Skills in any language are important, but skills in English can be one of the most impactful for creating new opportunities in your career and your personal life. English is the most widely-used language globally, spoken by 1.5 billion people from all over the world. Moreover, the vast majority of these people aren’t native English speakers. Instead, they’ve learned the language precisely because it is so commonly used, and thus helpful for understanding global culture and making connections with people from all over the world.

Indeed, English is truly a “lingua franca,” defined by Oxford Dictionary as “a language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.”

There are complex historical reasons behind the establishment of English as the world’s common tongue, including the global trade networks of the vast English empire and England’s requirement that colonies like India speak the language. The subsequent ascendance of the United States as the world’s largest economy and perhaps its most influential culture has only reinforced this status, as American English has become the main language not only of business but of technology, the internet, music, movies, television, and more.

Thus, regardless of whether you are a native English speaker or have learned it (or are currently learning it) as a second language, you can always benefit from improving your skills in this common tongue. It opens up the world more than any other language, whether for traveling through English-speaking countries like the United States and England or for working in tourism and hospitality in other countries.

English proficiency can also be a vital asset for your communications skills for business, particularly if you work in tech or other global industries. And even as a native speaker, you can always improve the clarity and concision of your writing, which can improve everything from your emails to your job prospects in publishing.‎