English is the lingua franca (common language) in fields such as international business, computer science, academia, and medicine. More than half the websites in the world are in English. Whether you travel to another country or not, you will have noticed the prevalence of English.

If English isn’t your strongest subject, it is worth putting in the effort to boost your fluency for the reasons below and more:

If you want to study or work in technology or computer science

English is the most commonly used language for programming and software development. Most resources on programming on the internet are in English. To collaborate with others and to learn new programming languages requires using English.

If you want to study science

At university, sciences are often taught in English and/or rely heavily on technical terms in English. To further your career, you may also need to have a level of English fluency to be able to learn from textbooks, journals, researchers and other scientists.

If you want to be a researcher

If you want to be a researcher and work in academia, you will find that the most famous research journals are in English, meaning to get your work noticed by a wider audience, you will need to use English. In addition, most research papers are published in English, meaning that to read the latest advances in research or to read past research, will require English.

If you want to be a doctor

Although when you visit a doctor in Hong Kong, the doctor can speak to you in Cantonese (though they will often also be fluent in English) and give you a diagnosis in Cantonese, most medical terms are in English and can reveal more details and information about the illness. When you study at university, English is the language of instruction at most medical schools and will be the language used to teach medicine, even if you use your native language to communicate with patients. You will also need to research using English terms, for example, to find out about rare diseases.

If you want to work in aviation

If you have an interest in flying, you will need to use ‘Aviation English’ to communicate with other pilots and air traffic controllers. Aviation English uses a specific set of terminology and phrases to minimise misunderstandings and miscommunications. It is based on English, therefore proficiency in English will enable you to learn Aviation English easily.

 

Other industries that require a high level of English, or in which English gives an advantage, include finance, business, tourism and hospitality. English allows you to communicate with people from around the world to conduct business or provide a service.

 

If you are worried about your standard of English, don’t hesitate to learn. At i-Learner, we teach school-aged students as well as adults. Contact us for more information on our offerings.