In the age of globalization, we cannot avoid the importance of learning English. The necessity of learning this particular language has become more prevalent in the field of education. English skill is a must if we want to have access to universal knowledge because a large number of scholarly articles, journals and books are either written or translated into the English language. At the university level, especially in private universities in Bangladesh, the medium of instruction as well as course books are English. If English loses its leading position, the education system of Bangladesh will be badly affected.
Being skilled in English is of great importance for those students
who want to go abroad for higher studies. Lack of proficiency in this
particular language will not only put them in an environment where they will
find it hard to adjust with the native students but also they will find it
nearly impossible to continue their studies. In many countries, English is
taught to children as a second language. However, in our country, the status of
English is ‘foreign language’.
English still maintains its dominance over science subjects. For this reason, English is called the language of science and technology. As a result of its control over science subjects, most of the researches and studies that we find in any given scientific field are written in this language. If one wants his research work to be read by many people around the world then it will have to be written in a language that people understand and communicate well in.
English in communication:
English is an international language. It has got the status of
lingua franca. That means, when two or more speakers of different languages try
to communicate with each other, they choose English as a medium of
communication. It gives testimony to the power of English in the field of
communication. In bilingual and multilingual countries, English can be used as
a common language for inter-state communications. For example, people in India,
the Philippines and Africa speak in
In bilingual or multilingual countries, such as India, the Philippines and
Africa, people of each state communicate in their language and often cannot
speak or understand the regional language of other people. In such cases,
English becomes the link between these people. However, in monolingual
countries like Bangladesh, people can use English to make converse with other
people living in different parts of the world.
English in business:
The dominance of English is visible in the business world, where it is used as the universal language and medium of communication. English knowledge is considered one of the most important skills in the field of business. It is also accepted as one of the influential factors to expand business inside and outside the country. If one local company wants to deal with a foreign or multinational company then the business deal will have to be done in a language that can be understood by the officials of both the companies. In many countries, English is also used as official language. In bilingual and multilingual countries, employees communicate with each other in a common language and at present, it is English. Big companies located in those countries give more importance to English skills while hiring professional staff. Multinational and corporate companies consider their staff well educated based on their English skills- speaking, reading and writing. In Bangladesh, English is used as a co-official language.
English in travel and tourism:
Anyone can ask a question about the relationship between English and travel. If you travel somewhere else and do not know the native language then how do you communicate with the local people? The traveler will have to choose a language that both of them can understand and make communication in it well. In such cases, English can act as an international language for foreigners. Any travel booking site you can find is operated and maintained in English as a booking option.
The internet and press:
Whether it is about finding serious information or getting entertainment, today’s generation relies very much on the Internet. The interesting thing is that the Internet is dominated by none other than the English language. If you browse on the Internet, you will find a great number of articles uploaded on the majority of the websites written in English. Not only that, but websites are also created in English. The key factors behind English’s dominance on the Internet are imperialism, and economic and political importance of English-speaking countries. This position of the English language will remain unchanged until any major world-scale economic and political change takes place. Such kind of incident might be able to promote a language other than English. However, until this kind of thing happens, we have to depend on English for Internet literacy. Thanks to the advancement of machine-readable software, sites in other languages will provide you the option to translate a particular article from a site, or the whole site. It is not up to the satisfactory level and a hundred percent accurate.
Moreover, the arrival of the Internet has made learning English online easier, better and more inexpensive option than doing it in a traditional classroom. For that, a student needs a computer connected to the Internet. Due to the availability of computers and Internet access, web-based English courses have increased a lot, which allows people to study English online. By offering online-based English courses, one can earn his livelihood.
English is the prime language of the press. The number of
newspapers and books written in English is huge compared to any other language.
It does not matter where you live, you will find some of these books and
newspapers available in your country.
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