At the present time foreign languages are socially demanded. Foreign languages are needed as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet. The question of learning foreign languages is very important today. English is just one of 6,000 languages in the world. One billion people speak English. That’s 20 per cent of the world population. It is also one of the leading languages in the world. About 350 million people speak English as their first language. About the same number use it as a second language. It is the language of aviation, international sport and pop music. English is the official language in 44 countries, where it is used in education and administration. They are Great Britain, Canada, the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and some other countries. In many countries it is the language of business, commerce and technology. English is the language of modern computing. Nearly 50 per cent of all the companies in Europe communicate with each other in English. 75 per cent of the world’s mail is in English, too. Standard English is not completely uniform. There are differences between the national standards in Britain, America and Australia. Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is especially urgent today. English is very popular in international business of Russia. It is studied at schools, colleges and universities.

. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What is the role of English among other foreign languages?
2. How many people speak English?
3. Why has English become a world language?
4. Where is English an official language?
5. Why are millions of people learning English today?
6. Why do young people want to learn English?
7. Why do you learn English?
8. What is the necessity of learning English for a specialist?
9. In what careers (jobs) can languages be a tremendous advantage?
10. What do we need foreign languages for?
11. What is the best way to learn a language?
12. What is the most important thing for you in learning a foreign language?
13. Is your written English better than your spoken English?
14. What is your mother tongue?