A question I am frequently asked is: Why do I need English?

 

1. In the year 2012 Ukraine is hosting the European Football Championship. Foreigners from all over the world will come to Kiev. Thus Kiev must provide them with English speaking taxi drivers, receptionists, maids, waiters, shop assistants, street cleaners, police officers, bus drivers, cashiers, hairdressers, beauty salon workers etc. If your profession is not in this list, it’s just because I forgot it. No matter what your job is, one day someone will ask you a question in English.
2. More and more Ukrainian companies involve foreign investments, become joint ventures, and are sold to foreign owners. Your new employers will expect you to communicate in English. You may ask though why can’t they learn Russian or Ukrainian? The answer is simple: English is the “language of business” If you want to be in the game, you must learn the rules.
3. Speaking English well helps you to travel to different countries and be able to communicate with people of other nationalities.
4. If you want to find a more paying job you need to have a high level of English since it is one of the main requirements for job applicants.
5. If you want to marry a foreigner, English needs to be mastered first since one needs to communicate in order to get to know the other person better.
6. Knowing English will give more opportunities to your business, e.g. If  you own a restaurant and provide an English menu it’ll attract foreign customers, if your servers speak English – the customers leave the restaurant satisfied and there is a high chance they will return and recommend the restaurant to their friends.