First of all let me introduce myself. My name is Taras. I'm seventeen years old. I'm at 11-th grade. There are two more kids in the family besides me my elder brother Oleg and my younger sister Marija

The English Language
English is spoken practically all over the world. It is spoken as the mother tongue in Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A lot of people speak English in China, Japan, India, Africa and other countries. It is one of 6 official languages of the United Nations. It is studied as a foreign language in many schools. England's history helps to understand the present condition of English. Many English words were borrowed from the language of Angles and Saxons. Hundreds of French words came into English. These French words didn't crowd out corresponding Anglo-Saxon words. There exist "act" and "deed", "beautiful" and "pretty", "form" and "shape".
Many new words were brought by traders and travellers. These words came from all parts of the world: "umbrella" — from Italian, "skates" — from Batch, "tea" — from Chinese, "cigar" - from Spanish. Some words came into English directly from Latin, which was the language of the church and the universities in the Middle Ages. Some of the English words of today are derivatives. One way of creating new words is to put together two or more older English words. For example, the words "railway", "football", "newspaper" are made in this way. Many of the new English words — especially new scientific ones — have been made from Latin and Greek words instead of English ones. "Telephone" for instance, was made from Greek words "far" and "talk".
Questions: 1. In what countries is English spoken as the mother tongue? 2. From what languages are some English word borrowed? 3. Did French words crowd out corresponding AngloSaxon ones? 4. What English words that came from all parts of the world do you know? 5. Why are there so many words with Latin roots in English language? 6. What ways of creating new words do you know?


How do I Learn English
Nowadays it's very necessary to know a foreign language
Knowledge of foreign language helps us to develop friendship and understanding among people. The total number of languages in the world is from 2500 to 5000. English is spoken all over the world and very popular. There is a proverb: "Knowledge is Power." I agree with it. I study English, because I want to read English books of great writers in origin. I want to communicate with people from different countries, I v/ant to understand their culture and traditions. I like to travel. Speaking English I can travel anywhere, because more than 1 billion people speak English. I have э pen-friend abroad. She lives in Sweden. I have much fun writing letters to my Swedish friend. How do I learn English? First of all I read a lot. There is always an Engilsh book on my desk. I'm trying to learn few new words every day. To remember words better I put them into groups. For example: believe — believer — belief — disbe-lieve. I listen to songs in English and try to recognize the words. I have some tapes and video-tapes in English. I like to watch different satellite TV programs in English. I like studying English.
Questions: 1. Why is it necessary to speak English? 2. Is it difficult for you to learn English? 3. Is English popular now? 4. How do you learn English? 5. Do you like studying English?