Why is English considered as second language?

Answer 1

The English language is not a second or foreign language. But it is the first language to learn, or, in some cases around the world, it is the second language to learn after the native language, for exmaple, of China or France. It is a foreign language to the rest of the world because they have never heard someone speak it, so it's kinda like for us when someone speaks Swahili.

Answer 2

For millions of people, English is their first language, their mother-tongue.

For for many millions more, their first language, their mother-tongue, is not English.

For example, there are many people who were born in the middle of China. Their parents were Chinese, and everyone around them speaks only the local Chinese language. They have no need to speak any other language. However, if someone from that community decides to live or study in an English-speaking country e.g. Australia, and if they really want to be able to communicate in English, and they learn English, then, to them, English would become their second language.

In English-speaking countries, 'English' is taught as a required school subject. The children don't need to learn how to speak English, they can already do this. They are probably already very good at communicating in English. Maybe they have been doing so since the age of two! So, as a school subject, 'English' is taught so that youngsters can understand and use their own language, their first language, better.

However, if someone who is not English wants to learn 'English', they do not want to study it as a school subject, but want to know how to speak it, how to write it, and what the written words they read, and the spoken sounds they hear, mean!

So, for these people who already speak another language which would be their 'first' language, they need to learn, not " 'English' as a school subject", but how to communicate in 'English, as a second language', i.e. in addition to their native tongue.

Learning English as a school subject is an 'academic' matter, but speaking in English is a physical and mental skill.

Learning English as a second language involves learning how to listen, speak/pronounce, read and write. A learner will acquire a whole new vocabulary, and rhythms of speech that they have never heard before. The will also gradually learn a new grammar structure which will be quite foreign to the way they normally use words.

They will learn all the nuances and subtleties of the new language, English, and all the different ways things can be said in order to communicate shades of meaning. They will learn how to be polite in English! And they will learn what to avoid, so as not to give offence! A learner of English will also learn English culture and social customs, and thus become better equipped to fit in with the society in which they have chosen to live.

Answer 3

English is considered as second language for people whose first language is not English. For people who have been primarily speaking English since they were little, English is their first language.

Answer 4

60 percent of the world's population uses English as a second language or third language. Part of that percentage can also include people who use it primarily but it is not their native language.

Answer 5

English is a widely spoken second language (but not first language) in many countries, including:

1. Germany
   
2. Philippines
   
3. Malaysia
   
4. Nigeria
   
5. Pakistan
   
6. Sri Lanka
   
7. India
   
8. Brazil
   
9. Netherlands
   
10. Norway
    
11. Denmark
    
12. Sweden
    
13. Iceland
    
14. Israel