It coincides with William Shakespeare’s birthday and World Book and
Copyright Day. English Language Day aims to entertain and inform people about
the history, culture and achievements associated with the language. The day often
features book-reading events, English quizzes, poetry and literature exchanges,
and other activities that promote the English language. English is one of the
two working languages of the UN Secretariat and one of the organization’s six
official languages. English is often referred to as a "world
language", or the lingua franca (bridge language or common
language used by speakers of different languages) of the modern era because it
is widely spoken. The UN first celebrated English Language Day on April 23,
2010. For a language that was used by only 3 tribes about 1500 years ago,
English has official or special status in at least 75 countries with a total
population of over two billion. It has three-times more non-native speakers
than native speakers. No other language comes close to matching that, and it is
that that makes English global. It is the modern lingua franca, the language
used by the Russians to talk to the Nigerians, the Germans to talk to the
Spanish, the Chinese to talk to the Brazilians…
What activities can you offer to celebrate English Language Day?
