12 Good Reasons to Learn English

11 October 2014 by Diane

1. 60 out of 196 countries have English as their official language.

• It’s the official language of the European Union, United Nations, NATO and European Free Trade Association.  In total, around 1.5 billion people speak English worldwide, and another billion are in the process of learning it.

 

2. Some of the world’s best universities are in English.

3. English gives you more access to knowledge.

• 55% of the world’s webpages are in English.
• An estimated 95% of scientific articles are written in English.
• 5000 newspapers, over half of the newspapers published in the world, are published in English.

4. Bilingual people often have a better memory and intelligence.  

• There's even research that has shown that being bilingual can help delay the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

 

5. Most people agree that people who speak a second language are more attractive.

 

6. It makes traveling a whole lot easier (and more fun)!  

• Wherever you go, you’ll always find an English speaker.  Even in countries where few people speak English on the street, people who work with tourists generally speak English.

 

7. It might help your career.  

• Multilingual employees earn 20% more on average, and have many more job opportunities.

 

8. English is the language of the entertainment industry.

• Wouldn’t it be nice to watch an English film and not have to rely on subtitles?  Or to listen to an English song and understand all of the lyrics.

 

9. You’ll have a new way to express yourself.  

• English has the largest vocabulary out of all the languages.  New words, idioms and expressions will help you to better express yourself.

 

10. Bilingual people are better listeners.  

• Studies have shown that foreign language learners develop (on average) better listening skills.
  

11. Learning a language makes it easier to learn about a culture.  

• To truly understand a culture, it’s important to understand what the people are talking about.

 

12. English opens the door to new possibilities—new friends, new adventures, new business opportunities…

  

Sources: Kaplan International Colleges, UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, UNESCO, Britich Council, CBI, American Academy of Neurology, Connecticut State Department of Education, Pentucket Regional School District, Northwestern University, Chicago Tribune, http://learninglanguages.com, http://www.ranker.com, Oxford Royal Academy, Bilingualparenting.com