Teach English in Baidi Chengfeng Jingqu Guanli Weiyuanhui - Chongqing

English As A Global LanguageWhen Captain Christopher Newport found the first English colony in the New World in 1607, it is unlikely he could have imagined the unprecedented expansion in the use of the English language worldwide. Britains growth as a colonial power between the 17th and 19th centuries was responsible for the spread of the English language throughout her dominions in Africa, Oceania, the Americas and Asia. The post World War II economic boom that bestowed superpower status upon the USA, along with its popular culture, meant that as the British Empire went into decline, the language became ever more important in the modern world. Today English is spoken by 370 million native speakers. It is an official language of 53 countries spanning 6 continents, the official language of the E.U. and one of six official languages of the U.N. English is the lingua franca in the worlds of business, IT and diplomacy making it a highly regarded skill in the careers industry. The number of people who speak English as a second language is said to out number native speakers by 3 to 1 with maybe as many as 1 billion people, making English the third most commonly spoken language in the world and a truly global language. In my own experiences of travel in Europe and Asia, I have seen first hand and come to appreciate the universal appeal of English. An overwhelming amount of the people I meet wish to learn English. Some want to have better career opportunities, some would like a better understanding of the world through reading foreign literature and web pages and conversing with people from around the world. For some they simply wish to be able to travel with more confidence or to better appreciate English language movies and music. Hika Suzuki, a japanese law graduate and avid traveller states: ?I love learning languages but I think English is the most important, because with English I can go anywhere and have so many more opportunities. I want to work for the U.N. one day and help to improve the lives of children in developing nations and without English I would be very restricted in what I can do? Hy Sokim, regional manager for a telecommunications company in cambodia says: ?English is number one; people everywhere speak English. I use it in my work and using the internet and watching foreign movies. I?ve started learning chinese this year but English is more important. If I had to choose English or chinese I would choose English.? In Japan, a country where English is not commonly spoken, the language has a fashionable appeal and is ubiquitous in the marketing of consumer goods. Using English bestows a certain degree of ?cool? upon japanese youths who delight in throwing English words and phrases into conversation. In china people waste no time in approaching Western tourists to practice their English skills, and all over Asia children as young as 3 or 4 gleefully shout ?hello? at passing foreigners. Some argue that with the rise of china coinciding with the downturn in the US economy, English may one day be usurped as the worlds language of communication in favour of mandarin. In the period of 2000 - 2004 the amount of students in the UK taking mandarin as an A-level rose by 57%. British linguist David Gaddol, says that English is now so common that it just isn?t giving people the edge it once did. I?ve certainly encountered a lot of business graduates with mandarin, both from Western and Asian backgrounds but it is unlikely English will fade away any time soon. English is still revered as a language in china, with a certain amount of status associated with speaking English. The demand for native english speakers to teach in china far outweighs supply. Added to this, the emerging economy of India with 53% of its 1.1 billion population speaking English as a second or third language, it seems likely this will counter the rise of mandarin and ensure English maintains its position as the worlds primary international language.