The Importance of Learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) for Young Generation (A Case of Georgia)

The concept of Global village and living in a globalized world has made English Language as a Lingua franca (hence ELF). “English as a lingua franca is used to refer to ‘any use of English among speakers of different first languages” (Mackenzie, 2014, p. 2). Well, English became the most widely used language in politics, tourism, business, education and in the media. “The emergency of English as the leading lingua franca of international business in the past two decades has been accomplished by a significant upsurge of scholarly interest in a range of issues relating to language choice and use in the rapidly globalizing business and professional world” (Evans, 2013, p. 228). Because of this reason new concept appeared in terms of teaching English. For those who need specific terminologies for a particular job, they are learning English for Specific Purposes(hence ESP).There are various Englishes, for example, English for business or for teachers. Moreover, Jennifer (2014, p. 23) states that “English itself has served as a lingua franca in the past, and continues to do so nowadays, in many of the countries that were colonized by the British from the late sixteenth century.” Thus, for some countries, such as India and Nigeria, English was and still is the second language and the concept of ELF is not a new phenomenon for them and  later for whole world time itself brought the necessity of learning English language in order to make us able to communicate with people from different sides of the world. After discussing the background of ELF, let’s shed lights on the importance of learning English. As English is considered as an international language, everyone feels the necessity of learning it. This is the language which broadens our horizons. It is also worth pointing out that while we are acquiring a language, simultaneously we gain cultural knowledge of the target language. “Teaching a second language means teaching cultural negotiation, whether directly or indirectly, and the ability to speak a second language also means at least being able to converse and work with people from cultures other than one’s own” (Lapadus, p. 51). Besides, learning English language enables people to be involved in international business and opens doors toward job market. If you look at an example of Georgia, we see how essential it has become recently to be fluent in English. Georgia, as a developing country strives to make connections to already developed countries. This of course makes many foreigners to come to Georgia for different purposes, so this is also one of the aspects why learning English language is crucial for citizens, especially for young generation. Besides, the facts that obtaining an international education is valuable and a vast amount of scientific information can be found in English on the internet made learning English language more demanding for people. Therefore, if you know English, you have more access to the world. To wrap up, English language has become so important for people around the world, as it is the most broadly used language in many spheres.

References

Evans, S. (2013). Perspectives on the Use of English as a Business Lingua Franca in Hong Kong. Journal of Business Communication, 50(3), 227-252.

Jenkins, J. (2014). English as a Lingua Franca in the International University:The Politics of Academic English Language Policy. Routledge.

Lapadus, A. (n.d.). Franca, Cultural Negotiation in English as a Lingua. TESL Reporter, 47(1-2), 51-66.

Mackenzie, I. (2014). English as a Lingua Franca. Routledge.