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[The importance of English] English as a Second language or a foreign language The preparation of the Foreign Language Teacher The Characteristics of A good Teacher The characteristics of a good learner Theories and Methods of teaching The Steps of a Well-Balanced Lesson Today, it is internationally acknowledged that English has become the world’s most important language that is used as a medium for international communication. Quirk et al (1985) think that the importance of English stems from four factors. First, the number of native speakers of English is more than 300 million. Second, English is spoken over geographically dispersed areas about 1500 million people-- over a third of the world’s population-- live in countries where English is either the native language of the country or one of the native languages. Third, English is the language of great literatures and a primary means for the twentieth century science and technology. Fourth, English is the language of the United States of America, which has an enormous economic and political impact all over the world. The demand for English is great. Good jobs require candidates capable of speaking English fluently because it has become the international language of trade and business. English is needed for access to the world of computing worldwide. Most of the information stored in computers is in English. It is also the language of international aviation, shipping, sport and public communication. English is an assigned subject within the educational system of most Arab countries. English learners at the secondary school level are considerably increasing due to the rapid increase of the population. in the developing countries. Many students from different parts of the world travel to English-speaking countries to continue their higher education where English is the medium for their studies. With such importance attached to the English language, we should take into consideration, as teachers of English, its great advantages to our students both at school and university levels in Qatar. A moment’s reflection shows that students have not yet realized the importance and the impact of this language on other cultures. The researcher thinks that very few have realized the need to learn English for communicative purposes outside the classroom. They learn English, simply because the school system demands it as a settled subject in the curriculum. That is why they feel less motivated and less committed to learning it. University students are probably more willing to learn it for their academic purposes.
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