What do we need foreign languages for?

It is known that people have been learning foreign languages for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians learned the Greek language 2.5 thousand years ago. In the 12-th century the French language was learnt in many countries of Europe. In the 16-th century Europe begin to study the German language. In the 19-th century the nobility of different countries communicated in French again. Throughout the history of the mankind people needed some second language to understand each other. Nowadays, the English language is the most widespread in the world. Approximately 400 million people speak English as a mother tongue. The English language has become a world language in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. It is the language of computer technology. Half of the world scientific journals are in English. It is absolutely necessary for a good specialist in any country to be able at least to read English. If you know English, you can talk to people of any nationality, and can get necessary information anywhere in the world. Besides, the English language is the language of the great literature. William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Show, they all wrote their books in English. A lot of modern literature and many new films in English come out every year. If you know English, you can understand them without translation. No wonder that most educated people speak English fluently. Today, one person in seven of the world's population either knows English or learns it.