The Importance of Learning English

The world is in a constant state of change one need only to look back seven years when

a terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda launched an unprecedented attack on a

superpower that changed the course of history and in return made the world a less safer

place. One can also look at the world's financial crisis and its devastating effects on

industry that has forever altered the employment landscape and the way companies are

now doing business, around the world. Some countries that refused or did not have the

ability to adapt have gone and are going the way of the dinosaur. It is for this reason that

alliances are more crucial now then they have ever before and it is for those reasons that

learning another language like English is so important.

Secondly, because we now live in a society whose languages are as varied as the people

and cultures that make up its community. From the Philippines to Singapore,

homogenous societies are slowly becoming a thing of the past whether we like it or not,

survival of the fittest depends upon our ability to adapt during these uncertain times and

to be ready for whatever may come, now and in the future. Let's also look at the rise of

Globalism and how it has made the world a smaller place. How did this happen? One

only need to look at what is taking place around the world, English has replaced the

native language of over 60+ countries in the past 10 years,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_where_English_is_an_official_language

I don't see an end to that trend anytime soon. Does such a move draw controversy and

open itself to criticism? Sure it does, of course, if you go back in time, countries identity

was shaped and formed around its native language; this in turn shaped its culture and

made it unique in the eyes of the international community. But it's always been the case

with change whether we like it not what we have grown accustomed to is disappearing
before our very eyes, do I like it? It doesn't matter because it is going to happen

whether I agree with it or not. Change is never digested easily and for some never at all,

as an individual I am selfish like that and want certain constants to remain, but the sign of

the times dictates a certain degree of flexibility in order for things to move forward.

Imagine a culture that is well over thousands of years old being told that the history they

have and continue to teach to their kids is being replaced by something alien and foreign

to them, that is what's happening everyday around the world. Incredibly 5-10 years from

now because of our mind's ability to adapt to change acceptance will be commonplace

and replacing the old with the new often times leads to a forgetfulness of the past or at

least mitigates its importance in relation to the here and now. Here is a current example

of change at work. Corporations hire and train their employees in company policy and

etiquette but more importantly they learn how to use the proprietary software relative to

their job description. The company knows that one day they will replace that software

with something totally new and innovative. When this happens, employees become

confused, upset some because change brings out those feelings, but eventually they learn

the new software and completely forget about the old way that things were done. In a

way, what is transpiring in countries that are adopting English as their official language

runs along those same lines. As an English teacher here in South Korea, I come up

against this resistance all of the time, mostly from the children who just don't see the

value in learning another language other than their mother tongue, they are too young to

understand what the future holds and that there is a distinct possibility that the language

they speak now might not exist fifteen years from now.