If you have thought of those questions before, you have entered the correct blog, as I will be answering those questions from my own perspectives and if by anyway I offend you I am truly sorry. Before I go into writing the blog, talking about English Language, I would like to thank you for coming into my blog page.
I personally live Singapore and I am a Singaporean. You might know that the common language used in Singapore is English and this is because Singapore was once under the British. English is my first language and I use it almost every time of my life except for Mandarin class. Talking about Mandarin class, it is a compulsory subject in my school therefore it became my second language. Though it sound bad to make a language compulsory in school, it turned out really well, considering that China’s economy is booming and it is predicted that Mandarin will be widely used in the future and I use it quite often to communicate with my older relatives.
Being a monolingual or a bilingual is better?
As mentioned before I am a bilingual, I speak both English and Mandarin. My comments whether you should be a monolingual or a bilingual? To be honest, everything new you learn is always hard, and same goes for language, you will only get the hang of it when you do or use it regularly. Just like me, I use both English and Mandarin all the time with my relatives, my friends and many other people. That’s what make me get the hang of both English and Mandarin. If you are not afraid of trying, it will be easier, plus always try to add in some fun to what you are learning because it makes the journey much better. I personally recommend that you should learn a second language if you are considering to.
Below are some of my comments (based on my own experience or my perspectives) on learning a second language:
English:
Firstly, learning English as a second language is the best decision you can ever choose. English is a universal language, it is widely used in both developed and developing countries. From my experience to Siem Reap, Cambodia, I was welcomed by residents there with the language English. They didn't even try another langage all they did was simples sentences like 'Welcome to Siem Reap.' and 'Hope you enjoy you stay'. Though the words spoken by them were not clear, it was still understandable.
Secondly, many books and resources are written in English and translated into English, if you know the language English it will be a benefit to you as you do not need to know all sort of languages, like French, Spanish etc., in order to finish reading a book or do your school research project.
Lastly, many companies are using English as a way of communication in offices. This is because there are employees coming from different countries and English is a universal language. When I pay a visit to my parent's office, they do use English as a way of communication even though most of them knows how to speak either Mandarin or Cantonese, this is because they are considerate to those who do not understand or speak both Mandarin or Cantonese. If you learn English now, you will benefit as when you grow older you will not need to spend time learning and working in an area that is surrounded by people who speaks English.
Mandarin:
As I have mentioned before, China's economy is booming and more and more industries are set up in China. Even you, when you grow up, you might have a chance of working in China, therefore Mandarin is really important. Even some presidents of foreign countries start learning Mandarin and giving speeches in Mandarin as they know that China will become bigger and soon or later they will have to 'partner' with China.
Many areas in China do not know how to speak the language English. They may only know Cantonese, Fu Jian etc. Therefore if you want to go there for work or travel, you need to know the language Mandarin. Just like myself, when I pay a visit to Mainland China, they do not know English like Cambodia. All they do is try to communicate with me with their sign languages or using their calculator to show me the price of goods. Which I think is rather ridiculous.
What I have to say
From what I have gone through since a young age, I strongly recommend that if you want to learn a second language and if you do not know the language English or Mandarin you should go and learn it. US's economy is one of the top few and China's economy is booming right now, soon the universal language in this world will be English and Mandarin. Besides with the language English, you can practically work any where on Earth as most of the companies, as mentioned before, use English as a way of communicating.
What I have to say
From what I have gone through since a young age, I strongly recommend that if you want to learn a second language and if you do not know the language English or Mandarin you should go and learn it. US's economy is one of the top few and China's economy is booming right now, soon the universal language in this world will be English and Mandarin. Besides with the language English, you can practically work any where on Earth as most of the companies, as mentioned before, use English as a way of communicating.
