I.C.E. Club – Madagascar

Learning to speak English well may be the best thing you can do to improve your life.

That’s right. Do you think it would be fun to have access to information that other people can’t get? Talk and write letters to interesting people that others can’t communicate with? Impress people around you whenever you opened your mouth? Make big jumps in your career, leaving others miles behind?

You can get all this if you speak English well.

What are you interested in? Is it science? Music? Computers? Health? Business? Sports? Today’s media — such as the Internet, television, and the press — give you almost unlimited access to knowledge about your favorite subjects. After all, we live in the information age, don’t we?

There’s only one problem. Most of this knowledge is in English.

Here are some examples of knowledge you can use if you know English:

· Most pages on the Web . That’s over a billion (1,000,000,000) pages of information! It’s amazing that learning just one language gives you access to almost all knowledge on the Internet.

· Books — on any subject, from all over the world. Read books by British or American authors, and books translated from other languages. Whatever you’re interested in, you can read about it in English!

· The press . Only English-language magazines and newspapers can be bought in every part of the world. You don’t have to search for Time, Newsweek, or the International Herald Tribune!

· News reports . Watch international television networks, such as CNN International and NBC. They broadcast news much faster, and more professionally, than smaller, national networks. And you can watch them everywhere in the world.

We like to call English “the language of communication”. Why? Because it seems all the people in the world have agreed to use English to talk to each other.

· About 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English. Another 1,000,000,000 are learning it.

· 75% of the world’s letters and postcards are written in English.

· Almost all international conferences and competitions are conducted in English. For example, the Olympics and the Miss World contest.

· Diplomats and politicians from different countries use English to communicate with each other. English is the main language of organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and the European Free Trade Association.

If you can communicate in English, you can:

· Contact people from all over the world . Talk about your ideas and opinions on Internet discussion groups. Send e-mail to interesting people. Learn about their life and culture.

· Travel more easily . Communicate with people wherever you go — English is spoken in more than 100 countries (source). Ask directions, have a conversation, or… ask for help. Who knows, maybe English will save your life someday!

If you want a good job in business, technology, or science, get out of that armchair and start learning English now! (If you already have a good job, start learning before you lose it!)

Knowing English will let you:

· Put “excellent knowledge of English” on your CV . Get your dream job, and earn more money.

· Gain technical knowledge . English is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer science, genetics, and medicine. If you’re going to read about technology, you’ll probably have to do it in English.

· Be a world-class businessman (or -woman). It’s simple. International business is done in English. And all business today is international. So if you want to play, you have to know English — to contact other businesspeople, go to conferences, read international business newspapers and magazines, etc.

· Use your computer more effectively . Most computer applications are in English, so you will understand them better — and become a better employee.

English is not only the most useful language in the world. It is also one of the easiest languages to learn and to use:

· English is everywhere . You can easily access English-language television, music, websites, magazines, etc. You don’t have to learn from boring textbooks. You can learn and use your English at the same time. Using your English is especially important because it increases your desire to learn.

Aren’t you convinced yet? English is your key to the universe and you are the door. The ICE Club is on the other side of the door, pulling you through.

Come to the ICE meeting this Saturday at 10am at EPP Analakely, Room 11 and see for yourself.