Mastering
the English Language, Is It a Need or a Want?
By
Merlin Pérez (ILE Professor)
Every term, universities, English academies and bilingual schools and
high schools receive many students willing to acquire English as a
foreign language. This is done not to follow merely a desire to learn a second
language but because of the globalisation process that is taking place in the
entire world. Demand for English skills comes chiefly from multinational
companies that use English as their business language, whereas domestic
companies use Spanish for internal and external communication. Despite the
predominance of Spanish, the importance of English is significant and the
number of English speakers in Costa Rica is growing.
Mastering
a language is not easy at all; it requires commitment and a tenacious
dedication. Students must learn grammar, reading techniques, spelling,
phonemes, slangs, colloquialisms, idiomatic expressions and much more. At the
beginning of their learning process students feel comfortable with the language
but later on, the difficulty increases when they reach the basic communication
level and it is the moment to polish their verbal skills. Furthermore they have
to cope with the fact that English picks up foreign words and gradually absorbs
them into its lexicon until a point is reached at which they cease to sound
foreign. They are not foreign but only of foreign origin. When learners take
all of these aspects into account they might feel frustrated and stop trying to
achieve the goal of mastering a language and they might resign with the basic
knowledge acquired. Some learners can think that mastering English as a foreign
language is ludicrous but it is not; day by day more Costa Rican people are
obtaining fantastic job opportunities because Americans are delighted with
their level of English.
It
is quite evident that there is a dire need for English communication skills in
order to compete in a globalised world where English is the number one
language. And if we want to be one with the world, English is the language to
master.
Students
need to realise that penetrating in the labour market will be possible only if
they keep in mind that mastering English in all its forms is a need and not a
want.
Read it and then state a frank point of view about
this article published in a magazine.
And for your professional or personal life, is
English a want or a need?
English is the most commonly used language among foreign language speakers. I think many people learn it because they need it to get a job or to have more opportunities. In my case I learned because I needed in my job but I also like it. I know learning English will open to me many job opportunities and it will help me to compete in the difficult global market. Although learning English can be challenging, it is possible to learn it, even when you are an adult. Another point that motivates me is that I will teach my baby and it will be easy for him to learn it.
ReplyDeleteEnglish is all a matter of ''job requirement'' sometimes. When you make an extensive chat with a person regarding his/her job, you realize that they are going to tell you "Thanks to my English level, I got that job, or got promoted", but have you ever asked to that person "was that specific job or a different one or something else the reason you decided to start taking English as second language?" Probably the answer will be "I did it to get a nice job". So, it is official, the huge intercultural demand in companies presented in different countries forces us not only to learn English, but also to master it. For some of those companies, speak English with our natural born accent it is not enough, you have to become a kind of manufactured native speaker to please then. It is an excellent pressure that makes us forget about the difficulties and bittersweets stages of the language, and at the end of the day leave us with an amazing feeling of competitiveness with our personal and professional lives.
ReplyDeleteI firmly agree with what you pointed out. In my personal opinion, there is a specific time in the English learning process in which you believe that you already know everything you need to communicate. Many people pretend they are good, but they are truly beginners. However, learning a second language is an endless process. You will never stop learning because there are going many terms and expressions and even vocabulary that we do not know. On the other hand, there are many people out there who believe that they speak really good English, but when listen to them, you can easily notice that they still have so much to learn. Sometimes their pronunciation is not that good and they also make a lot of grammar mistakes. That is why we should never think that we already know all we need because we could get stuck in the same level without having any improvement.
DeleteI totally agree that nowadays learning English is more a need than a want. Actually, we are facing a world in which is demanding to speak English fluently not only to get a job but also to compete in a globalized world. although it is true that speaking English is not easy at all it involves grammar, pronunciation, spelling, writing and much more, people who learn to speak English have to have an interest in this language because if they do not have that interest everything will be in vain. thats why many people when they are in a difficult level quit to learn english because at the beginning everything is fine but then everything turns more complex. we have to keep in mind that speak english is something that opens many opportunities in our life.
ReplyDeleteI believe that learning English has become more a need than a want, so I agree with my classmates. In countries like ours is more common to find a lot of professionals from a different majors than English, and this is because the lack of employment required to support the future professionals, and also the low payment offer for those kind of jobs. For instance in my company you can find from layers to teachers and many more people that do not find job in the market, and also the money that is offer for their services is not enough to maintain their families. So people prefer to work in a multinational that will pay them more even thou they are not going to be working in their own field. If we analyzed all the points, English is a more a need nowadays than a want because if you do not find job in what you study at least you will have the opportunity to get a job in one of the multinational companies in our country.
DeleteI completely agree that ‘mastering English in all its forms is a need.’ I myself have found it quiet useful and though I don’t yet have a college degree like some of my former high school buddies I have had better and best paid jobs that all of them, for I spent a year after school learning the language and the many years after that perfecting the skill. Though, it is preferable that it be ‘a want’ too like Adriana Q. said. The whole learning process of acquiring a new language when you already have your mother tong is like Merlin describes it ‘not easy at all’ and ‘it requires commitment and a tenacious dedication’ like she concluded.
ReplyDeleteWe are always better at what we like, so setting off into the journey of procuring good English communication skills for a front sit on today’s globalized job market is desirable that you have a like for the language or else any source of motivation, so you won’t throw the towel half way there.
I agree with you max, learn English is not easy when people realize that the difficulty increases, they feel frustration. As my classmates said, you have to spend many years and dedication if you want to be a master. Nowadays is a need to learn English, but not only a basic level as years ago, it was enough to have a good job, know you need to mastering the language because there are many people in our country who speak English. For that reason you need to be a master or study something else in order to speak the language only as a complement. Multinational companies are hiring only the best people, is a requirement to have a high English level.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteEventhough learn English is not easy there are practical way to learn it just take into account that you must work hard in order to learn it because a master in English can open many jod opportunties thaat why people who study English have to dedicate time to learn it.
ReplyDeleteNowadays English is a second language that almost everybody is trying to learn not just for the facility to get into the business market, instead of for the necessity to do it. Many years ago only private school had English classes, moreover people from public schools had disadvantage from other students because not everyone could learn at the same level. But now in private same as public school they have the opportunity to learn and take advantage of it. All those improvements are called Globalization, you are obligated to learn English as a second language. There is people who are professional they have their bachelor's degree and just because they don’t know English, the possibility to get a job increase and the quality of life.
ReplyDeleteAs all of you have written, English is at the present time a need. In a good job everybody needs to know this language. If we keep this in mind, we will not give up in those moments when learning English become really hard.
ReplyDeleteThis state is completely true. The learning of languages has become in a necessity through the time, especially English. I am sure that you have listened the last sentence that I wrote many times. My mom was someone who used to say it to me when I was making the decision of what major I wanted to study. I did not taking account English as a major I wanted because I am not good at languages and I did not want. Actually, I did not consider English was a major. My mom almost forced me to study it, and now I can understand why it is important. I am studying Industrial Engineering too, and there are many people that do the same. Because there are many professionals, people who want to get a job have to look for keys that help to do it. English is one of those keys.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete