By Josshua Luna Phillips - Student of English Teaching and Translation

The famous psycholinguist Frank Smith once said: “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” There has been a big increase in the number of people that can talk two languages: their native language and English. This is due to the globalization that started happening around English. That is why it is so important that the people who understand this language can return to society by teaching the language which can bring benefits to people. Some people believe that teachers and English speakers, in general, can return a lot of good things to society, some of them being the possibility of getting job opportunities and even the luck of getting the pleasure of meeting someone who will be important to us, but some people might be skeptical about Learning English and how important it is to society.

Job opportunities are the first doors that English will open for people. Nowadays, companies want to get a wider market and possibilities of getting big customers, even outsiders from that country can notice if the company has good management of the language. According to Dexway (2016), companies consider English as the language of business. And actually, it is normal to agree with that idea because in recent years the growth of the Internet has been amazing. That is another important reason; “English is the primary language on the internet” (Dexway, 2016). This has been a priority for companies where the range of business they can do online is amazing. Those are just some of the examples of why companies want to hire employees that control this language, but it is not the only thing we as teachers can contribute with for future generations at the moment of teaching English.

“Speaking English allows you to actually broaden your world, from job opportunities to the ability to relate to people from every country” (Tunariu & Szeder, 2017). This is probably the second-best thing that English can do for someone once it was learned. Let’s imagine the scenario that in our country it is badly seen not to have a religion, which causes that you suffered from harassment from people around you, making it impossible that you can relate to others at least in that country. If you can learn English, it can provide you with many opportunities to meet new people in another country. “You only have to learn one language and you will be able to communicate with people from all over the world” (Tunariu & Szeder, 2017, para. 4). By doing that, you can meet people that have share the same beliefs and values. It is something so incredible that it made a big number of people meet their partner for all the rest of their lives or even a really good friend. However, not everyone thinks the same.

There will always be people who are skeptical about learning English and its importance to society. They think of a lot of excuses to explain why people do not want to learn English. According to Lewis (2013), there are many reasons why people are reluctant to learn the language, but most of them are dumb and don’t make any sense. It is widely known why English is really important being the main one the fact that it can open a lot of doors. However, not everyone thinks the same of English, people that have this certain way of thinking is completely wrong and it's kind of old for nowadays. People who think like that will be always a minority and will stop growing, to the point of disappearing.

English will always be good for society and brings advantages occupationally and emotionally to the people that are interested in learning it. Commonly, the people that do not recognize the importance of English for society will stay behind others. So, just be open-minded and try to learn and teach this language to others, to make a better society that can understand each other. Finally, people must think about one important question: How far do you think English can expand its domain and importance?

 

MOXIE es el Canal de ULACIT (www.ulacit.ac.cr), producido por y para los estudiantes universitarios, en alianza con el medio periodístico independiente Delfino.cr, con el propósito de brindarles un espacio para generar y difundir sus ideas.  Se llama Moxie - que en inglés urbano significa tener la capacidad de enfrentar las dificultades con inteligencia, audacia y valentía - en honor a nuestros alumnos, cuyo “moxie” los caracteriza.

References:
  • Dexway. (2016, December 1). Companies do need learn languages to grow. An easy way online learning. https://www.dexway.com/why-corporate-english-is-vital-for-companies-who-want-to-grow/
  • Lewis, B. (2013, April 19). The many reasons (32 so far) why we DON’T succeed in learning languages. Fluent in 3 Months. Language Hacking and Travel Tips. https://www.fluentin3months.com/reasons/#blank
  • Tunariu, M., & Szeder, S. (2017, April 17). Why is it important to speak English? Malta University Language School. https://www.universitylanguageschool.com/student-blog-why-is-it-important-to-speak-english/#:~:text=Speaking%20English%20allows%20you%20to