Examination Card 8

You take part in the conference dedicated to foreign languages. Talk about the following:

• why foreign languages are important in modern society;
• whether foreign languages are important for you and why;
• what the most effective ways of learning foreign languages are.

Nowadays more and more people are learning foreign languages. There are several reasons why learning a foreign language is important. Firstly, if you know a foreign language, it will be easier for you to find a good and well-paid job in your home country and abroad. Moreover, the knowledge of a foreign language, especially English, is absolutely essential if you want to make a career in science, business, journalism or tourism. Secondly, a lot more information is available on the Internet for those who know a foreign language than for those who don’t. For example, some of the most famous foreign universities offer on-line lectures on different academic subjects, so students can use them as additional sources of information to enrich their knowledge on those subjects. Finally, there are thousands of schools around the world that offer programs in foreign languages. For those who want to get education abroad it is just necessary to learn the language of the chosen country first.

In Ukrainian schools foreign languages are taught to all children. The foreign language I learn is English. I invest a lot of time and effort into learning English because I want to use all the advantages of knowing a foreign language that I have just mentioned. To begin with, I want to get higher education. In some Ukrainian universities foreign professors deliver their lectures in English, and I would like to understand what they say. Also I would like to become an exchange student and spend a year taking courses at an English or American college. Another reason that motivates me to learn English is that I would like to travel abroad and knowing English will make me feel more comfortable in any foreign country. I will be able to take guided tours, order food at a café, ask for directions and talk to local people. One more reason is that I will be able to read my favorite books by English and American writers in the original.

However, learning a foreign language takes a lot of time and effort. Fortunately, there are some effective ways that can help you master a foreign language. The cheapest way is to take an English class, to join a foreign language group and to read books and magazines in a foreign language. Listening to the radio and watching TV shows and movies will also help a lot. The most effective but also the most expensive way, though, is to study a foreign language abroad. If you are in a foreign country, you will just have to learn to speak its language because it will be essential for your survival.

To sum up, I believe that anybody who wants to become a well-educated and successful person should learn at least one foreign language.