More and more people around the world are learning English as a second or foreign language, even in countries where it is not used in daily life. What are the advantages and disadvantages to this?

English is now seen as an international dialect, and as a result, the study of it as both a school subject and a hobby has become increasingly common in many countries in the world. There are advantages to studying the speech, specifically to one’s learning and potential for career growth. Conversely, there are drawbacks: it is time-consuming for some people who rarely use it, and may contribute to the slow extinction of less common languages. The potential rewards of learning and being able to communicate in English are undeniable. Firstly, understanding English gives people access to a vast wealth of knowledge in books, articles, webpages or videos which have not been translated to other languages. For example, articles published only in English could be vital to university students or professionals who need them for research. Secondly, being able to communicate effectively in English is almost universally viewed as a professional advantage. A high proficiency may mean a big promotion for someone working in businesses, or help jobseekers to find employment in their field. On the other hand, it could be argued that investing time in studying English is disadvantageous. For one, millions of people who are forced to learn it at school—and whose parents pay large sums of money for extra-curricular lessons—may never end up using it outside the classroom. For instance, in a country like China, where hundreds or thousands of hours are spent across a lifetime studying the language, the average person will likely never get the opportunity to go abroad, or work for a multinational company. The investment of time and money does not have a concomitant payoff in such cases. Additionally, as English becomes the language of choice for young people, rarer local languages do not get used as much and consequently are not passed on to the next generation. As less-used languages die out, cultural diversity is lost, often irretrievably. Clearly, there are important pros and cons to people learning English as a second language. It is the individual’s circumstances which I believe determine whether this investment of time, energy and money is worthwhile.