There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world. But only a few of them are very important.English is one of these.Many people use it,not only in England and the USA,but also in other parts of the world.About 200,000,000 people speak it as their own language.It is difficult to say how many peopie are learning it as a foreign language.Many millions of people are trying to do so.Is it easy or difficult to learn English?Different people may have different answers.Have you ever noticed ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines?"Learn English in six weeks,or give your money back...","easy and funny...","Our records and tapes help you master English in a month".Of course,it never happened quite like this. The only language that seems easy to learn is t11e mother tongue.We should remember that we all learned our own language well when we were children.If we could 1ea m English in the same way,it would not seem so difficult.Think of what a small child does.He 1istens lo what people say.He tries what he hears. So,it is hard to say that learning English is easy.We must do a Iot ofpractice.And practice needs great effort and takes much time.Good teachers,records,tapes,books,and dictionaries will be helpful,but they cannot do the student's work for him. How does the writer like the ads in the newspapers or magazines?
He thinks the ads very expensive. He thinks the ads are true. It never happened quite like what the ads said. He believes"Learn English in six weeks,or give your money back."