Ликобритании. The question of learning foreign, languages is very important today.Foreign languages are requered especially at the present time whenprogress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledgeand has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledgeof mankind is known to double every seven years. Foreign languages areneeded as the main and the most efficient means of information exchangebetween the people of our planet.Today English is the language ofthe world. It is the language of progressive science and technology,trade and cultural relations, commerce and business. It is the universallanguage of international aviation, shipping and sports. It is also themajor language of diplomacy.Hundreds and undreds of books,magazines and newspapers are printed in English and read all over theworld. 75% of the world's mail and 60% of the world telephone calls arein English. Half of the world's scientific literature is written inEnglish. English is spoken by more than 350 million people.Geographically, it is the most widespread language on earth, second onlyto Chinese in the number of people who speak it.It is the officiallanguage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, ofthe United States of America, of Australia and New Zealand. English isused as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of SouthAfrica and the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language inmany parts of India and Africa. The number of second-language speakersmay soon exceed the number of native speakers. Besides, millions ofpeople study English as a foreign language. In our country English isvery popular. It is studied at schools (sometimes even at nurseryschools) , colleges and universities.What does it mean to know aforeign language? It is not easy to answer this question. Americansthink that you know a foreign language if native speakers understandyou. And nobody cares about your mistakes. But of course nobody can callit "good English" and you can use it only if your contacts with nativespeakers are rare and not very important. If you are connected withforeign countries very closely, especially through your work, you shouldhave a good command of the language. It means that your pronunciationshould be standard, you should speak fluently and without mistakes. Andof course you should understand your partner correctly. The lattersometimes is the most difficult part of all. As to spelling, it dependswhether you have to write or not. If you do then you should do itcorrectly too.So far, there is no universal or ideal method oflearning languages. Everybody has his own way. Sometimes it is boring tostudy grammar or to learn new words. But it is well known that readingbooks in the original, listening to the BBC news, communicating withEnglish-speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreignlanguage you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. Onemust work hard to learn any foreign language.Russia is beingintegrated into the world community and the problem of learning Englishfor the purpose of communication is especially urgent today.
