By Habeebah Yusuf
The English language is an important language which can be used as a tool to effective learning.
It is a West Germanic language that originated in England and is now the most widely spoken language in the World today. With over 1.5billion speakers, it is an official language of 53 countries, as a foreign language and is used as a lingua franca by people from all over the world. So, the English language is not only the language of the native speakers but also a language that is used all over the world by people.
The importance of the English language cannot be overemphasized, because it is the dominant language in the world today to communicate between people with different language backgrounds. It is a language of business and commerce, literature and music, education, tourism, science and technology etc. Most notable importance of the English language in the course of Learning are as highlighted below.
It helps learners to know more about science, as we all know that science plays a huge role all over the world today by helping us create new technologies and solve our problems. It helps learners to know how scientists carry out their research and how the results are produced.
Scientific journals, medical journals, mathematical formulations etc. can only be learned through the proper knowledge of the English language. World top on-line resources such as wikipedia, google scholar, etc. are only available in English language. This gives students tremendous benefits to access any information and resources. Many online classes and courses are available where students can learn about different things and also study any courses of their choice.
Learning English as a second language has shown to improve students’ ability to think critically and to solve problems. This is because bilingualism, that is the ability to speak two languages, has been linked to increased creativity and cognitive flexibility i.e. to be good at multitasking, to be creative, to being able to shift focus, coming up with new ideas and solutions when needed and dealing with unexpected situations.
Furthermore, the English language opens up a world of possibilities for students, by helping them study abroad, providing job opportunities and even starting their own businesses. For example, the world’s most successful start-ups like Airbnb and Uber, were founded by people who speak English as their second language. This shows how proper knowledge of the English language can make a difference in a student’s future.
More so, most of the schools and universities around the World, adopt English as the language of instruction. This makes it easier for students from different countries to study and share knowledge together, and similarly facilitates effective communication of knowledge among students with diverse languages.
In addition, cultural awareness is another benefit of the English language in the course of learning. It helps students to understand and appreciate different cultures. This is because the English language is used by people all over the world, and it is influenced by many different cultures. So, this can lead to understanding and cooperation between people from different cultural backgrounds.
In conclusion, the relevance of the English language is undeniable in the context of Literature, because the majority of books of literature such as novels, poems etc. are written in the English language. So, understanding the English language will enable one to access all that it has to offer. Therefore, for one to learn and succeed in the world today, one must understand the English language, so as to have access to information and resources in our course of studies and also to get better or possible opportunities in the global marke