TO MY BELOVED STUDENTS

Task 2 : Few languages are increasingly spoken in different countries,while

the usage of others is rapidly declining. Is this a positive or a negative
development?
Written by Pham Thi Le Na
Word count: 353
Timing: 8 minutes
- Positive
+ easier communication
+ other fields to develop
- Negative
+ loss of cultural identity
+ other fields to be affected
Some languages like English and French are increasingly used in the world.
People think that this trend has a positive effect on social development while
others claim that other languages and cultures are put in danger with the
domination of English or French. My essay will explain both positive and
negative sides of this issue.
On one hand, there are several benefits of increasing popularity of some
languages. First, it is believed that this trend can ease the worlds
communication. In the past, due to the existence of various languages, people
from different countries found it hard to communicate, followed by their
inability to solve other problems. Second, no sooner does English become a king
language than countries do business better. Businessmen, instead of spending
too much money on learning different languages, stick to one and expand their
business readily. Students around the world, after accessing the Internet in
English, can open their knowledge and experience while those in the past wasted
hours on laboriously deciphering other language codes of nations.
Nevertheless, pains are seen in this tendency. It is undeniable that the ubiquity
of English is tantamount to the loss of cultural identity of several nations.
Language is inextricably linked to culture and other fields. Only after hundreds
of thousands of youngsters rush to take English courses around the world than
they gradually forget their culture and origin. Examples are noticed when they
sing international songs, wear western clothes and attend global occasions more
often than the traditional ones. Business, to some extent, is adversely affected
actually. While English-speaking countries like America, Britain gain bigger


markets thanks to this trend, others are losing their profit. People of these
countries, unlike others, spare no money learning foreign courses and become
arrogant, believing that their languages and cultures are prevalent and superior
to others, rendering people of other nations the feeling of being discriminated
and subservient.
In brief, this trend reveals both good and bad sides, and each nation, along with
the effort to integrate into the global world by learning some common
languages, should be still acutely aware of preserving their mother tongue.