tap into far more of the world’s intellectual resources.

English is also the language of science. If you learn English, you won’t just have access to a greater proportion of the vast amount of knowledge available on the web; you’ll be able to educate yourself still further by being able to read scientific books and papers. English is, of course, essential if you intend to pursue a scientific career. Within the Science Citation Index, compiled by the Institute for Scientific Information, an estimated 95% of articles are written in English despite only around half being from English-speaking countries. According to the Open University , “At Oxford University two thirds of post-graduate students come from outside the UK. The students in the university’s chemistry research lab admit that working in English is a key attraction.”

10. English is a fantastic intellectual challenge!

English is undoubtedly one of the harder languages to learn . Full of nuances, unexpected pronunciations, odd rules and infuriating exceptions to rules, it takes dedication and perseverance to reach a good level of fluency. If you’re on the lookout for a new challenge, learning English may be just what you’re after. Not only that, but because it’s so widely spoken, it opens you up to a huge number of new cultural experiences, which will help you develop life skills, meet new people and grow your confidence in handling new situations.

Have we convinced you yet? If you’ve been inspired to learn English, consider enrolling on one of our English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses   and develop your English skills in the company of like-minded students in the beautiful city of Oxford and Cambridge.

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• Biographies

9 reasons why you should learn English

• Learning English
• 9 reasons why you should…

Most people only think of learning a second language in order to speak it fluently. While this is certainly one of the main benefits, there are many others that often go overlooked. In fact, there are so many benefits to learning a second language that it’s hard to know where to start. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are 9 reasons why you should learn English (or any other language) as a second language.

• The importance of learning a second language
• The benefits of learning English as a second language
• How to get started learning English
• Tips for improving your English speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills
• Resources for furthering your English education
• Why learning English as your second language is beneficial for career development
• How to increase your fluency in speaking and writing English
• Ways to make learning a second language fun and enjoyable
• Cultural differences between native speakers of different languages and how understanding them can help you communicate better with others
• Final thoughts on the importance of learning a second language

1. The importance of learning a second language

The importance of learning a second language cannot be overstated. In today’s globalized world, proficiency in a second language is one of the most useful skills you can have. Whether you’re travelling abroad, looking for employment, or engaging with different cultures, knowing two languages will open up many more opportunities for you.

Being multilingual not only provides practical advantages but also offers personal growth and intellectual development. Not to mention that it can help you appreciate different cultures and points of view, gain a better understanding of the world around you, and even improve your memory!

Learning a second language has long been regarded as a valuable skill that enhances communication, opens doors to new cultures, and boosts career opportunities. However, recent academic research suggests that the benefits of being bilingual extend far beyond mere communication. It has been discovered that acquiring a second language may play a crucial role in delaying cognitive decline and contributing to a longer, healthier life. This article explores the connection between language learning and reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Numerous studies have revealed the cognitive advantages associated with bilingualism. One of the most prominent benefits is the delayed onset of age-related cognitive decline. Researchers have found that individuals who speak more than one language tend to exhibit superior executive functions, such as problem-solving, multitasking, and memory retention. This cognitive flexibility is thought to contribute to resilience against neurodegenerative diseases.

One of the most striking findings in the field of linguistics and cognitive science is the potential protective effect of bilingualism against Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory loss, impaired cognitive functions, and a decline in overall mental acuity. Studies have shown that bilingual individuals tend to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, on average, several years later than monolingual individuals.

This phenomenon can be partially explained by the “cognitive reserve” hypothesis, which suggests that bilingual individuals possess a greater cognitive reserve or buffer against the damage caused by Alzheimer’s pathology. When one language network is compromised by the disease, bilingual individuals can draw upon their second language network, providing some protection against cognitive decline.

The constant mental exercise required to manage and switch between two languages appears to enhance the brain’s overall resilience. Bilingual individuals develop enhanced cognitive flexibility and a more robust working memory, which enables them to better cope with the demands of cognitive ageing and neurological disorders.

An essential aspect of these cognitive benefits is that learning a second language can be undertaken at any age. While early language acquisition may offer additional cognitive advantages, it is never too late to begin learning a new language. This means that even older adults can reap the benefits of bilingualism and reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

The academic research on the relationship between learning a second language and living a longer, healthier life is both promising and compelling. Bilingualism appears to provide a significant cognitive advantage, delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Moreover, this advantage is not limited to those who acquire a second language in their youth; it extends to individuals of all ages.

While more research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind this phenomenon, the evidence so far strongly suggests that the mental exercise involved in language learning contributes to cognitive resilience. As a result, embracing the opportunity to learn a second language, regardless of your age, may not only open doors to new cultures and experiences but also pave the way to a more vibrant, intellectually enriched, and potentially longer life.

Learning English as a second language has countless benefits for anyone who wants to expand their horizons. Whether you are just starting out or want to perfect your skills, mastering English is a great way to open up new opportunities in your life. With the right guidance and practice, you can become fluent in English in no time!

2. The benefits of learning English as a second language

The benefits of learning English as a second language are numerous. Not only can it open up opportunities for career development, but it can also enhance your educational and travel experiences.

One of the most obvious advantages to learning English is that it’s the most widely spoken language in the world. Knowing English will give you an edge over others when it comes to job opportunities, as well as helping you communicate with people from around the globe.

Learning English can provide a number of benefits, both personal and professional. Some of the benefits of learning English include:

• Imagine the power of mastering the English language; it opens doors to job opportunities worldwide, allowing you to work remotely without the need to relocate. Moreover, if you have a product or service to offer, you can effortlessly access English-speaking markets, broadening your reach and enhancing your business prospects.
• Fluency in English not only distinguishes candidates in the competitive job market but also plays a pivotal role in career success. When individuals seek positions at prominent global tech firms, their command of the English language enables them to seamlessly connect with international clients and collaborate with colleagues from diverse backgrounds. This proficiency not only makes them strong candidates but also elevates their potential for career growth, as they can bridge communication gaps and foster valuable relationships in the global business landscape.
• Mastering the English language opens doors to a wealth of educational opportunities. A significant number of universities and academic institutions worldwide have adopted English as their primary language of instruction, offering a diverse array of programs and resources to students. This linguistic proficiency not only grants access to a broader spectrum of courses and materials but also fosters a deeper engagement with global academic communities. For instance, a student in a non-English-speaking country who has a strong command of English can enrol in international online courses, access research papers, and participate in virtual academic conferences, thereby broadening their knowledge base and enhancing their academic experience.
• English proficiency significantly enhances your travel experience, making it more enjoyable and convenient. The global prevalence of the English language allows travellers to communicate effectively in numerous tourist destinations. For instance, when visiting a bustling market in Bangkok, having a grasp of English can help you negotiate prices, ask for directions, and engage in meaningful conversations with local vendors. Furthermore, knowing English opens up opportunities to discover affordable and lesser-known travel destinations. Online platforms and travel forums in English provide insights into hidden gems and budget-friendly options, allowing travellers to explore unique places while saving on costs. In addition, when attending international events, conferences, or festivals, a strong command of English can be invaluable. It enables you to network with people from around the world, attend workshops, and fully immerse yourself in the experience. So, whether you’re bargaining for souvenirs in Thailand or attending a music festival in Europe, English can be your key to unlocking the best of your travel adventures.
• Cultural enrichment through English proficiency offers a profound journey of understanding and appreciation. By mastering the English language, you gain deeper insights into English-speaking cultures, which, in turn, contribute to a more comprehensive worldview. For example, immersing yourself in the works of William Shakespeare allows you to explore the rich tapestry of English literature and the historical context of Elizabethan England. By enjoying the plays of Arthur Miller, you can delve into the intricacies of American society in the 20th century. Furthermore, English proficiency facilitates meaningful interactions and connections with people from various English-speaking regions, such as engaging in conversations with New Yorkers to comprehend the diversity of urban America or discussing the indigenous cultures of Australia with a native speaker. This linguistic aptitude transcends language itself, enhancing your ability to appreciate and respect different perspectives and traditions, ultimately fostering a greater global consciousness.
• Enhanced Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking: Embracing a new language fosters cognitive growth, promoting sharper problem-solving and critical thinking abilities. The process of learning a language prompts you to approach challenges from fresh perspectives, igniting mental agility and adaptability. For instance, when learning a language like Mandarin, you must navigate intricate characters and tones, which in turn hones your capacity to decipher complex patterns and nuances. Similarly, multilingual individuals often exhibit improved analytical skills when faced with real-world issues. They can harness a broader mental toolkit to tackle problems, drawing inspiration from their diverse linguistic experiences. Learning a language like French, for example, enables you to grasp different cultural approaches to diplomacy and negotiation, enhancing your ability to address international conflicts more effectively. This linguistic journey not only opens doors to effective communication but also unlocks the potential for more innovative and comprehensive problem-solving.

3. How to get started learning English

Learning English as a second language can be a challenging yet rewarding process. Before you get started, there are a few important steps you should take to ensure that your journey is successful and enjoyable.

First, assess your current level of English proficiency. Knowing where you stand will help you determine the best learning resources for you. You can do this by taking a diagnostic test, or by talking to a teacher or tutor.

Once you’ve determined your current level of English proficiency, make sure that you are familiar with the language’s fundamentals. This includes understanding its alphabet and pronunciation, as well as learning basic grammar and vocabulary words. You can take classes or use online resources.

Learning a new language can be a challenging but rewarding journey. If you are determined to improve your English skills, there are several steps you can take to ensure that your learning journey is successful.

• Set specific goals: It’s important to have clear goals in mind when learning a new language. Do you want to be able to speak English fluently? Do you want to be able to read and understand English texts? By setting specific goals, you can focus your efforts and track your progress.
• Find a method that works for you: There are many different ways to learn a language, and it’s important to find a method that works best for you. Some people prefer traditional classroom learning, while others prefer online courses or self-study. Experiment with different methods and see what works best for you.
• Practice regularly: To improve your English skills, you need to practice regularly. Make a schedule for yourself and set aside time each day to practice your listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.
• Immerse yourself in the language: One of the best ways to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. This can mean listening to English music, watching English movies, or even travelling to an English-speaking country. The more you expose yourself to the language, the more quickly you will learn.
• Get feedback: To improve your skills, it’s important to get feedback on your progress. Consider joining a language exchange program or hiring a tutor to help you improve your skills.
• Stay motivated: Learning a new language can be challenging, and it’s important to stay motivated throughout the process. Set small goals for yourself and celebrate your accomplishments along the way. Surround yourself with people who are also learning the language and share your progress with them.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your English learning journey is successful and rewarding. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – they are an important part of the learning process. With patience and persistence, you can achieve your English language goals.

4. Tips for improving your English speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills

Improving your English skills can be a daunting task, but it is possible to become proficient with the right guidance. To get the most out of your English studies, there are a few simple tips you can use to help you improve your speaking, reading, writing, and grammar.

First and foremost, it’s important to practice speaking and listening in English as much as possible. Speak with native speakers whenever you can, and listen to conversations or news broadcasts in English. This will help you become more familiar with the language and hear how it is used in different contexts.

Reading books and articles in English can also be beneficial. It’s important to read material that is slightly above your level so you can challenge yourself and stretch your vocabulary. When you come across an unfamiliar word, look it up in a dictionary or note it down for use later. Eventually these words will become part of your natural speaking and writing repertoire.

Writing essays and practice papers is another way to improve your English skills. Writing regularly and reviewing your work will help you become familiar with various grammar structures, essay formats, and writing styles. This can also be helpful in improving your speaking as well, since writing forces you to think critically about how you are using the language.

Finally, it’s important to brush up on basic English grammar rules so that you can use the language correctly. There are many online resources and books that can help you get started, and it’s important to continue reviewing these concepts on a regular basis so that they become second nature.

If you follow these tips and practice regularly, you will see a big improvement in your English skills in no time! With dedication and consistency, you can become a proficient English speaker and writer.

5. Resources for furthering your English education

If you’re looking to further your English education, there are a wide variety of resources available to help you improve your language skills. These resources can be particularly helpful for individuals who are learning English as a second language, but they can also be useful for native English speakers who want to brush up on their grammar or expand their vocabulary.

One of the most effective ways to improve your English skills is through formal education. Many schools, colleges, and universities offer English language courses at various levels, from beginner to advanced. These courses can be a great way to learn the fundamentals of English grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, and they often include opportunities for speaking and writing practice as well.

In addition to formal education, there are also many online resources that can help you improve your English skills. Websites like Duolingo, BBC Learning English, and English Central offer interactive lessons, quizzes, and exercises to help you practice your English skills. There are also many mobile apps available that can help you improve your English, such as Rosetta Stone and Babbel.

Another way to improve your English skills is by reading and listening to authentic English-language materials. Reading books, magazines, and articles in English can help you improve your vocabulary and comprehension skills. Listening to English-language podcasts, music, and television shows can also be a helpful way to improve your listening and speaking skills.

Finally, one of the most effective ways to improve your English skills is through practice. Find opportunities to speak and write in English as much as possible, whether that’s through conversation with native English speakers or by participating in online forums or discussion groups. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll become in your English language abilities.

There are many resources available to help you further your English education. Whether you prefer formal education, online resources, or practice, there is a path to improvement that will work for you. With time, dedication, and effort, you can improve your English skills and achieve your language learning goals.

List of English language learning resources

Here is a list of English language learning resources that can help you improve your skills:

• Formal education: Many schools, colleges, and universities offer English language courses at various levels. These courses can provide a structured environment for learning and practice.
• Online resources: Websites like Duolingo, BBC Learning English , English Central, and Super English offer interactive lessons, quizzes, and exercises to help you practice your English skills. There are also many mobile apps available that can help you improve your English, such as Rosetta Stone and Babbel.
• Authentic materials: Reading books, magazines, and articles in English can help you improve your vocabulary and comprehension skills. Listening to English-language podcasts, music, and television shows can also be a helpful way to improve your listening and speaking skills.
• Practice: Find opportunities to speak and write in English as much as possible, whether that’s through conversation with native English speakers or by participating in online forums or discussion groups. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll become in your English language abilities.
• Tutors and language exchange programs: Working with a tutor or participating in a language exchange program can provide personalized instruction and practice opportunities.
• Immersion programs: Immersion programs, where you spend extended periods of time in an English-speaking country, can provide an intensive and immersive learning experience.
• English language clubs and organizations: Joining an English language club or organization can provide opportunities for socializing and practising your English skills with others who are also learning the language.

6. Why learning English as your second language is beneficial for career development

In today’s competitive job market, having a second language can give you an edge over other candidates and open up new opportunities to advance your career. Learning English as your second language is an especially valuable skill to possess since it’s the most commonly spoken language in the global business world. When you learn English , you take advantage of the many benefits it provides, such as:

• Improved communication and collaboration. Learning English will make it much easier to communicate with colleagues and clients who may not speak your native language. You can also read a wider range of materials and resources, giving you access to valuable information that might otherwise be inaccessible to you.
• Increased job prospects. Being bilingual gives you a competitive edge when applying for jobs, as many employers prefer candidates who can communicate in more than one language. It also opens up the possibility of working in foreign countries, which can be highly lucrative and provide unique career opportunities.
• Improved confidence. Having a good grasp of English will give you the confidence to take on more complex tasks and challenges in your career. This will lead to greater job satisfaction and better performance, both of which can result in positive career advancements.

Learning English as your second language can be a great way to expand your career prospects and help you get ahead professionally. Investing time and effort into mastering a new language will pay dividends in the long run, as English is becoming increasingly important in the global business world. So start learning today and reap the rewards of a successful career!

7. How to increase your fluency in speaking and writing English

Are you looking to improve your proficiency in writing and speaking English? English is a complex language, often with its own set of rules and conventions. That said, with some dedication and hard work, you can become more proficient in the language. Here’s what you need to know to increase your fluency in English.

The first step is to attend an English school or take classes so that you can get a grasp of the basics. This will provide you with the foundation upon which you can build your language skills. If possible, try to find a program led by native English speakers, as their first-hand knowledge and expertise can be invaluable for any budding language enthusiast.

Once you’ve taken a few classes, it’s time to start practising your new skills. You can find native English speakers online or locally and practice conversing with them. This will help you become more comfortable speaking the language, as well as give you an opportunity to learn from their experiences.

Make sure that you write in English every day. This can be as simple as keeping a journal or writing down some thoughts at the end of the day, but it’s important to make sure that you are actively engaging with the language. This will help you become more familiar with its many nuances and give you a better understanding of how it works.

8. Ways to make learning a second language fun and enjoyable

Learning a second language doesn’t have to be a chore. In fact, there are many ways you can make it fun and enjoyable! Whether you’re an experienced language learner or just starting out, the key is to use different methods of learning and practice regularly with native speakers. By making it part of your daily routine, you’ll be able to master the language in no time. Here are some tips for making learning a second language more enjoyable:

• Find ways to personalize your learning process, such as creating flashcards or word searches with words and phrases from the language you’re learning.
• Play games that challenge your language skills, such as Hangman, Scrabble, and crossword puzzles.
• Join group classes or online forums that focus specifically on the language you’re learning. This will help you practice with native speakers and pick up on their pronunciation and accent.
• Have conversations with native speakers in your target language as often as possible. This will help you become familiar with common phrases and properly use the language in a real-world setting.
• Make use of free language learning apps and websites that offer quizzes, text translations, and audio recordings to practice your pronunciation.
• Listen to music or watch movies/TV shows in your target language. This will help you become more familiar with the language’s culture and understand common slang terms or phrases.
• Use online tools such as Google Translate or Duolingo to test your skills and track your progress over time.
• Finally, don’t forget to reward yourself for making progress! Take a break, watch a movie in your target language, or have a conversation with a friend in the language you’re learning.

By using these tips and tricks to make learning a second language fun and enjoyable, you’ll be able to master it faster and more effectively. So don’t let the fear of boredom stop you from reaching your language learning goals. With a bit of patience and commitment, you can speak your target language fluently in no time!

9. Cultural differences between native speakers of different languages and how understanding them can help you communicate better with others.

When it comes to communicating between individuals from different cultures, understanding the cultural differences between native speakers of different languages is essential. Despite the fact that two individuals may share a common language, their cultural values and norms can vary greatly. This discrepancy can lead to misunderstandings and conflict when trying to communicate effectively.

Before delving into how understanding cultural differences between native speakers of different languages can help you communicate better with others, it’s important to understand why these variations exist. Language is an essential part of any culture, and as language evolves so does the culture. As a result, nuances in vocabulary, grammar, dialects and pronunciation emerge over time which further separate cultures from one another.

In order to take advantage of the cultural differences between native speakers, you need to do some research beforehand. Investing time and energy into learning about the cultural customs, values, and norms of individuals before conversing with them is key. This could be as simple as doing a quick Google search or asking a friend who may have more extensive knowledge of the culture in question.

Once you have an understanding of the cultural differences between native speakers, you can begin to tailor your conversations to suit their needs. For example, if you are speaking with someone from a culture that is accustomed to formal language, it’s important to use words that show respect and politeness in order to make a good impression. Conversely, if you are conversing with someone from a culture that has more relaxed customs and norms, it’s best to use language appropriate for the situation.

By understanding the cultural differences between native speakers of different languages, you can communicate better with others and avoid any potential misunderstandings. This will ensure smoother conversations and foster stronger relationships with the people you are speaking with. So, don’t be afraid to invest some time in learning more about a culture before engaging with its native speakers – it will pay off!

Ultimately, understanding cultural differences between native speakers of different languages can help build bridges between cultures and create a deeper sense of mutual understanding. The key is to be open-minded, inquisitive, and willing to learn new things – the rest will come naturally.

Good communication skills are a key factor in any successful relationship or venture. By understanding the cultural differences between native speakers of different languages, you can avoid any potential misunderstandings and create a more harmonious environment for everyone. So, take the time to learn about the culture behind the language – it will only benefit you in the long run!

Understanding cultural differences between native speakers of different languages is essential for successful communication. Whether you’re engaging in business or social conversations, having knowledge of the culture behind the language can help ensure smoother conversations and stronger relationships with others. So, don’t be afraid to invest some time into learning about different cultures – it will surely pay off!

10. Final thoughts on the importance of learning a second language

Learning a second language can offer many benefits, such as improved communication skills, a deeper understanding of other cultures, and more job opportunities. By taking the time to learn about the culture behind the language, you can communicate better with others and avoid any potential misunderstandings. So, don’t be afraid to invest some time in learning more about a culture before engaging with its native speakers – it will pay off! With the right mindset and dedication, you can unlock a whole new world of opportunities. So, don’t hesitate – start learning a second language today! You won’t regret it.

About SuperEnglish

Thank you for taking the time to read this article on SuperEnglish.com. Our website is dedicated to assisting English language learners from all corners of the world. People from across the globe are utilizing SuperEnglish.com as a valuable resource for improving their English language skills.

Our content is predominantly free, making it accessible to anyone with a basic internet connection. If you’re looking to enhance your proficiency in the English language , we encourage you to make SuperEnglish.com a part of your daily routine. Just spending 10 minutes each day on our platform can significantly contribute to your language knowledge and skills.

Author:  Rukiye

Rukiye is Co-Founder of SuperEnglish. After working for multinational companies such as Coca-Cola, British American Tabacco and Adobe, she has decided to be an entrepreneur to help people who want to learn English online. She writes articles about her English learning experience on our website.

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Importance Of English Language Essay

500 words importance of english language essay.

The English Language is becoming more and more common in the world. As a result, increasingly people are dedicating time to study English as their second language. In fact, many countries include it in their school syllabus to teach children this language from a young age. However, the true value of this language is that it helps remove many barriers from our life. Whether it is to find a new job or travel the world. In other words, it helps to progress in life both on a personal and professional level. Thus, the Importance of English Language Essay will help you understand all about it.

Importance Of English Language

Language is our major means of communication; it is how we share our thoughts with others. A language’s secondary purpose is to convey someone’s sentiments, emotions, or attitudes. English is one such language in the world that satisfies both the above purposes. English has been regarded as the first global Lingua Franca. It has become part and parcel of almost every existing field. We use it as the international language to communicate in many fields ranging from business to entertainment.

Many countries teach and encourage youngsters to acquire English as a second language. Even in nations where English is not an official language, many science and engineering curriculum are written in English.

English abilities will most certainly aid you in any business endeavours you choose to pursue. Many large corporations will only hire professional employees after determining whether or not they speak good English. Given the language’s prominence, English language classes will be advantageous to you if you want to work for a multinational organization and will teach you the communication skills needed to network with professionals in your area or enhance your career.

The English Language opens an ocean of career opportunities to those who speak this language anywhere in the world. Similarly, it has turned into an inevitable requirement for various fields and professions like medicine , computing and more.

In the fast-evolving world, it is essential to have a common language that we can understand to make the best use of the data and information available. As a result, the English Language has become a storehouse of various knowledge ranging from social to political fields.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas  

Reasons to Learn the English Language

As the importance of the English Language is clear now, we move on to why we must learn the English Language. First of all, it is a global language. It is so common that one out of five people can speak or understand this language.

Further, learning the English Language can help in getting a job easily. As it has become the language of many fields, it automatically increases the chances of landing a good job in a good company.

In addition, it helps with meeting new people. As it is the official language of 53 countries, learning it helps to break the language barriers. Most importantly, it is also the language of the Internet.

Another important reason to learn this language is that it makes travelling easier. Being a widely used language globally, it will help you connect with people easily. Similarly, it is also essential in the world of business.

It does not matter whether you are an employee or employer, it benefits everyone. Students who wish to study abroad must definitely study this language. Many countries use their schools and universities. So, it can offer a good opportunity for students.

Why and where do we need the English language?

• Use of English on the Internet – Because of the tremendous rise of information technology, particularly the internet, English is the language of choice for Internet users. The internet has also played an important role in promoting and spreading the English language throughout the world, as more and more people are exposed to it, and English has also become the language of the internet.
• Use of English in Education – English has become one of the majorly used languages to understand, learn and explain concepts from various fields of knowledge. The majority of instructional tools, materials, and texts are written in English. The global educational systems at colleges all over the world need English as a foreign language.
• Use of English for Travel purposes – As we all know, English has been named as the official language of 53 countries and over 400 million people in the world speak English, the English language comes in handy for communicating with everyone when anyone travels around the world be it for tourism, job opportunity, settlement, casual visits, etc.
• Use of English for Communication – The most important function of a language is to allow people to communicate effectively. For many years, English has been the most widely known and valued language on the planet. In other words, English becomes an efficient tool for communicating with people all over the world.

Conclusion of Importance Of English Language Essay

We use the English Language in most of our international communications. While it is not the most spoken language in the world, 53 countries have named it their official language. Moreover, about 400 million people globally use it as their first language. Thus, being the most common second language in the world, it will be beneficial to learn this language to open doors to new opportunities.

FAQ on Importance Of English Language Essay

Question 1: How does the English Language help you get a job?

Answer 1: the  English Language is the language of many things like science, aviation, computers, diplomacy, and tourism. Thus, if you know English, it will increase your chances of landing a good job in an international company.

Question 2: Does the English Language help in connecting with people globally?

Answer 2: Yes, it does. It is because English is the official language of 53 countries and we use it as a lingua franca (a mutually known language) by people from all over the world. This means that studying English can help us have a conversation with people on a global level.

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Argumentative Essay: Reasons You Should Learn English

If you plan on making your way in the world, learning a second language is imperative. English has a foothold as the “language of business,” and being so, has become the most commonly learnt second language amongst foreign language speakers. Not only is English significant in the business world, but in general, when people of differing native languages congregate, English is the language of everyday conversation. Again, this is because it’s most commonly taught in foreign schools, as English is the collective language spoken by 1.8 billion people worldwide, or 27% of the world’s population. By virtue of this, for those willing to make the effort, learning English proffers forth benefits that learning any other second language mightn’t. Highlighted below are some of these benefits, including employment opportunities; technical, economic and scientific innovation; and cultural understanding.

As the language of business, English will open up the world to you in nearly any field of employment. Because it’s so important to be bilingual, any company in any country of the world prefers a bilingual employee – and even more so, an English-speaking one – over an employee who speaks only his/her native tongue. In being bilingual in English, you will be able to communicate with others in all corners of the world (remember, over 27% of the world’s population speaks English), and you will be able to translate for those in your company who do not speak English. This makes you an exceedingly vital communication tool. Not only will you be an asset to your company, but you will reap many benefits as a result, such as a larger annual income, a better standard of living, and the opportunity to live just about anywhere in the world.

Along with being the language of business, English is the language of economic development, as well as technical and scientific innovation. The United States is the leader in technical innovation and economic development and, as a consequence, the language to know in making your way in these fields is English. English is also the language of science, so scientists must be fluent in order to communicate their findings with others. Being successful in any one of these prosperous fields requires fluency in English.

Lastly a great benefit to learning English is that it increases cultural understanding, not only of native English-speaking cultures, but of any other country whose second language is English. The film and music industries are largely English-driven. The art, traditions and culture of any country, especially those of native English-speaking countries, can be better understood if you have some knowledge of the English language. Being centuries-old and having been the native language of empirical powers and world leaders, English remains a great source of influence in human history, weaved into the narrative of many cultures, and sewn, like a cultural seed, throughout time.

If you endeavor to learn a second language, that language should be English. The benefits it proffers – including employment opportunities; technical, economic and scientific innovation; and cultural understanding – are exceeded by no other language in the world.

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10 Tips to Write Better Essays in English

If writing an essay sounds a little bit scary, just think of it as a chance to improve your writing skills .

Nobody expects your first essay to be perfect. Just make sure you learn something new every time you write an essay, and you will  grow your abilities.

We’re going to help you out with ten tips for writing better essays while you’re learning English .

1. Create a Word Bank

2. act like a reporter, 3. create topic sentences, 4. argue both sides, 5. read backwards, 6. use an online thesaurus and a dictionary, 7. combine and separate sentences, 8. have a native english speaker edit your essay, 9. review the whole essay with your friend, then rewrite it, 10. use online apps, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

This is an interesting approach to writing your essay. First, choose a topic and write a thesis . A thesis is the main argument of your essay. For instance, if your topic is reading, your thesis might be “Reading makes you smarter.”

Once you have a thesis, think about your main topic and find words that relate to it in different ways. Then, branch out (broaden, diversify) your list to words that aren’t as closely related to your main topic.

For the example above, your primary list might include words like “books,” “reading” and “intelligent.” Your other “branched out” list might include “Harry Potter,” “reading by a fire” or “test scores.”

This process will help expand your vocabulary over time. Using these words when you write will also make your essay more vibrant (energetic, colorful).

When you are first assigned the topic, go ahead and really explore the possible options for your thesis. Ask questions. Get curious. The more questions you ask before you start writing, the more information you will have to use in the essay.

A strong essay is one that covers a lot of content in a succinct (short, to-the-point) way. This process of acting like a reporter will give you valuable quotes, resources and vocabulary to begin the writing process.

For instance, if you’re writing about a new diet plan , you might ask questions like, “Who is the best candidate for this diet plan?,” “How can someone get started?” and “What is the hardest part of this plan?”

A topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph, and it summarizes the rest of the paragraph. You can create them first to help you stay on track when writing your essay.

For the thesis “Reading makes you smarter,” one paragraph’s topic sentence might be, “Newspapers make you more aware of current events.” Another paragraph’s topic sentence could be, “Reading plays and classic literature will make you more cultured.”

If you’re writing about the three main issues facing writers today, you could write three full sentences that each address one main issue. Set these aside. Then, when you start writing the essay, refer to your topic sentences to create a solid structure that begins at point A and ends at point C.

If you have to write a longer or more complex essay, it might help to outline both sides of the argument before you start writing. When you write the essay, you will need to choose one side to focus on. But as you prepare, having a side-by-side list of points can be helpful in developing your thesis.

Also, by arguing for the opposite side of your opinion, you will learn which points you need to better address in your essay. You will learn more about the topic, and you will gain more vocabulary words to enrich the essay.

As an example, you might be writing an essay arguing that people should drink less coffee. To argue both sides, you’ll need to consider the opposite side: the benefits of coffee. How will people quit if they are addicted? What about the antioxidants in coffee? Aren’t those good for you? Really explore the entire concept (both sides of the argument) before you write.

Proper grammar is difficult for even the most fluent English speakers. Because you are learning English, you actually have an advantage. Many native speakers learned improper grammar from the start. It’s difficult to undo the damage caused by a lifetime of writing improperly.

As you learn the English language, make a serious effort to practice your grammar and sentence structure. One way to spot improper grammar in your own English writing is to read each sentence backwards (start with the last word and end with the first). This way, you won’t be fooled by how the words sound when you read them in your head.

Is everything in the correct tense (past, present, future, etc.)? If you’re writing about plurals, are the possessive nouns plural? Are the apostrophes in the right places? Does every sentence end with a punctuation mark (period, question mark, exclamation point)? Reading the text backwards makes you focus on the rules of grammar instead of the flow of the sentence.

You might have learned a large number of fancy words when studying for an entrance exam. But before you start using them in academic essays, be very sure you know what they mean in the context of your essay. This is where the dictionary can come in handy .

A thesaurus is another valuable tool when writing an essay. A thesaurus tells you synonyms, or words that have the same or a similar meaning to the word you look up. It’s important because it can add some volume to your essay and increase the impact of your words.

For example, if you’re writing about cooking, the words “stir” and “add” might come up a lot. This repetition is boring for a reader.

So instead of constantly saying, “Add the tomato” and “add the eggs,” a thesaurus will teach you to say things like “whisk in the eggs” or “gently fold in the tomatoes.” See? It sounds a lot better and adds interest to your essay.

Visual Thesaurus is a resource that works just like a regular thesaurus, but it also shows you the connections between the words. For example, if you type in the word “stir,” you’ll immediately see a whole circle of other words connected to “stir” with lines. From there, you can click on any of the words in the circle (like “move,” in this case) and then see all the words related to that word. This helps you find and learn new words quickly, and it’s also fun!

Once the essay is written, go back through the writing to find any sentences that seem too long or wordy. Break these into two or more sentences.

For example, the following sentence is too long, which makes it unclear:

If you want to write in another language, you need to practice writing in creative ways, like writing on a blog, writing fun poems or texting a friend who speaks the language you’re learning every day.

Instead, you could write it as two clearer sentences (with less repetition of the word “writing”):

If you want to write in another language, you need to practice in creative ways every day. For example, you could start a blog, create fun poems or text a friend.

Do the opposite with sentences you find too short.

Also, look for sentences that are very closely related to one another. If two sentences seem like the thoughts are connected, you can combine them with a semicolon ( ; ).

For example, the following sentences are very closely related:

Learning to write in another language can be really difficult, especially when you’re first getting started. That’s why it helps to practice every day.

That’s why you could write it this way:

Learning to write in another language can be really difficult, especially when you’re first getting started; daily practice is helpful.

Meet up with a friend who is fluent in English (or, at least, more fluent than you). This friend can edit your essay and point out any repetitive errors.

If they find mistakes that you make often, you will be able to watch more closely for that error as you write future essays. This friend will also be able to point out grammatical or spelling errors that you might have missed.

If you don’t have any friends who are fluent in English, you can use a website like Conversation Exchange . This is a free site where native English speakers will correct your writing. In exchange, you correct the writing of someone learning your native language.

Once you and your friend have both reviewed your essay and marked any mistakes, rewrite the whole thing. This step is important. Just noting that you made some mistakes will not help you learn how to avoid them in the future.

By rewriting the essay with the corrections in mind, you will teach yourself how to write those sections properly. You will create a memory of using proper grammar or spelling a word correctly. So, you will be more likely to write it correctly next time.

Lastly, there are some fantastic online resources that can help improve your writing. For instance,  Hemingway Editor  can review your document to find any confusing or wordy sentences. You can rewrite these to make them easier to understand.

You could also head over to  Essay Punch  to find resources, tools and support that can help improve your writing skills.  Grammar Book  is a great resource for practicing proper grammar and spelling.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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Since many online resources are readily accessible, feel free to experiment with your options. Try to find the ones that cater best to your learning habits and needs.

The advice in this post is mainly for improving your essay writing over time. However, if you want a more professional opinion for an important essay, you can also use Scribendi . Scribendi is an online essay editing resource that helps with academic and admissions essays. If you’re applying to a school or are writing an important paper, you may want to consider their services to make sure your essay is the best it can be.

Learning a new language is certainly an ambitious (challenging) task. There are so many small details to learn, and the process takes a lot of time and commitment. But with practice and study, you will improve.

It takes even more effort to become a strong writer in a new language, but these tips will help you get started.

Hopefully, you were able to find one or two tips that you believe will help you improve your essay writing abilities. Over time, try to use all of these strategies (or at least more than one) in your writing routine. Good luck!

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials , as you can see here:

If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.

The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.

For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:

FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.

FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.

The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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5 reasons why we love English

'I love English because I think it is a bridge to reach my dreams, so I can learn and find the best jobs, gain a lot of friendships, learn about people's culture and spread my culture to the whole world. It gets me where I have to be - at the top. With  English, everything becomes easy'.  - Samia Saeed

'I love English because it's become the world's first language and the first language in the field of scientific communication. My career and my field of study need me to be proficient in the English language, so I have to learn English to participate in building knowledge in the world'. - Abdulaziz Mansoor Al Raimi

'I love English because I can confidently communicate with others and it makes it easy to communicate during work, travel, etc. English makes a person brave enough to talk in public, especially women. Women need English very much for them to advance in their work life'. - Thurkhadevy Vijayan

'I love English because it is the key to international networking. I once thought of practising alternative languages to substitute English since most Malaysians are trilingual. However, speaking English inarticulately makes me lose confidence in my working life, especially when I'm surrounded by native speakers. English brings us together. Love it, break the barrier and make it your advantage.'  - Bernice Kee

'I love English because, it is the 'local' language of the universe! Not only that, it has also raised and boosted my confidence level whenever I meet new people. It is essential for me to make my first impression which can also be my last impression. Speaking in English also helps me to create a bond among all my family members.'  - Thilaga A/P Narayanasamy

Why learn English? - All competition entries

November's scholarhsip competition is now closed. Our monthly newsletter, called English in your inbox, runs a competition in which three readers win a 2-week General English course at an EC school.

The competition question was to tell us, using 20 words, why you learn English. Here are all the entries we received. If yours is not here, we didn't get it. Apologies. 

I hope reading these will motivate and inspire you to keep on learning!

A million thanks to everyone who entered our competition.

Sign up for our free newsletter here.

Why do you learn English?

I love English and be able to communicate with people from all the world to have a lot of friends. Julian Murcia Varela, Colombia

I learn English because English is everything now days, and I need it at my university because the lecture are teaching us in English as well as I can get a good job with good salary. Furthermore, I want to learn English because I love it.... Mohammed Abobakr Ali Gabr

I learn English because what I learnd until now at your school helped me to get the permanent residence status in the country I choose to live in and more learning in the future will help me for better communication with my new neighbours and friends. Gabriele Baumann, Germany

I don't like that people I speak with, could call me stupid without me can understanding it, or worse, I thank them too!! Patrizia Targa, Italy

I learn English because it's the most beautiful language in the world... no i'm joking, it's just because my Dad forced me to do it ! Shaoqin He, China

I learn English because It's a international language. And also we can use English and speak any body in any country. Thats why it has more weighted than other languages. Most refer books are in English. If we don't know English, we can't refer those books. Therefore English language is Important and I learn too. Fama H.

English is widely spoken all over the world as a second language. Moreover, English Grammar is not a complicated one. Mohamed Wisam

I learn English because I like traveling and after my first language course in Malta it tempts me to improved my English! Selina Sanapo, Switzerland

I learn English because I get used to learn it:). And I really like it! Besides - I work for international company. Natalia Rush, Russia

I learning English because I like travel, I want to meet new people and I want to see different culture. Suna Polatddemir, Turkey

I learn English because I want to learn English Deniz Altuntug, Turkey

I learn English because, it is helpful to speak in the international language, mostly when I am abroad, making life simpler. Surendra Durga

I like to learn English because English is my second language l need to be a well English speaker because it is a international language. Lilian Sedze

I learn English because I want to travel a lot. I’ve already started to realize my dream and I will never stop. Now I work in Foreign Company and see many nationalities. Our common language is English here. We enjoy this language because it helps us to communicate to each other. I want to do my best and improve my English. Alina Mukhangaziyeva, Kazakhstan

Learning...it takes up a lot of time but the incentives may be pretty different. Do you question yourself why you are learning English, maybe you aren’t in need of this knowledge? Or maybe you are really enthusiastic about it, aren’t you? So am I! Of course it really useful in the modern world nowadays, but despite of the above said my great work force in learning is the strong senses of the inspiration and the interest to the language, making the process of my education very speed and interesting...I eager to have learnt English to discover the world beyond my own, outside the country and the city in which I live, out of culture which has created me as a person, out of myself, my views and visions, my feelings and perceptions, to open the worlds of other societies and nations with their habits and likings! And also I’d give the opportunities to other people for discovering the universe of mine taking people throughout my own world, through country I’m living, through surroundings I’m feeling, through the amazing beauty of this world. And following up this great idea I hone my English language skills every day, because I aspire to know the language as if it had been my native. Oleg Kryshchuk, Ukraine

I learn English because, in mankind's historical evolution, with international fame, recognition and acceptance, English now serves as the sole medium of communication worldwide. Geethanjali Unnikrishnan

I learn English because it's the International'Communication language; so it's very important in medicine; for traveling,working, understanding news around world. Temadji Kantangar,

I learn English because everybody says that Chinese is the most spoken language in the world and I want to correct that fact. Aleksandra Kaliski, Serbia

I would like to learn English for better control in my daily life, in order to can evolve in the seen world that English became the international language, therefore I think that it became a most important. Mehdi Loukil

I learn English, because watching my favourites TV-series in original version gives me a satisfaction. Every single word I understand is my private success. Katarzyna Ratz, Poland

I learn English because: 1. I'm not up to stick out like a sore thumb at nowadays. 2. This language strike a chord with me. Ludmila Mikhailenko

I learn English because it is number one language of international communication, also number one in dealing with sciences, arts, and in military fields as well. Farag Attia

When I was kid all I could possibly think of was games, and I'll tell you what, they were all in English, how the heck would a Brazilian boy on his 8's be able to understand any of the stories, I grew up thinking that English was the opposite of Portuguese, but I got disappointed when I came to an understanding that the languages did not have a lot in common, there is some popular saying in Brazil that states "I'm Brazilian and never give up" that's what our president teaches us. By the time I was seventeen I didn't have a lot to do in my afternoons and no money was available, that was when I decided to go to the library every day and study as hard as I could just to get home and be able to understand some new lyrics, games and movies, yes, that's what you're thinking I don't like the sound of the word "self-student" but I kind of learned English all by myself, nowaday I work with computers and this is just possible because I can easily communicate in English, what I'm saying is I learn English because I know this is the only way I have to get whatever I want. Derli Campos, Brazil

I learn English because it is a worldwide language, in which you can communicate with many people and learn new stuff. Panagiotis Papadopoulos, Greece

I am learning English because my English was not flute and I want to improve my career and to get new position so I will get more income, additional to that I can deal with other at my company or worldwide . Mohammad Al-Shammari, Saudi Arabia

I learn English because it is the World Language. It helps me to realize my dreams that lay in getting a knowledge of the UK or USA which satisfies international standards and in traveling to wonderful places throughout the world. I would enjoy it meeting new people and talking to them in English. Akmaral Tazhigarina, Kazakhstan

I learn English, because since I was 10, I have made my mind to study abroad, actually in the USA, where everything is possible!!! Kristel Topalova, Bulgaria

I learn English because, English is a world language and as Georgia is a member of the world, English is my language too. Nino Mindiashvili, Georgia

I learn English because I want to be understood by everyone, everywhere, anytime and to see a new super fantastic world of colorful light. With kind regards Inga Braunere, Latvia

I learn English because it is the best way to open my mind and the doors of the world. Maria Laura Strini, Italy

I learn English because English it is one of the most spoken language around the world, so we can communicate together. Hocene Haddad, Algeria

I learn English because it offers the challege of mastering the language which is known for it's global power today. Afaf Saoudi

I learn English because I would like to speak english very well, good comminication, good presentation and writing It is related my job and also my life, it is important to improve my responsibility, I had already the basic experience technology and I had the English language basic so, it is strengthly necessary and why I learn English. Boupha Thongmalayvong

I love English literature and want to read English books in original...So i try to use every possible means to learn well. Lika Chelidze

I learn English because I like it very much ,It's most international language everywher in the world so I can speak it when I travel anywhere . If i want to work in hospital, airport or as a secertary I have to be fluent in English language . also if I want to continue my study for example master degree I must pass TOEFL or GRE examination. That are why I learn English. Sabah Al Mazroai, Saudi Arabia

I learn English because I have a nice English son-in-law and his family in Newcastle and I need to talk with them. Bodil Dibbern, Denmark

I learn English because most my friends like to joke in English language and I do not understand the little things what they say. Natalia Vavilova, Russia

I learn English because it necesary for my interesting new job and good understanding in my travels which probably will be in the future. Fokin Vadim

I learn English because I want to know what is going on in the world visiting wherever I can go. Shinobu Tamaki, Japan

I learn English, because being fluent in English gives the opportunity to work and live around world and communicate with much more interesting people Fedor Nikitin, Russia

I learn English because it is important for communication among people and for updating knowledge...English is also the most commonly used language in the science. In any competition for jobs the knowledge of the English in speech and writing is one of the basic requirements. Knowledge of English in speaking and writing is essential for conducting business and for communication with foreign customers and business partners, English is also essential for better usage of a computer. Lana, Croatia

I learn English because is funny, academic and is important to communication in the world. Jorge Pena, Venezuela

I learn English because I want to study abroad. Nurul Kamal, India

My name is Phuong Thao. I’m Vietnamese and I’m a student at Dalat university. Today, I received an email from Ecteam which invited me to enter this contest. I decided to take part in this competition because I really like this subject and I want to tell you the reason why I learn English as my second language. Above all, I was borned in an intelligentsia family. My parents always care and encourage my studying. They want to bring all the best thing to me. So, I think I have a lucky chance "to make acquaintance with English" when I was a little girl. I love it in the first day I knew it. I enjoyed to know things about everydaylife , culture, people,… in England and American. Besides, I really want to speak English fluently as other people around the world . I'm so interested in English that I learnt it everyday and tried to talk English with anyone who knew something about it. Then, it became my habbit ( and also my hobby) until now. Furthermore, because of globalization, nowaday, English is more popular and very useful. It’s used in almost nations (as an international language). I’ve already learnt it everyday so that I can get a good job in the future. I hope someday I will have a chance to go abroad and get succeed base on my own effort. In conclusion, I love English and choose it as my second language. "I will always keep improving my English!". Phuong Thao, Viet Nam

I learn English because I like to travel around the word! And I believe it doesn't need much money! It needs good relationships! For a good relationship makes when we can speak to a global language! Judi Abot

I would like to travel around the world, get to know different cultures and be able to make new friends. Jelena Resanovic, Croatia

I learn English because it's an amzing language. It' a pretty language which is the most useful in the world. In fact, I enjoy travelling all over the world. English is the language of communication. It seems all the people in the world use english to talk to each other. It is spoken in more than 100 countries, so I can communicate with people wherever I go. In an other side, I am a researcher in the computer science field, so I could read technical articles without difficulty. I could also write my own articles! To sum up, I enjoy learning English language. Yosra Wahabi

I learn English because I would like to study Records and Archive Management at the University of Liverpool and it inspires me to join the competition. Ilga Paupe, Latvia

I like it. Stefania, Italy

I learn English because I want to read, write, speak and think in English which will help me in research. Sergey Bespalko, Ukraine

I learn English because I need to communicate in the language, read and listen to information relayed in the media. Aly Swaleh, Kenya

I learn English because it helps me not only to communicate with foreigners but also to express myself better among my friends( from my country). Although every language is rich, there are still some words and phrases typical only for one language and not translatable. Thus, sometimes it is easier for us to express the thought in English, as everyone learns and understands it, than in Russian or Ukrainian, because it's hard to find an appropriate equivalent. So, the more languages you learn, the richer is your general vocabulary! Olena, Ukraine

I learn English because I want to stay informed, understand native speakers and native speakers understand me. Jacques, France

I learn English, that is why my intention is to study on British area during my master term, and then I hope I will go on my studies as comparative with other civilization based on my background. English is vital to communicate with others in the world,nowadays..Therefore; I prefer to learn that, and study in English. Ozlem, Turkey

I learn English because it helps me to push further the horizon’s line, to disconnect my mind from a stressful and disappointing social environment. Dana-Maria Onica, Romania

I learn English because I love English language and I am really happy when I can speak English with someone. Diana Masterove, Russia

I learn English because it is all over the world known international language; easy for beginner and challenge for advanced. Vappu Hietanen, Finland

I learn English because I want to read the books in English and I wish to be good English teacher. Ugga Pandita, Myanmar

English is my world and my world is in English. Onur Aytan, Turkey

I learn English because I love travelling and meet new friends and English is the way to communication with people over the world. Reem Saif, Yemen

I learn English because that's easier for me to explain my feelings in English than in French, that's better to seduce girls! Alan Moisant, France

I learn English because English is a key to knowledge, science from past till now, it is a door to the world, where almost every letter is written in English language. Tatiana Kachurina

whatever you're searching, it allows you to improve your life, having access to information that other people can't get. Matteo Tondo, Italy

I learn English because I need to speak and write in this language at my work if I want to be better than others. Daniela Popa, Romania

I learn English because I am citizen of the world. Laercio Venturini, Brazil

I learn English because i need to improve my English Language, and to help me start studying masters degree in mobile communication engineering . Ahmed Bahaa El-Deen Darwish, Egypt

I learn English because my dream of stepping-up the carrier ladder can not be realized unless I can get speaking English down to a fine art. Arash Minouie

I learn English because I want to improve myself. Ruba Sakakini

I learn English because i find it's an interesting language to learn and more over it help me for my future career as well as my current studied subject. I find English is my obsessed cos for a while when I tried to learn a new language beside it, I see myself always thinking about English meaning and translating that word not to my own national language but instead into english and what else I can remember not the new language I've just learnt but English. I think english have unrealisely becoming my second national language already. I love learning and reading English. Teang Kim

I learn English because I need to communicate whit the people in the world that understand me and teach me how to live in difficult situation. samira samady

I learn English because knowledge of a foreign language opens up before me the world, helps to know other cultures and meet new friends Elena, Czech Republc

I learn English because it is a spoken-by-most-of-the-world's-population language facilitating my businesses with most world's population. Hamza Ethelb

I learn English because I want to attend on course you organized; I believe it would be great experience. Goran Arsic, Serbia

I learn English because, I need to speak well English in my business, also English is international language and wherever you go in the world, you can speak English and tell your feelings easily. Can Aksade

I learn English because I like being understandable to the rest of the world and making valuable, endless friendships with people from different cultures! Radmila. Curcic, Serbia

I learn English because I am student of English literature. Samar Tahhan, Syria

I learn English because nowadays it really became a ''must have'' in your CV. It is the most important language that connects people all over the world. I definitely think that becoming fluent in English is a huge plus in your career,especially if you want to succeed in your job. Personally,I love English as a language and that's why I take classes. The classes are an opportunity to know how much you don't know. :) I think that the best ways of learning a foreign language are to read books and to communicate with people as much as you can,because that's the way to improve your grammar and writing as well as your talking skills. English sounds nice and maybe that is one of the reasons I will learn it in the future. Adela Pupovic, Montenegro

I learn English because: 1 - it is accepted common language in the worldwide.Wherever you go,you will have to use and you will need it.We live in communications age.Everyday life is developed and if you want to keep up the times you should follow the developments and it depends on to speak and understand English.

2 - I am a certified public accountant and I work in a company which is international ; I have to follow the development about my job so I need to speak English. Duygu Kaya, Turkey

I'm studying English coz i need it in my study. Thanx. Mohamed Aboud

I learn English because of that I get 2 weeks of free scholarship :) Yunus Tetik, Turkey

I learn English because I like it, I need it in my job and to speak to my boyfriend, we are from different countries! Maria Antonia Alejandres, Spain

I learn English because my husband is bilingual and I want to talk to him and his parents in both languages, German and English. Anke Junge, Germany

I learn English because the knowledge of an international language contribute to a peace, mutual understanding, global development of a science, technics, education, culture and quality of a life of people. Tatyana Vasetskaya

I learn English because it is widely spoken all over the world and speaking English is the first condition to get a well-paid job. Dora Anna Mayer, Hungary

The reason why I learn English is because I would like to be able to speak it as well as German. I'm open-minded and I love travelling, therefore I like to make friends with a lot of people I met. Andreas Gremaud, Switzerland

I learn English because I strongly believe is the most significant language spoken all over the world, and everyone should struggle to get it and your life will become highly successful. Vicente Llorens Llorca, Spain

I learn English becouse of my work. I am working in a international section. Ali Akca, Turkey

English is the gym of my mind, the best way to keep myself young, for an evergreen spirit. Excellent reason! Isn't it!? Anonymous

I learn English because I can speak, dream, read,chat, write emails, sing English songs, understand ordinary people in the street. Nadezda Kadlecova, Czech Republic

I learn English because since I was little I always dreamed to understand the lyrics of songs and sing them to tear throat! Anny Mattucci, Italy.

I learn English because it is a worldwide language for all most every field :modern science ,technology, economy , trade , business, medicine, literature, media industry...etc. Hashim Ahmad Al-hashim, Saudi Arbaia

I learn English because English is the common language in the world. Learning English gives me new perspectives on my own language as well. Kristin, Norway

I learn English because it is a great opportunity to know different people and know about their culture. Also I need English for work. Elvira, Italy

I learn English because it gives me an incredible possibility to speak with almost every human being on this planet. Should there be more reasons? Dzanan Osmanovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina

I learn English because I belong to the Global Minds - who believe in international way of life together. English language is the key for feeling home in all over the world. Timea Polz

Because it's international language and if we want to get more knowledge first have to learn English,because when we want to study all books is in English. Nazir, Afghanistan

I learn English because I keep watching English movies, reading books,attending seminars with native speakers and subscribing EC Team. Marites Tachibana, Philipines

I learn English because it allows me to expand the boundaries of the world. This is an opportunity to learn more and more interesting people from around the world and is an opportunity to do more useful things in my life. English is the language of the world and I want to speak it perfectly! Irina Ratnikova, Russia

I must improve my career, English is a critical language to success, chances can be restricted because the language problems. Mario Sevene, Mozambique

I learn English because i like to travel around the world and meet people in the trip with different culture. Daniela Naid Tagliaferro

I learn english because it makes me feel citizen of the world, for I think English is the "lingua franca" of today.Cheers Daniela Crapanzano, Italy

I learn English because I am working in a world leader in modern energy (windenergy) and the main language to manage all people is English. Dirk Prahl, Germany

I learn English because I would like to study, work, travel all over the world, as well as the language itself and its culture. Tuo 'Maggie' Zhao, China

I learn English because It helps me a lot to improve my job and It makes me have confident feeling while dealing with oversea buyers. Bui Hoang Hai, Viet Nam

I learn English because, I want to improve my writing skills, communication and presentation skills especially report writing and able to correct mistake easy. Lucas Mothibe

I learn English because: I fond of leraning foreign languages and English is the favourite one; it helps feel confidence in professional sphere and during travellings. Evgeniya Pugach, Russian

I learn English because nowadays it is one of the important key in the society, that opens the door to the well provided future. Dilfuza Madirakhimova, Uzbekistan

I learn English because, as architect and environmentalist, I’m working with people from different nationalities and need to be understood. Edwige Petit

I learn English because I'll become grand-mother of an Italian-English baby! I'll sing lullabies, Christmas carols, and I'll tell her fairy tales: "once upon a time..." Marvellous! Angela Simeoni, Italy

I learn english because it is the way to broaden my horizon and make this world a better place for everyone. Danka Furtula, Serbia

I learn English because it connects professional past, present and future like a river witnessing history along with time. Lorinc Garai, Hungary

I learn English because I want to marry the foreigner. It's a joke! I started to learn English as a hobby and now it became an important part of my life.It helps me in education and I hope that learning English will help me in my future job. Asya, Russia

I learn English because effective communication is essential for development of international relationships with other cultures, wherever they are from. Thanks for your attention, Maria Laura Valente, Italy

Language is culture and our aspects of life relatively, English is a window enabling me with the view of objectivity. Baris Bakirci

I learn English because English is considered as an international language nowadays and is used as a common way to communicate with each other. Genevieve, Madagascar

I learn English because it is an international language and by learning it more thoroughly I will be able to contribute to international understanding. Cem Arik, Turkey

I learn English because it is important for me. Ghislaine M. Onanga Sika

I learn English because as English teacher in Primary school, I believe that growing in language knowledge is very important. Children needs to have teacher with a high qualification. Palma, Italy

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Department of English

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• Undergraduate FAQ
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Courses in the department will develop your skills in close reading, critical thinking, effective writing, and thoughtful speculation.The techniques of analysis you will learn in each course will enable your curiosity, creativity, and independence  and help you to grasp and describe the intricacies of literary art. You will become familiar with texts that have long been esteemed, as well as many that have been too long neglected, and that familiarity—the main substance of a liberal arts education in the fullest sense—can itself provide an ethical framework to help you make a difference in the world.

Surveys show that students with degrees in English do very well on the job market. Although traditional forms of writing are on the wane (newspapers, books, letters), our daily lives are increasingly filled with new kinds of writing (on social media, via SMS and email) and those who read and write well have a distinct, sometimes irreplaceable, advantage over other job candidates. An English degree can also be a key asset in applications for many professional schools (including law, medicine and business) where communication skills are at a premium. Graduates with degrees in English also have an unusually wide range of career options:  in schools, as journalists, in publishing, entertainment, advertising, the theater, financial services, real estate, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology (to name only some).

The Study of English as Unique

English is a uniquely broad subject and it becomes broader year by year as the world of textual production continues to mutate and expand. Courses in the department will give you a language for talking about literature’s great variety and about the pleasures–aesthetic, intellectual, affective, guilty–that variety can produce. You will learn theories that will help you read more insightfully and make subtle, nuanced judgments. You will learn histories that clarify the social contexts of the production of literature, other forms of art, and popular culture from all around the globe. And you will become familiar with the many ways that literature helps us ask questions about who we are–along the widely-discussed axes of gender, race, and class–but also in ways so specific that they belong fully only to the particular poem, novel, essay, or play you have in hand.

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Essay why am I learning english

Related Papers

Biola Badmus

QUEST JOURNALS

Language is considered most remarkable achievement, is so much a part of our lives, like the air we breathe, that very often we take it for granted and as often are not aware of its characteristic features. Language is a system. English has a status of associate language, but in fact it has become the most important language of India. After Hindi it is the most commonly spoken language in India and probably the most read and written language in India. English in India is used not only for communicating with the outside world, but also for interstate and intra-state communication. English symbolizes in Indians" minds, better education, better culture and higher intellect. Indians who know English often mingle it with Indian languages in their conversation. It is also usual among Indians to abruptly move to speak fluent English in the middle of their conversations. English also serves as the communicator among Indians who speak different languages. English is very important in some systemslegal, financial, educational and business in India. Communicative English has a status of assistant language, but in fact it is the most important language of India. After Hindi it is the most commonly spoken language in India and probably the most read and written language in India. Indians who know English will always try to show that they know English. The present paper deals with the importance of communicative English language competence in every walk of the professional life of an engineer for his bright future and how the teachers and students need to make integrated efforts build their competency in English skills that would enable students successful in studies, campus interviews and their corporate life. Man has rightly been called "a talking animal". Man is gifted with the quality of speech, which differentiates him from other living beings. Language consists of words, idioms and syntax.

whyna irnha

madia razuan

Neil Edwin Arévalo Alcántara

IJRASET Publication

Correspondence is an ability which includes precise and constant interaction of talking, tuning in and understanding. A great many people are brought into the world with the actual capacity to talk, however we should figure out how to talk well and impart successfully. Talking, tuning in and our capacity to comprehend verbal and non-verbal signs are the abilities by perceptions others and demonstrating our conduct on what we see and saw. We are additionally shown some relational abilities straightforwardly through schooling. By bringing those abilities into training and getting them assessed. English correspondence is an expertise that can be consummated distinctly through steady practice and constant openness to the objective language the accessible assets ought to be totally tapped in order to give and urging environment to learning and rehearsing the language. This paper manages the Role of English to Enrich the Effective Communication abilities. English correspondence with current strategies encourages to cultivate an inspirational mentality. English interchanges which would make conceivable to address the impending difficulties of the day in an imaginative manner.

SMART M O V E S J O U R N A L IJELLH

The idea of „skill development‟ initiated by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought into focus the ardent need of dexterousness in the desired field. In the modern world of competition, success is counted not only through ability but also through fluent and accurate expression of speech. Achieving proficiency in one‟s mother tongue is easy, but in second language, it is an uphill task which requires conscious efforts and patience. Despite being the „Lingua Franca‟ of the world and having its global and communicative importance, it is still a daunting challenge for our students to develop communicative competence in English language. We pride ourselves when Indian immigrants win „Spell Bee‟ test in the U.S but forget the bleak reality of most of our Indian students. Former NCERT Chairperson Krishna Kumar calls this the „Lotus Syndrome- we admire the lotus but ignore the mud around it‟‟. The purpose of this study is to enumerate the difficulties of students in language learning process and to suggest integration of skill learning and natural learning for developing communicative competence.

goiga la jijuna

Abstract This study reveals the importance of learning English for flesh and blood. It is observed that we need English not only for operational purposes but also for identifying ourselves with those who use the language in India and abroad. Two main kinds of motivation are at work in our approach to English learning: Instrumental and Integrative. But the increasing awareness of the importance of English in the world should compel us to learn it for special or specific purposes and for widening our intellectual horizon.

Macrothink Institu

Iwan Kurniawan Subagja

The purpose of this study was to determine how the influence success motivation, creativity, and student perceptions about the ability of faculty to the effectiveness of the practice of the English language, either individually or jointly. This research method uses a survey of for three university students as the city of Bekasi, West Java in 2018 with 920 students total

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What I’ve Learned From My Students’ College Essays

The genre is often maligned for being formulaic and melodramatic, but it’s more important than you think.

By Nell Freudenberger

Most high school seniors approach the college essay with dread. Either their upbringing hasn’t supplied them with several hundred words of adversity, or worse, they’re afraid that packaging the genuine trauma they’ve experienced is the only way to secure their future. The college counselor at the Brooklyn high school where I’m a writing tutor advises against trauma porn. “Keep it brief , ” she says, “and show how you rose above it.”

I started volunteering in New York City schools in my 20s, before I had kids of my own. At the time, I liked hanging out with teenagers, whom I sometimes had more interesting conversations with than I did my peers. Often I worked with students who spoke English as a second language or who used slang in their writing, and at first I was hung up on grammar. Should I correct any deviation from “standard English” to appeal to some Wizard of Oz behind the curtains of a college admissions office? Or should I encourage students to write the way they speak, in pursuit of an authentic voice, that most elusive of literary qualities?

In fact, I was missing the point. One of many lessons the students have taught me is to let the story dictate the voice of the essay. A few years ago, I worked with a boy who claimed to have nothing to write about. His life had been ordinary, he said; nothing had happened to him. I asked if he wanted to try writing about a family member, his favorite school subject, a summer job? He glanced at his phone, his posture and expression suggesting that he’d rather be anywhere but in front of a computer with me. “Hobbies?” I suggested, without much hope. He gave me a shy glance. “I like to box,” he said.

I’ve had this experience with reluctant writers again and again — when a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously. Of course the primary goal of a college essay is to help its author get an education that leads to a career. Changes in testing policies and financial aid have made applying to college more confusing than ever, but essays have remained basically the same. I would argue that they’re much more than an onerous task or rote exercise, and that unlike standardized tests they are infinitely variable and sometimes beautiful. College essays also provide an opportunity to learn precision, clarity and the process of working toward the truth through multiple revisions.

When a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously.

Even if writing doesn’t end up being fundamental to their future professions, students learn to choose language carefully and to be suspicious of the first words that come to mind. Especially now, as college students shoulder so much of the country’s ethical responsibility for war with their protest movement, essay writing teaches prospective students an increasingly urgent lesson: that choosing their own words over ready-made phrases is the only reliable way to ensure they’re thinking for themselves.

Teenagers are ideal writers for several reasons. They’re usually free of preconceptions about writing, and they tend not to use self-consciously ‘‘literary’’ language. They’re allergic to hypocrisy and are generally unfiltered: They overshare, ask personal questions and call you out for microaggressions as well as less egregious (but still mortifying) verbal errors, such as referring to weed as ‘‘pot.’’ Most important, they have yet to put down their best stories in a finished form.

I can imagine an essay taking a risk and distinguishing itself formally — a poem or a one-act play — but most kids use a more straightforward model: a hook followed by a narrative built around “small moments” that lead to a concluding lesson or aspiration for the future. I never get tired of working with students on these essays because each one is different, and the short, rigid form sometimes makes an emotional story even more powerful. Before I read Javier Zamora’s wrenching “Solito,” I worked with a student who had been transported by a coyote into the U.S. and was reunited with his mother in the parking lot of a big-box store. I don’t remember whether this essay focused on specific skills or coping mechanisms that he gained from his ordeal. I remember only the bliss of the parent-and-child reunion in that uninspiring setting. If I were making a case to an admissions officer, I would suggest that simply being able to convey that experience demonstrates the kind of resilience that any college should admire.

The essays that have stayed with me over the years don’t follow a pattern. There are some narratives on very predictable topics — living up to the expectations of immigrant parents, or suffering from depression in 2020 — that are moving because of the attention with which the student describes the experience. One girl determined to become an engineer while watching her father build furniture from scraps after work; a boy, grieving for his mother during lockdown, began taking pictures of the sky.

If, as Lorrie Moore said, “a short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage,” what is a college essay? Every once in a while I sit down next to a student and start reading, and I have to suppress my excitement, because there on the Google Doc in front of me is a real writer’s voice. One of the first students I ever worked with wrote about falling in love with another girl in dance class, the absolute magic of watching her move and the terror in the conflict between her feelings and the instruction of her religious middle school. She made me think that college essays are less like love than limerence: one-sided, obsessive, idiosyncratic but profound, the first draft of the most personal story their writers will ever tell.

Nell Freudenberger’s novel “The Limits” was published by Knopf last month. She volunteers through the PEN America Writers in the Schools program.

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Why writing by hand beats typing for thinking and learning

Jonathan Lambert

If you're like many digitally savvy Americans, it has likely been a while since you've spent much time writing by hand.

The laborious process of tracing out our thoughts, letter by letter, on the page is becoming a relic of the past in our screen-dominated world, where text messages and thumb-typed grocery lists have replaced handwritten letters and sticky notes. Electronic keyboards offer obvious efficiency benefits that have undoubtedly boosted our productivity — imagine having to write all your emails longhand.

To keep up, many schools are introducing computers as early as preschool, meaning some kids may learn the basics of typing before writing by hand.

But giving up this slower, more tactile way of expressing ourselves may come at a significant cost, according to a growing body of research that's uncovering the surprising cognitive benefits of taking pen to paper, or even stylus to iPad — for both children and adults.

Is this some kind of joke? A school facing shortages starts teaching standup comedy

In kids, studies show that tracing out ABCs, as opposed to typing them, leads to better and longer-lasting recognition and understanding of letters. Writing by hand also improves memory and recall of words, laying down the foundations of literacy and learning. In adults, taking notes by hand during a lecture, instead of typing, can lead to better conceptual understanding of material.

"There's actually some very important things going on during the embodied experience of writing by hand," says Ramesh Balasubramaniam , a neuroscientist at the University of California, Merced. "It has important cognitive benefits."

While those benefits have long been recognized by some (for instance, many authors, including Jennifer Egan and Neil Gaiman , draft their stories by hand to stoke creativity), scientists have only recently started investigating why writing by hand has these effects.

A slew of recent brain imaging research suggests handwriting's power stems from the relative complexity of the process and how it forces different brain systems to work together to reproduce the shapes of letters in our heads onto the page.

Your brain on handwriting

Both handwriting and typing involve moving our hands and fingers to create words on a page. But handwriting, it turns out, requires a lot more fine-tuned coordination between the motor and visual systems. This seems to more deeply engage the brain in ways that support learning.

Shots - Health News

Feeling artsy here's how making art helps your brain.

"Handwriting is probably among the most complex motor skills that the brain is capable of," says Marieke Longcamp , a cognitive neuroscientist at Aix-Marseille Université.

Gripping a pen nimbly enough to write is a complicated task, as it requires your brain to continuously monitor the pressure that each finger exerts on the pen. Then, your motor system has to delicately modify that pressure to re-create each letter of the words in your head on the page.

"Your fingers have to each do something different to produce a recognizable letter," says Sophia Vinci-Booher , an educational neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University. Adding to the complexity, your visual system must continuously process that letter as it's formed. With each stroke, your brain compares the unfolding script with mental models of the letters and words, making adjustments to fingers in real time to create the letters' shapes, says Vinci-Booher.

That's not true for typing.

To type "tap" your fingers don't have to trace out the form of the letters — they just make three relatively simple and uniform movements. In comparison, it takes a lot more brainpower, as well as cross-talk between brain areas, to write than type.

Recent brain imaging studies bolster this idea. A study published in January found that when students write by hand, brain areas involved in motor and visual information processing " sync up " with areas crucial to memory formation, firing at frequencies associated with learning.

"We don't see that [synchronized activity] in typewriting at all," says Audrey van der Meer , a psychologist and study co-author at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She suggests that writing by hand is a neurobiologically richer process and that this richness may confer some cognitive benefits.

Other experts agree. "There seems to be something fundamental about engaging your body to produce these shapes," says Robert Wiley , a cognitive psychologist at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. "It lets you make associations between your body and what you're seeing and hearing," he says, which might give the mind more footholds for accessing a given concept or idea.

Those extra footholds are especially important for learning in kids, but they may give adults a leg up too. Wiley and others worry that ditching handwriting for typing could have serious consequences for how we all learn and think.

What might be lost as handwriting wanes

The clearest consequence of screens and keyboards replacing pen and paper might be on kids' ability to learn the building blocks of literacy — letters.

"Letter recognition in early childhood is actually one of the best predictors of later reading and math attainment," says Vinci-Booher. Her work suggests the process of learning to write letters by hand is crucial for learning to read them.

"When kids write letters, they're just messy," she says. As kids practice writing "A," each iteration is different, and that variability helps solidify their conceptual understanding of the letter.

Research suggests kids learn to recognize letters better when seeing variable handwritten examples, compared with uniform typed examples.

This helps develop areas of the brain used during reading in older children and adults, Vinci-Booher found.

"This could be one of the ways that early experiences actually translate to long-term life outcomes," she says. "These visually demanding, fine motor actions bake in neural communication patterns that are really important for learning later on."

Ditching handwriting instruction could mean that those skills don't get developed as well, which could impair kids' ability to learn down the road.

"If young children are not receiving any handwriting training, which is very good brain stimulation, then their brains simply won't reach their full potential," says van der Meer. "It's scary to think of the potential consequences."

Many states are trying to avoid these risks by mandating cursive instruction. This year, California started requiring elementary school students to learn cursive , and similar bills are moving through state legislatures in several states, including Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Wisconsin. (So far, evidence suggests that it's the writing by hand that matters, not whether it's print or cursive.)

Slowing down and processing information

For adults, one of the main benefits of writing by hand is that it simply forces us to slow down.

During a meeting or lecture, it's possible to type what you're hearing verbatim. But often, "you're not actually processing that information — you're just typing in the blind," says van der Meer. "If you take notes by hand, you can't write everything down," she says.

The relative slowness of the medium forces you to process the information, writing key words or phrases and using drawing or arrows to work through ideas, she says. "You make the information your own," she says, which helps it stick in the brain.

Such connections and integration are still possible when typing, but they need to be made more intentionally. And sometimes, efficiency wins out. "When you're writing a long essay, it's obviously much more practical to use a keyboard," says van der Meer.

Still, given our long history of using our hands to mark meaning in the world, some scientists worry about the more diffuse consequences of offloading our thinking to computers.

"We're foisting a lot of our knowledge, extending our cognition, to other devices, so it's only natural that we've started using these other agents to do our writing for us," says Balasubramaniam.

It's possible that this might free up our minds to do other kinds of hard thinking, he says. Or we might be sacrificing a fundamental process that's crucial for the kinds of immersive cognitive experiences that enable us to learn and think at our full potential.

Balasubramaniam stresses, however, that we don't have to ditch digital tools to harness the power of handwriting. So far, research suggests that scribbling with a stylus on a screen activates the same brain pathways as etching ink on paper. It's the movement that counts, he says, not its final form.

Jonathan Lambert is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance journalist who covers science, health and policy.

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Cramming for an exam isn’t the best way to learn – but if you have to do it, here’s how

Senior Teaching Fellow in Education, University of Strathclyde

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Jonathan Firth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Strathclyde provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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Around the country, school and university students are hitting the books in preparation for exams. If you are in this position, you may find yourself trying to memorise information that you first learned a long time ago and have completely forgotten – or that you didn’t actually learn effectively in the first place.

Unfortunately, cramming is a very inefficient way to properly learn. But sometimes it’s necessary to pass an exam. And you can incorporate what we know about how learning works into your revision to make it more effective.

Read more: Exams: seven tips for coping with revision stress

A great deal of research evidence on how memory works over time shows that we forget new information very quickly at first, after which the process of forgetting slows down.

In practice, this means that very compressed study schedules lead to a catastrophic amount of forgetting.

A better option is to space out learning a particular topic more gradually and over a longer period. This is called the “spacing effect” and it leads to skills and knowledge being retained better, and for longer.

Research has found that we remember information better when we leave a gap of time between first studying something and revisiting it, rather than doing so straight away. This even works for short timescales – a delay of a few seconds when trying to learn a small piece of information, such as a pair of words, for instance. And it also works when the delay between study sessions is much longer .

In the classroom , spacing out practice could mean reviewing and practising material the next day, or delaying homework by a couple of weeks, rather than revisiting it as soon as possible. As a rule, psychologists have suggested that the best time to re-study material is when it is on the verge of being forgotten – not before, but also not after.

But this isn’t how things are learned across the school year. When students get to exam time, they have forgotten much of what was previously studied.

Better cramming

When it comes to actually learning – being able to remember information over the long term and apply it to new situations – cramming doesn’t work. We can hardly call it “learning” if information is forgotten a month later. But if you need to pass an exam, cramming can lead to a boost in temporary performance. What’s more, you can incorporate the spacing effect into your cramming to make it more efficient.

It’s better to space practising knowledge of a particular topic out over weeks, so if you have that long before a key exam, plan your revision schedule so you cover topics more than once. Rather than allocating one block of two hours for a particular topic, study it for one hour this week and then for another hour in a week or so’s time.

If you don’t have that much time, it’s still worth incorporating smaller gaps between practice sessions. If your exam is tomorrow, practice key topics in the morning today and then again in the evening.

Learning is also more effective if you actively retrieve information from your memory, rather than re-reading or underlining your notes. A good way to do this, incorporating the spacing effect, is to take practice tests. Revise a topic from your notes or textbook, take a half-hour break, and then take a practice test without help from your books.

An even simpler technique is a “brain dump” . After studying and taking a break, write down everything you can remember about the topic on a blank sheet of paper without checking your notes.

Change the way we teach

A shift in teaching practices may be needed to avoid students having to cram material they only half-remember before exams.

But my research suggests that teachers tend to agree with the idea that consolidation of a topic should happen as soon as possible, rather than spacing out practice in ways that would actually be more effective.

Teachers are overburdened and make heroic efforts with the time they have. But incorporating the spacing effect into teaching needn’t require radical changes to how teachers operate. Often, it’s as simple as doing the same thing on a different schedule .

Research has shown the most effective way to combine practice testing and the spacing effect is to engage in practice testing in the initial class, followed by at least three practice opportunities at widely spaced intervals. This is quite possible within the typical pattern of the school year.

For example, after the initial class, further practice could come via a homework task after a few days’ delay, then some kind of test or mock exam after a further gap of time. The revision period before exams would then be the third opportunity for consolidation.

Building effective self-testing and delayed practice into education would spell less stress and less ineffective cramming. Exam time would be for consolidation, rather than re-learning things that have been forgotten. The outcome would be better long-term retention of important knowledge and skills. As a bonus, school students would also gain a better insight into how to study effectively.

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