As experts in English language assessment, we love talking about learning English. Studying a second language can open up a world of possibilities for you. In this blog post, you’ll find out six reasons why we think learning English is worthwhile.

Let’s start with reason number one.

Friends on a boat trip – Communication with billions of people

1. Communication with billions of people

Travel the world and speak with the locals. You can travel almost anywhere in the world, and you will find people who you can communicate with. From asking for directions on the street, to ordering food in a restaurant, you can be confident you can communicate when you need to. The saying goes ‘the world is your oyster’, and this is all the more true for English language learners like you.

There are more than 1.4 billion first and second language English speakers. English is also an official language in 59 countries, and there are many more countries where it is widely used in education, government, business and lots more areas.

1.4 billion English language speakers

2. More study opportunities

Planning to study at university? Since January 2017, the number of English-speaking courses outside of Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA has increased by 77%.1 This means you’ve got even more options for your study destination.

Are you looking for a new job? Reason number three is for you…

Stand up meeting – Increase your career success

3. Increase your career success

Is it time for a career change or are you looking for new job opportunities? Perhaps you’re thinking about teaching English as a foreign language in Thailand? Or you’ve got the skills for a software engineering role in Canada? Whatever the job, there are lots of English-speaking opportunities available all over the world.

Not only can learning English help you secure a job, but it is also the most commonly used language in international business settings. Good English language skills are often required by employers, with up to 64% of job adverts listing English language proficiency as essential.2 English is used in meetings, emails, website coding, and communication with customers.

Our next reason is guaranteed to help you.

4. Finding information online

Around 52% of website content is in English,3 and that’s not even including social media! From researching for a university report, to looking for a new cooking recipe, you will find it easy to access and read content in English when online. You can also access English-speaking communities online for support with your work, study, and hobbies.

Want to improve your life skills? Our next reason will help you with this…

5. Prioritisation and multitasking

The potential skills you can gain from learning English (e.g. discipline, ambition) will benefit you in all aspects of your life, and will look great on your CV. Additionally, researchers have found that bilinguals (people who know more than one language) have greater prioritisation and multitasking skills.4

We hope you find inspiration with this one…

6. Unlimited possibilities

There are unlimited possibilities of things you can do once you have learned English. To name a few, there are more opportunities to make friends, join a club for something you’re interested in, read new book releases (often published in English first), and watch films without subtitles.

And finally, whatever your reason for learning English is, you will receive lifelong rewards in return.

*Article originally published  by ielts.org