English is a language     1    (speak) all around the world. There are more than 40 countries     2    most of the people speak English. What's more, the number of people who learn English     3    (be) more than 750 million. Everywhere in the world children go to school     4    (learn) English. Most people learn English for five or six years at high school. In China, most students learn English at school     5    a foreign language.

In only fifty years, English     6    (develop) into the language most     7    (wide) used in the world. English is the working language of most international     8    (organize), International trade and tourism. Businessmen and tourists often come to China without being able to speak Chinese. Chinese businessmen, taxi drivers and students talk with them using English. You can listen to English songs through the Internet. With so many people     9    (communicate) in English every day, it will become more and more important to have     10    good knowledge of English.

Thousands of us are eager to learn English well; many of us also dream of shining on stage as actors or actresses. But how about combining the two? Yes, act in English!

Wang Peihan,     1     student from Yunnan Secondary School,     2     (give) a part in the drama of King Lear. The young boy     3     (careful) watched the 2008 TV film version of the play over and over again,     4     enabled him to become an “expert” in this classic masterpiece. Learning     5     the actor Ian McKellen as Lear of the film, Wang understood King Lear’s character very well. “So the key point of my     6     (perform) is emotional expression,” he said.

However, the acting of a professional actor wasn’t always a help. It also put the students under pressure. “It was important not to be     7     (lose) in the famous film. We wrote some of the lines by     8     (we). It was both a challenge and encouragement     9     (use) our own language skills,” Wang explained.

By acting in English, the students not only have a fun time     10     (practise) English, but also gain insight into the beauty of different cultures.

Learning     1     new language is not easy, but a Chinese in Washington D.C. says he knows how to make it less     2     (difficulty). Li Lei, teaching Chinese to children, says, “The magic key to     3     (teach) a language is culture.”

Li came to Washington D.C. through the State Department’s Teachers of Critical Language Programme, which brings teachers from China and Egypt to America. One of the goals of the programme is     4     (help) American students learn Chinese and Arabic.

The programme helps the teachers and students learn about the cultures of other     5    (country). Li says learning languages helps students learn     6     (much) about the world. Spanish is the native language of many of Li’s students at Cooke Elementary School, so many of     7       (they) are learning English and Chinese at the same time.

Li     8     (explore) the local Chinese community and many other cultures in Washington D.C. so far. He says the children at the school, some of     9     are as young as five years old, might not remember all of the Chinese characters he teaches them, and that they might even forget his name. But he hopes that they will always remember him     10     a teacher they like and respect.