Old English or Anglo-Saxon (450 – 100)

The English language traces its origins to three invading Germanic tribes that
arrived in Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes came from what we
now know as Denmark and the northern part of Germany.
At that time, the inhabitants of Great Britain spoke some of the Celtic
languages; but most of these people were forced to move after the invasion to
Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
Old English has nothing to do with the current one; however, it laid the
foundation for it and provided essential words for communication such as
"be", "strong" and "water".

Middle English (1100 – 1500)

With the Viking invasion, Old English was mixed with Old Norse, the
language of the Viking tribes. English includes more than 2,000 words from
this language.
The Norman invasion established French as the language of royalty and
people of power. The use of Old English was relegated to peasants and lower
class people. Despite the situation, however, Old English continued to evolve
and grow with the adoption of large numbers of Latin and French words.

Modern English (1500 – 1800)

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, after the Hundred Years War against
France, which marked the end of French domination of the British Isles, the
English language once again occupied the role of the language of influence
and power.

Late Modern English (1800 – present)

The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English
is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words thanks to the
industrial revolution and the expansion of the language globally and its use as
a language of communication in the scientific field.
Benefits of speaking English in the age of globalization
In an increasingly globalized world, speaking English is more than an ability
to improve your resume or an additional competitive advantage: it is a
necessity to be able to communicate and access the job market. At the same
time, it opens the doors to more experiences, for example, of a cultural nature.
With this in mind, we present the advantages of knowing how to speak
English.

Job Benefits
As the Randstad data shows, mastering English increases the chances of
getting a job by up to 37%. And it is that those people who have knowledge in
English not only have the possibility of working outside their country of
origin, but they can also hold work conversations with foreign people and thus
expand their market and area of influence.

Educational Advantages
Speaking English also facilitates the opportunity to study abroad. In this way,
students opt for a greater number of educational opportunities. In addition, it
allows access to all kinds of information available in English. In fact, more
than 70% of the evidenced and accepted scientific bibliography worldwide is
written in English.

Tourist and Cultural Advantages

It should be noted the importance of English to be able to travel to various
destinations. On the one hand, it facilitates the possibility of meeting people
from other cultures. On the other, it is essential to communicate, since it is
easy to find English-speaking people among the staff working in tourist
destinations around the world.
Advantages for Personal Development
Finally, speaking English is also an important tool for personal development.
In this sense, studies carried out in recent years have found that learning a
language promotes greater brain development, improving memory, the ability
to concentrate and multitasking skills. In addition, it can delay the onset of
neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's.

Essential classics of English literature

Wuthering Heights
Heathcliff is a young orphan, without money or education. Catherine is a
capricious girl who, although she falls in love with him, prefers not to marry a
man who is not in her same social rank. However, Heathcliff decides to take
revenge on her by marrying another woman. The only novel by the writer
Emily Brontë, published in 1847, portrays the romantic tradition of the 19th
century and, although in its day it was vilified by critics, it is a story that also
draws on the Gothic genre since among the very love story cruelty appears
between the characters accompanied by moonless nights and even a nightmare
atmosphere. The translation of this edition was carried out by the writer
Carmen Martín Gaite.

Big hopes
In this work by Charles Dickens published in 1861, the writer's penultimate,
Pip is a young orphan who lives in Kent with his sister and brother-in-law,
whom he helps in his blacksmith shop. One day, Miss Havisham, a wealthy
woman, proposes that he be her companion, both for her and for her daughter.
'Infiltrator' in a world of rich people, Pip wants to fight to climb the social
level as soon as possible, and the opportunity seems to present itself when a
lawyer informs him that an anonymous benefactor wants to turn him into a
gentleman.

Mr. Jim
Jim is an idealistic boy who is part of the crew of the Patna, a ship that
transports 800 pilgrims to Mecca. One night, the steam shipwrecks and the
crew leaves the ship without helping the pilgrims. Ashamed and feeling guilty
for what he has done, he begins an odyssey in the Malay jungle, earning the
affection and respect of the natives. There begins a new life dedicated entirely
to the sea. Published in 1900, in this adventure by Joseph Conrad there are
Homemeric overtones, in which the moral drama is always present, although
with human heroes who err in their actions.