My mom made me study English in school which I resisted very much and as it turned out in vain. In the University it taught me English all the same but without my resistance. So, now I correct my views and want to escape from this failure to other people.
a) access to a lot of information
Current century is a century of information and so it’s important to navigate in the information field and find necessary information. English speakers are 1,35 billion people (in compare to 0,5 bln Russian speakers), so you can reach a lot more information on some topics, especially which topics are not covered in Russia well like business or social sciences.
b) access to well-paid jobs in West world
The West economy is still the leading one while the Russian economy stagnates for more than one decade. So, some cool things are accessible only in the West (deep science, unicorn startups, big sport, etc.). Even the same things in the West you can do with more prospects and comfort (but some not, after all it’s not a panacea). Also, the experience of living in a different country is just interesting.
c) access to great education
Unfortunately, Russia left its positions in education and so for great education we have to move to the West.
d) feeling of self-development
Learning English could give you a feeling of self-improvement and self-development without rushes but with pleasure and usefulness.
- China leads the world, so you need to study Chinese.
> Knowing more than 2 languages is of course great, but in a world of constrained resources I advise you to choose English and not Chinese. China gradually is closing the doors which is not unique for their history, and it could undermine their role in the global economy. Also there are strong political tensions between the West and China which also weaken China first. In addition to the above, Chinese culture is very unique and it’s hard to get used to life there I guess.
General advice which can really work is practice a lot and that’s it. How can you practice different areas of English?
Listening. I watched a lot of YouTube videos in English with English subtitles on interesting topics. It’s really fun and useful to train your listening but for that you need to understand subtitles (maybe it can be done with evolution like Russian subtitles > English subtitles > without subtitles, who knows - I start with English subtitles:)
Speaking. Of course, the best way to practice that is to speak with native speakers. Fortunately, I hoped to do that in my participation in the RYEP program in the US. Other sources: travel in English-spoken countries. In your homeland you can find an English-speaker (especially in Moscow) and talk with her. Also there are digital helpers which connect you with native speakers for chats like HelloTalk.
Reading. Also it’s good to read in English some material… I read in the University papers on economics, now I read startup-related information on the Web for work. Unfortunately, I didn’t start to read books in English.
Writing. Here I guess you need more fundamental education like school/university, additional courses, tutor or textbooks. Besides English lessons in school (also with a tutor) and university I started to prepare for the IELTS test with Magoosh. Maybe good practice is to write English texts for some purposes (scientific papers, blogs or whatever).
All in all, after choosing to study English don’t forget about satisfaction - it is also important! So, enjoy!