The Juggernaut Called English

Today, English is the primary language for international communication. At this point in time, more people speak English than have ever spoken a single language in the history of the world. It’s the dominant language in business, banking, industry, commerce, transportation, tourism, sports, diplomacy, advertising, music and so on. We even measure the relative development of a nation in terms of its access to science through English.

Today, English doesn’t belong to any one culture, but instead carries the cultural heritage of all the people and communities who use English every day. But, despite all that, the demand for English is far above the supply. Though governments pour resources into giving its citizens better access to English, there is still more work to be done. There are probably not enough native speaking teachers to help satisfy this demand, and that’s where non-native speaking teachers must step in.

Source: Peter Medgyes, “’The juggernaut called English”, The Non-Native Teacher