Why learn English?
Why learn English?
English is the language of International CommunicationEnglish may not be the most spoken language in the world, but it is the official language of 53 countries and spoken by around 400 million people across the globe. Being able to speak English is not just about being able to communicate with native English speakers, it is the most common second language in the world. If you want to speak to someone from another country then the chances are that you will both be speaking English. The British Council projects that today, two billion people in the world are studying English. Learning English is important as it enables you to communicate easily with your fellow global citizens.
English is the language of businessEnglish is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for people to speak English if they are to enter a global workforce. Research from all over the world shows that cross-border business communication is most often conducted in English and many international companies expect employees to be fluent in English. Global companies such as Airbus, Daimler-Chrysler, Samsung, SAP, Technicolor, and Microsoft in Beijing, have mandated English as their official corporate language. The importance of learning English in the international marketplace cannot be understated – learning English really can open new career opportunities and really change your life.
Speaking English gives you access to a world of EntertainmentMany of the world’s top films, books and music are published and produced in English. Therefore, by learning English you will have access to a great wealth of entertainment and will be able to have a greater cultural understanding. If you speak English, you won’t need to rely on translations and subtitles anymore to enjoy your favorite books, songs, films and TV shows. Watching movies and television programmes in the English language is also a great and fun way to learn it!
Learning English gives you access to more of the InternetIt is an established fact that English is the language of the internet. An estimated 565 million people use the internet every day, and an estimated 52 percent of the world’s most visited websites are displayed in the English language. Learning English is important as it gives you access to over half of the content on the internet. Knowing how to read English will allow you access to billions of pages of information which may not be otherwise available!
English is the language of International CommunicationEnglish may not be the most spoken language in the world, but it is the official language of 53 countries and spoken by around 400 million people across the globe. Being able to speak English is not just about being able to communicate with native English speakers, it is the most common second language in the world. If you want to speak to someone from another country then the chances are that you will both be speaking English. The British Council projects that today, two billion people in the world are studying English. Learning English is important as it enables you to communicate easily with your fellow global citizens.
English is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for people to speak English if they are to enter a global workforce. Research from all over the world shows that cross-border business communication is most often conducted in English and many international companies expect employees to be fluent in English. Global companies such as Airbus, Daimler-Chrysler, Samsung, SAP, Technicolor, and Microsoft in Beijing, have mandated English as their official corporate language. The importance of learning English in the international marketplace cannot be understated – learning English really can open new career opportunities and really change your life.
Many of the world’s top films, books and music are published and produced in English. Therefore, by learning English you will have access to a great wealth of entertainment and will be able to have a greater cultural understanding. If you speak English, you won’t need to rely on translations and subtitles anymore to enjoy your favorite books, songs, films and TV shows. Watching movies and television programmes in the English language is also a great and fun way to learn it!
It is an established fact that English is the language of the internet. An estimated 565 million people use the internet every day, and an estimated 52 percent of the world’s most visited websites are displayed in the English language. Learning English is important as it gives you access to over half of the content on the internet. Knowing how to read English will allow you access to billions of pages of information which may not be otherwise available!
Empower yourself with the ideal English Certification
to showcase your skills!
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is the world’s most popular English language test. It evaluates all of your English skills — reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Cambridge IGCSE is the world’s most popular international qualification for 14 to 16 year olds, although it can be taken by students of other ages. It is tried, tested and trusted. It is taught by over 4700 schools in 150 countries.
English Courses
The course focuses on Beginners. After you complete it, you will be able to understand what English-speaking persons say, use common everyday expressions like introducing yourself, ask personal questions, learn countries and nationalities, what to say in a restaurant and a few more useful language skills.
Even if you already have basic English language skills, and you want to go a step further, this level is for you. This course offers new vocabulary, grammar skills, and speaking practice through real-life topics like Health, at Home and more.
The journey to building effective English language skills continues with A2. Again, through interesting real-life topics such as wildlife, festivals, sports, music, interviews, environment, talking about your job and many others.
The course covers Upper Elementary grammar skills and vocabulary, writing practice and further speaking skills.
Welcome to Intermediate Level! You are now closer to becoming fluent in the English language.
The program offers new skills through a variety of topics such as a unit about London, studying abroad, advertisements, social networking sites, nature, cultural differences, reduce, reuse, recycle, duties and responsibilities, hotel reviews, about Universities around the world and many others.
You have now reached Upper Intermediate Part. Well done! Almost a proficient user of English. This course is designed to practice your English language skills and to develop them further.
Here we’ll talk about an accident, moving abroad and travelling, customs and traditions, languages and dialects, geography and game. We will also discuss household chores, cooking and good eating habits, fame and celebrities. All these topics will provide sharper skills in writing, reading, listening and speaking.
Level C1 is the first part of becoming a Proficient User of the language according to CEFR (Common European Framework). A proficient user ‘can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning. Can express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices. Topics covered include famous authors and characters, nutrition, living, work and money, crime and the law.
Chapters of this program also include Tourism, It’s Halloween, Home sweet home, Life in the Fast Lane, Killing time and Intelligence. Through these topics, we cover high-level grammar skills, oral presentations, new vocabulary and understanding of complex texts.
This is the last level of Proficiency. Once completed, you will be able to use the English Language like a native speaker without any effort.
Topics include luxury, seven wonders of the world, treatments, old and new sightseeing, art, happiness, childhood, flowers, face to face, timing and appointments and future goals. Grammar skills practiced include possessive pronouns, reflexive pronouns, temporal clauses and conditionals, adjectives and adverbs, comparatives and superlatives.
Tips on how to improve your English
English Pronunciation Tips
The benefits of learning English are clear as the English language will surely open new doors for you. Until you become a fluent speaker, there are some challenges and one of the most difficult ones is the correct pronunciation.
1 Learning the correct sounds
Some of the sounds of the English language may not exist in our native language as “g” and “ch” for example – sounds that are not used in the Greek language. To pronounce the words “charity”, “chairs”, “jeans”, “challenge”, “join”, correctly in English, a Greek native must practice a lot.
Record and Time Yourself Speaking in English 2
One of the simplest but very effective methods to improve your speaking skills is to record yourself. Recording and then listening to yourself talking in English, will be extremely helpful for improving your pronunciation. It’s often difficult to hear pronunciation errors in your own speech because you are concentrating on communicating rather than the sound you are making. If you can’t hear your pronunciation problems, it’s tough to correct them. Try recording your speech with your smartphone or PC and making a note of specific areas you need to improve on.
3 Listen to the Language from native speakers- Copy the experts!
There’s no replacement for learning pronunciation from the experts – native-speakers. So listen! Listen to English radio programs and watch television and movies in English. Imitate what you’re hearing – even if you’re not sure what they’re saying yet. Spending as much time as you can each day listening to English through music, TV, radio stations and news channels will help a lot in tuning your listening into how the words are actually pronounced.
Slow down!4
Many English learners think that speaking fluently means they need to speak fast. This is wrong. Speaking too fast reinforces bad habits and makes the speaker sound nervous and indecisive. Speaking slowly will give you time to breathe properly and think about what you want to say next. Because it gives you time to think while you are speaking, you’ll feel more relaxed and be able to concentrate on making your English sound fantastic.
5 Practise English alone
Pronunciation problems persist because we’re afraid to make mistakes. Create scenarios – meeting someone for the first time, ordering at a restaurant, asking for directions – then act out the dialogue by yourself. Don’t be shy.
Find a language buddy 6
Getting feedback from an outside observer is crucial. Find a friend who’s also interested in improving their English. Try exchanging recorded messages so you can listen closely to each other’s pronunciation.
7 Pay attention to Intonation and stress
Good pronunciation is more than just mastering individual sounds. It’s also understanding intonation (the rise and fall of the voice) and stress (some sounds in words and some words in sentences are louder or clearer than others). Read poems, speeches and songs aloud, concentrating on the word stress and intonation.
Sing a song! 8
Learn the words to popular English songs and sing along. Singing helps you relax and just get those words out, as well as helping your rhythm and intonation. Because you don’t need to concentrate on constructing sentences for yourself, you can concentrate on making your pronunciation sound great!
Speak English like a Native
You may feel confused when you start learning English, because often the way a native speaker pronounces a word won’t sound like the way it is spelled. Often words are connected or contracted to make the flow of speech easier and more natural. There are a number of ways in which this happens:
- In a phrase like “bad day” – where one word ends with the same letter that begins the next word – you wouldn’t pronounce the “d” twice, a native speaker would say something that sounds like “ba day”. If you think about it, you do very much the same thing when speaking your own language.
- When you speak English, if two words don’t have exactly the same letter joining them, but one that sounds very similar, the same applies. For example, the first two words in “what does that mean?” would be pronounced “wha does”, that is, we drop the “t” in “what” as it sounds so much like the “d” in “does”.
- Often, a sentence such as “I’m going to go to the meeting” will sound like “I’m gonna go to the meeting”. This is when the native speaker contracts or squeezes the words together for a more natural sound that flows more easily off the tongue.
- Many words, when pronounced, are shorter than they are when written and the sounds are softer, for example “interesting” is pronounced “in-chre-sting”, “comfortable” “comf-ta-bil” and “every” “e-vry”. This is an example of letters being squeezed together in speech, again for a more natural sound.
There are many more examples of words and phrases that are pronounced differently from the way they’re spelled by native English speakers, and there’s no doubt that the best way to learn how to speak like a native is to listen very carefully, and of course to speak English to native speakers as much as possible.
