the total number of english speakers in the world is estimated to be about 460 million-second only to mandarin chinese. english is the second language of india, south africa and many parts of africa and asia. but – more and more- it is also the language of international commerce, of business, of diplomacy and of tourism. one out of five of the world’s population have some degree of competency in english.
the majority of international trade and commerce, and most international communications, use english. the importance of american internationa corporations has positioned english as the international language of business; and hollywood and the music industry have make sure that is stays thhe principal language for the media and showbiz.
two-thirds of scientists throughout the world read in english. 75% of the mail in the world is written in english, and 80% of the information stored electronically is in english. most users of the internet do so in english.
by the year xx, it is estimated than more than 1,100,000,000 people will be learning english.
a ba in english is a sound basis for many careers in teaching, in diplomacy, in international business, in journalism.
so we can see that the english language is growing both in popularity and opportunity. in china, english is a highly sought after skill, and those who possess it have numerous choices and opportunities to take advantage of. to make use of the limitless resources available, and to take advantage of new opportunities as china becomes a powerful world player, english skills are absolutely vital.
by g