English is without a doubt the actual universal language" said Carlos Carrion Torres of Brazil.

While English is not an

official language in most countries, it is the language most often taught as a second language. English is most widely
used in communicating around the world. The information that the researchers gathered about communication and
English made them realize that the two terminologies must be always together. Good communication creates a good
ambience and relationship between everyone in every organization especially if it is inside a business while English is
now required in every company.
Language is now considered a skill, in fact, big companies both in Sri Lanka and abroad look for. The importance of
the English language in the workplace continues to be a top concern among employers in Sri Lanka, a study reveals.
To every business entity, productivity is of utmost importance. A landslide majority of 95% of employers believed that
better English would improve the productivity of employees, as opposed to the 5% who don't. It was not surprising
then to find that 66% of employers have turned down applicants due to a bad command of English while a further
26% would do so if necessary.
But how do employers screen through new hires on their command of the English language? Screening via phone
interviews and resume slips come in at 36% and 53% respectively. The most popular method by far however is to
screen a new hire's English through a face-to-face interview (84%).
Why learning English is important
Around the world, there is an estimated 1 Billion people learning English. Many factors point to the reason why
learning English has seen exponential growth in recent years, but it all boils down to the English language being the
"global language" of business, politics, international relations, culture, and entertainment for so many countries
worldwide. And that is just an understatement as in fact, while English is not an official language in many countries
worldwide, it is the language most often taught as a foreign or second language.

The English language has spread to many parts of the world. The increase in the number of those
learning it and using it has been the most striking example of language expansion in this
century [1]. It has become the most important international language and is the most commonly
taught second or foreign language in the world. Recent facts from the Internet show that there are
about 780 million users of English of whom about 380 million are native speakers, about 300
million are second language speakers, and about 100 million are foreign language speakers [2].
John Adams in Kachru [3] made a prediction about the English language that eventually came
true. He said that English would be the most respectable language in the world and the most
universally read and spoken in the century. This prediction was made in the 19th century and in
this 21st century, it has become a reality. Sources from the British Council suggest that English is
used in over 70 countries as an official or semiofficial language, and by the year 2000 it was
estimated that over one billion people were learning English. Why is English given so much
importance in so many countries? According to Kachru [4], English is often learned because of

its literary heritage and the status accorded to the reader or speaker. Furthermore, it opens doors
to technology, science, trade, and diplomacy.
English as an international language is the most widespread medium of worldwide
communication [5]. According to Smith [6], it is the principal language of international politics,
commerce, technology, and aid as well as the language of science and technology. Smith further
claims that as an international language, it is not bound to any one culture, and priority is given
to communication. There is also no need for nonnative users of English to sound like the native
speaker, but simply to use language, which is appropriate, acceptable and intelligible [6]. Thus,
English is learnt because of the many benefits which it is able to give its learners.

In terms of its sociolinguistic status and domains of usage, English is still widespread and deeply
rooted in the country, mostly in urban environments. Bilingualism and multilingualism in
English, Malay, and further ethnic languages are common. English still holds a very strong
position in interethnic communication. The mesolect is the variety that is used for intranational
communication between Malaysians of varying ethnicity, as a medium of local communication .
English is widely available for daily exposure and easy acquisition, with respect to passive
language skills. It is readily accessible in the mass media, through radio, TV, and newspapers. It
is noted that 31.6 percent of all radio listeners listen to English radio stations. English is also
acquired naturally, even though passively, by children in the kampungs through watching popular
TV blockbusters. She claims that they tend to understand the English TV programs well even if
they cannot speak in English. Some early, informal acquisition of English also operates through
the influence of elder siblings even in non-English speaking families. And finally, the fact that
basilectal English is also used by blue-collar workers, as shown by Morais and others, testifies to
the range of informal domains into which Malaysian English has diffused.