IMPORTANCE OF

ENGLISH AS A
SECOND LANGUAGE
DR. CHRISTIANA ANGEL (MARYA IZHAR)
 What is language?

 Henry Sweet, an English phonetician and language scholar,

stated: “Language is the expression of ideas by means of
speech-sounds combined into words. Words are combined
into sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas
into thoughts.”
Language is absolutely central to your learning without it,
you cannot make sense or communicate your
understanding of a subject.
WHY LEARNING ENGLISH IS SO
IMPORTANT???
 Communication Barrier
 The difficulties in communication experienced by people or
groups speaking different languages, or even dialects in
some cases.
 1. English is the Language of International Communication

 English 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 to do this.
3. TRAVELLING

 People, who love to explore different parts of the world, know

about diverse cultures, places, and lifestyle, knowing the local
language can offer a life changing experience.
 You can easily find the places, ask for directions, and even
order food.
 Speaking a language gives you a better understanding of the
country’s culture.
 You can interact with people more freely providing a greater
scope of meeting new people, making new friends, more fun,
and enjoyment.
 2. English is the Language of Business

 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, Fast
Retailing, Nokia, Renault, Samsung, SAP, Technicolor, and
Microsoft in Beijing, have mandated English as their official
corporate language.
 Knowing English increases your chances of getting a
good job in a multinational company within your home
country or for finding work abroad.
 4. Learning English gives you Access to more of the Internet
 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.
 On the Internet, the majority of websites are written and created in English.
Even sites in other languages often give you the option to translate the site.
 Learning English is important as it gives you access to over half 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!
5. Education

 English is also essential to the field of education. In many

countries, children are taught and encouraged to learn
English as a second language.
 Even in countries where it is not an official language, such as
the Netherlands or Sweden, we will find many syllabus in
science and engineering are written in English.
 Because it is the dominant language in the sciences, most of
the research and studies you find in any given scientific field
will be written in ENGLISH.
The latest world news and discoveries, the
most important scholarly discussions and the
various fields of art – like books, movies, music
– are firstly or just available in English.
• The English language gives students access to
information and research.

• Since many of the top academic journals are

published in English, students and academics
need strong English reading and writing skills.
In universities, in countries where English is not
the official language, it is often the preferred
language for academics in which to publish their
research.
• Moreover, for a research study or other
publication to get sufficient attention, it should
be published in English.
Knowing English is indispensable for science–
it allows people to study internationally or read
the scientific works right after they are
published, using them when they are
necessary in their own researches, not when
they are available in local language.
Today, the proportion of academic articles which
are published in English is between 70% and 95%,
and for doctoral dissertations it’s 80% to 90%.
WHAT IS ACADEMIC ENGLISH?
 Academic English

You may be confident in using English in everyday

situations, but the kind of English you need for
study is rather different. It is what is known as
‘Academic English' and is the type of English you
need for;
 reading and understanding your study materials
 writing about your subject.
 Academic English
You may be confident in using English in everyday situations,
but the kind of English you need for study is rather different.
It is what is known as 'academic English' and is the type of
English you need for;
 reading and understanding your study materials
 writing about your subject.
 Academic English
You may be confident in using English in everyday situations,
but the kind of English you need for study is rather different. It
is what is known as 'academic English' and is the type of
English you need for;
 reading and understanding your study materials
 writing about your subject.
 The ability to write in an academic style is something you develop
as part of your university study.
 It is difficult to give overall 'rules' on the way to write for a university
course, as academic subjects vary in:

• Their vocabulary and expressions

• The types of text used (for instance essays, reports, research articles or
summaries)
• How these texts are structured and organised.
 Main features of Academic English;
 is usually formal in tone and impersonal in style
 avoids contractions or shortened forms of verbs, such as won't, doesn't or it's
 avoids using a linking word such as 'and' or 'but' at the beginning of a
sentence
 avoids personal pronouns such as I, me, you, your
 avoids verbs that are composed of multiple words, such as 'give up', 'put up
with'
 tends to employ a cautious way of explaining findings, using expressions
such as 'may', 'it is possible that...', 'could'
 may use specialised vocabulary, etc.
YOU WILL NEED TO DEVELOP YOUR
LANGUAGE SKILLS, AND SPECIFICALLY,
YOUR ACADEMIC ENGLISH
In order to:

Understand and make the most effective use

of your study materials
Develop the specialised language and vocabulary
relevant to your subject
Interpret assignment questions and select relevant
and appropriate material for your response
Write well-structured and coherently presented
assignments, without plagiarism
Communicate your needs to your tutors
(especially if you are a foreign student)
Work productively with your fellow students.
“A scientist is only as good as the way he writes about his
science”
 Americans celebrate the Fourth of July.
 The French celebrate Bastille Day.
 Argentinians celebrate El Carnaval del Pais.
 All over the world, different countries and different cultures
engage in different holidays, customs, cultural practices,
religions, and more.
 These differences make up our diverse world, but also
create culture conflict / barriers.
 Zhè ge shì qī kuài.
 This is 7 kuai

 Zhè ge shí qī kuài .

 This is 17 kuai
 shàng hǎi shāng hài
 Shanghai to injure
 xīfú vs. xífu
 suit wife
 糖(táng) versus 汤(tāng)
 English: “Candy” versus “Soup”
 “What do you eat over there in Pakistan in the winter?” I said,
“We eat candy.”
 Luckily, my husband came in at that point and said, “She
means that we drink soup.”
ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC WRITING
EXAMPLES AND PHRASES!
Words and Phrases Used in Academic Writing

 In academic writing, there are certain words and phrases that

are used consistently. If a student is able to become familiar
with these words and phrases, their academic writing will
certainly improve faster and their comprehension of academic
texts will increase.
Academic Writing about Research

 Research is an essential part of any good academic paper.

Without it, claims and opinions are not viable and hardly
believable. Plus, without research, it is difficult to know much
about your chosen subject.
Sample Research Paper Paragraph

 A certain study that was done at a Minneapolis-based national institute

for media indicated that kids can get addicted to video games and
exhibit social phobias. The interactive quality of virtual games is quite
different from passively viewing movies or television.
 a few studies…
 other studies…
 a certain study, … indicated that…
 little attention has been devoted to the impact…
Research Paper Paragraph
a few studies…
other studies…
a certain study, … indicated
that…
little attention has been
devoted to the impact…
given the lack of critical
attention paid to…
there is a divergence
between …… and what they
actually do. This divergence
occurs because…
several schools of thought
have emerged…
as shown previously…
prior research has
suggested…
another factor…
the underlying concept…
the likelihood that…
research indicates…
what is demonstrated…
against this backdrop…
the central issue addressed
here is the relationship
between…
the topic of …… warrants
research attention for ……
reasons.
to answer these questions…
the present study attempts
to crystallize …… factors
which influence …… by….
analyzing the relationship
between …… and…
in examining…
in order to better
understanding…
a deeper understanding of
the process of…
we illustrate this procedure
by…
we illustrate this procedure
by using…
our contention is that…
this research builds on
existing knowledge in the
fields of…
insights drawn from
scholarly literature are
supplemented with those
from…
it accentuates the realization
that…
Research Paper Paragraph

the issue is whether or not… generally, … hence…

there is evidence that …… as noted earlier… accordingly…
has a positive affect. whereas… respectively…
these arguments suggest… briefly… as a consequence…
given this orientation… also, … consequently…
the same logic underlies… still, … thus, …
in this context, it is yet… therefore, …
worthwhile to consider… accordingly… for this reason…
in this respect, … initially, it may seem… because of this…
in contrast, … surprisingly, …
a major trait… next,…
typically, … in contrast…
traditionally, … nevertheless…
this leads to… as a result…
Explanation

 On the other hand, chauvinism as sexism refers both to males and

females, as it assumes the belief in the superiority of one sex over the
other.
 On the contrary, women often furiously argue about the numerous
advantages of women over men. This can also be called chauvinism.
 besides, …
 furthermore, …
 in addition, …
 moreover…
in order to… also…
in other words… as well…
to put it in another way… foremost…
that is to say… ranking above all others…
to that end…. preceding all others…
besides, …
furthermore, …
in addition, …
moreover…
likewise…
indeed…
in truth…
in fact…
Example of Summarizing

 Overall, we can see the effect that video games have on

modern American children. Studies have shown that rampant
attention deficit disorder in America coincides directly with the
amount of video game usage among children of 6-13 years of
age.
 As a last note, I would like to add that the issues associated
with the link between video games and children is ever-
increasing, and the United States government should take
action against the high usage of such games among youth in
order to salvage whatever we have left of a stable American
society.
Phrases and Words

as a last note, … to sum up, … to give you a digest of…

conclusive evidence… in sum, … to give you a snippet of…
overall… in short, … here is a regurgitation of…
in conclusion… in brief, … here is a run through of…
above all… to repeat, … here is a run down of…
compelling… briefly, … it all boils down to the fact that…
all things considered… finally, … to get the meat of the issue…
at last… therefore… as was previously stated, …
in summary, … as I have said… as has been mentioned, …
to summarize, … as you can see… given these points, …
to conclude… in a nutshell, … as has been noted, …
in light of all these… to recap, … to put it briefly, …
on the whole… thus, … consequently, …
in summation, … as I have shown, … in consequence, …
hence, … altogether, …
accordingly, … in a word, …
as a result… in the end, …