Introducing Me
Hello, I’m a foreign language. My name’s English. You may know me. I’m very popular in the modern world. I still remember the days when I was a language like any other language, used only by the nation which gave me life. But these memories are only a few because my people developed rapidly and centuries ago they built up an empire, the British Empire. It was a pleasure to travel to its faraway colonies among which the Indies, the Jewel of the Crown…I have to thank commerce for all my journeys abroad, for having encouraged people to make friends with me and invite me into their lives.
Nowadays it is simpler for me to get into your world. I think you have noticed my presence in movies, TV shows, songs, shops and PC games. You cannot deny that my popularity is rising day by day but I think I’ve become too proud…
You can, too!
Foreign languages bring people closer and connect continents, cultures and civilizations. In my opinion, English has become the most effective way of communication with the foreigners you meet either at work or on vacation. It is one of the most powerful languages because without it your chances of finding a job are limited and you cannot even install a simple program on your computer!
What if you get into a shop in a foreign country and want to buy something? Are you going to use sign language? If you can’t make yourself understood you’ll feel disappointed and frustrated.
And if you still aren’t convinced, imagine you fall in love with a foreigner. Could you resist not talking to him/her? When he/she asks you “Do you speak English?” you are going to shake your head and remain silent. What would that feel like?
So, don’t you have just a little bit of ambition to learn English? I say you do! Just try this so you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain!
English, Our Foster Mother Tongue
I believe that the importance of foreign languages in our lives tends to equal that of our mother tongue. They are turning into loving and caring foster mothers, who help us adapt to the modern world.
One of these mothers is English. I chose to talk about it because if we travel abroad or meet foreign students in our country we’ll most probably end up speaking in English. You never know when and where you meet new people and you may want to make friends with them and get to know them better. Of course, in order to do that, you can also call for the help of your other foster mother tongues like French, Spanish, Italian or German, etc.
While some people consider that English is a difficult language, there are others who treat it with superficiality, underestimating its challenges. My advice for the first group is to take advantage of every opportunity to get in contact with this language in its every form: in movies, songs, on the internet, on sites dedicated to teaching English. As for the second group, I think they should not take English for granted. It may be everywhere around us but that doesn’t mean that we should reduce it to a bunch of words on TV and computer screens.
A foreign language needs to be given a life! It needs us in order to grow up, gain strength and finally turn into the loving mother we need so much in the modern world.
Protopopescu Adrian,
Roşiu Gabriela,
Bacu Anastasia Tania
Clasa a X - a A
Coordonator, prof. Vlad Loredana
