Why learn English

Learning to speak English well may be the best thing you can do to improve your life.

That's right. Do you think it would be fun to have access to information that other people can't get? Talk and write letters to
interesting people that others can't communicate with? Impress people around you whenever you opened your mouth?
Make big jumps in your career, leaving others miles behind?

You can get all this if you speak English well.

Get access to knowledge

What are you interested in? Is it science? Music? Computers? Health? Business? Sports? Today's media — such as the
Internet, television, and the press — give you almost unlimited access to knowledge about your favorite subjects. After all,
we live in the information age, don't we?

There's only one problem. Most of this knowledge is in English.

Here are some examples of knowledge you can use if you know English:

 Most pages on the Web. That's over a billion (1,000,000,000) pages of information! It's amazing that learning just
one language gives you access to almost all knowledge on the Internet.

 Books — on any subject, from all over the world. Read books by British or American authors, and
books translated from other languages. Whatever you're interested in, you can read about it in English!

 The press. Only English-language magazines and newspapers can be bought in every part of the world. You don't
have to search for Time, Newsweek, or theInternational Herald Tribune!

 Science. English is the key to the world of science. In 1997, 95% of the articles in the Science Citation Index were
written in English. Only about 50% of them were from English-speaking countries like the USA or Britain. (source)

 News reports. Watch international television networks, such as CNN International and NBC. They broadcast news
much faster, and more professionally, than smaller, national networks. And you can watch them everywhere in the
world.

Communicate with people

We like to call English "the language of communication". Why? Because it seems all the people in the world have agreed to
use English to talk to each other.

 About 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English. Another 1,000,000,000 are learning it. (source)

 75% of the world's letters and postcards are written in English. (source)

 Almost all international conferences and competitions are conducted in English. For example, the Olympics and the
Miss World contest.
  Diplomats and politicians from different countries use English to communicate with each other. English is the main
language of organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and the European Free Trade Association.

If you can communicate in English, you can:

 Contact people from all over the world. Talk about your ideas and opinions on Internet discussion groups. Send e-
mail to interesting people. Learn about their life and culture.

 Travel more easily. Communicate with people wherever you go — English is spoken in more than 100 countries
(source). Ask directions, have a conversation, or... ask for help. Who knows, maybe English will save your life
someday!

Push your career forward

If you want a good job in business, technology, or science, get out of that armchair and start learning English now! (If you
already have a good job, start learning before you lose it!)

Knowing English will let you:

 Put "excellent knowledge of English" on your CV. Get your dream job, and earn more money.

 Gain technical knowledge. English is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer science,
genetics, and medicine. If you're going to read about technology, you'll probably have to do it in English.

 Learn computer science. Read technical articles without difficulty. Or write your own articles!

 Be a world-class businessman (or -woman). It's simple. International business is done in English. And all business
today is international. So if you want to play, you have to know English — to contact other businesspeople, go
to conferences, read international business newspapers and magazines, etc.

 Become a better scientist. Contact scientists from other countries, go to international conferences, visit academic

centers abroad. Learn about new scientific discoveries by reading papers, books, and magazines.

 Use your computer more effectively. Most computer applications are in English, so you will understand them better
— and become a better employee.

 Learn new skills for your job. The section "Get access to knowledge" explains how English helps you learn.

Enjoy art like never before

English lets you feel the culture of the world like no other language. With a good knowledge of the English language, you
can do wonderful things:

 Watch American and British films in the original. Once you try it, you'll never go back to dubbed versions!

 Read great books. Every famous book was written in English or it was translatedinto English. There is
an amazing number of titles — from classic plays like Hamletto modern thrillers like Jurassic Park.

 Enjoy English-language music more. Believe us: music is much better if you can understand the words.
English is easy to learn

English is not only the most useful language in the world. It is also one of the easiest languages to learn and to use:

 Simple alphabet — no special symbols such as é or ä. Type in sweet, part, film on your computer. Now
try süß (German),   (Polish),   (Russian). Which is easier?

 Easy plurals — simply add s to a word. One car, five cars; one telephone, two telephones... There are very
few exceptions.

 Words are easy to learn. In French, it's la fille and le chien. In German, it's dasMädchen and der Hund. In English,

they're just a girl and a dog. And that's all you need to know.

 Short words. Most of the basic words are short: run, work, big, go, man. Long words are often
shortened: sitcom = situational comedy, fridge = refrigerator, OS= operating system. Speaking English saves you
time. :-)

 Call everybody "you". You can say "Do you speak English?" to your friend or to your teacher. In other languages,
you have to use the right word for the right person. In English, everybody is equal. :-)

 English is everywhere. You can easily access English-language television, music, websites, magazines, etc. You
don't have to learn from boring textbooks. You can learn and use your English at the same time. Using your English
is especially important because it increases your desire to learn.

Get satisfaction

English is not only useful — it gives you a lot of satisfaction:

 Making progress feels great. We'll never forget the moment we discovered we could speak with Americans or watch
TV in English.

 You will enjoy learning English, if you remember that every hour you spend gets you closer to perfection.

 Using English is fun, too, because every sentence you speak or write reminds you of your success.

English makes you a more powerful, happier person. It is not difficult to imagine some situations where knowing English
gives you a great feeling.

We hope that, with our help, your progress in English will soon give you a lot ofsatisfaction, too. Many people have
followed our methods and watched their "English power" grow very quickly. You can read about these people in
the Successful English learners section of Antimoon.com.
Why SHOULD YOU learn English?
Good question. I believe everyone should learn the English language for the following reasons.

Distribution

English is the most widely spoken language in the world based on the distribution of native speakers.

 There are over 400 million native English speakers worldwide.

 There are over 500 million speakers of English as a second or foreign language.

900 million people using English, out of a total world population of about 6.7 billion people, is only 15% of the total
population. Then why is English so important? The importance of English is not in the number of speakers, but what English
is used for.

Communication, Friends

 English is the main language in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and
Ireland.
 In many countries, English is widely used, particularly among people who have no other language in common, even
though English is not the main language of the country. For example, English is widely used in Hong Kong,
Singapore, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Malaysia. In these countries, it is often used as a means of communication
between people who use different dialects of their native languages.
 English is studied as a foreign language in countries even though it is not used as a means of communication.
 In China, English language lessons are popular. Two hundred fifty million Chinese, are learning English on TV.
 English is the most commonly taught foreign language.
 Now online communities like My Space, YouTube, etc., offer people a way to make friends around the world and
practice speaking English.

News, Information

 English is the main language of news and information in the world.

 English is the language used in business and government even in countries where it is not the main language.
 75% of all telex messages and telegrams are sent in English.
 80% of computer data is processed and stored in English.
 Most satellite transmissions are carried in English.
 Five thousand newspapers, over half of the newspapers published in the world, are published in English. Even in
many countries where English is not the main language, there is at least one newspaper in English. In India alone,
there are three thousand magazines published in English.
 In many countries, television news is broadcast in English.
 Because of the power of television, demonstrators even use signs printed in English to send their messages to the
world.
 Much of the information countries disseminate about themselves outside of their borders is in English.

Business, Government, International Relations

 English is the main language of international business, diplomacy, and science.

 It is a common language that a Russian businessman and a Japanese businesswoman are likely to use to
communicate.
 English is an official language of many professional and international organizations, including the United Nations.
 It is usually the language of international conferences, and international athletics.
  English is the language of maritime communication and international air traffic control, and it is used even for
internal air traffic control in countries where it is not a native language.
 Most commodities such as silver, gold, and hard currency are traded in English.
 Throughout the world, many professional papers are published in English. Even papers that are published in other
languages often have abstracts in English.
 English is used in government and as a medium of communication among people who do not have another
language in common.
 In some cases, it is a neutral language that is used to avoid giving any one indigenous language too much prestige.
English is often used in India, because it is neutral.
 People who speak English have a certain status in society.
 In Singapore, English is a second language, but it is necessary for daily life. Many companies there use English.
 In addition, sixteen countries in Africa have retained English as the language of government. Now standard English
is taught in schools in those countries, because it is necessary for careers.

Entertainment

 Popular culture has played an important part in spreading English.

 American and British popular music are heard all over the world.
 American movies are seen in almost every country.
 Books in English are available even in countries where few people actually use English.
 It is used for books, music and dance.
 One reason that students give for learning English is to understand these songs, movies and books.

Travel

 English is spoken in large hotels and tourist attractions, at airports, and in shops that tourists frequent.
 Tours are almost always available in English. Even in countries where few people speak English on the street,
people who work with tourists generally speak English. In some countries even drivers of buses or streetcars and
sellers at newsstands speak English well.