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English has been a global language for a long time. And I believe it is going to continue. Some people disagree with this. Maybe they are right. But today, I would like to share my perspective. 11 years ago I had just moved to China to settle down. When I went to university for a language course, everybody was saying that Chinese is the number one global language. Back then, if you watched TV, you would see advertisements that people from all over the world are trying to learn this great language. I thought to myself is it really like that! Then I started tutoring an Inner Mongolian student. He is a great musician. His parents wanted him to study abroad in an English speaking country after graduation. But the fact is that he hated learning English. Not just him, but almost all the students that I had hated the English language. I tried to talk to him that he`s got to do better or it will be very hard. When I told him this, he said I don`t have to learn English, because my Chinese is good enough. I could not believe what I had just heard. He believed that with his perfect Chinese, he was going to be okay. Perhaps he had seen those advertisements too. Chinese is a beautiful and important language. I don`t deny this fact. But Chinese as a global language..., I doubt that. People often get the wrong ideas because the information they got was not 100% true or they have very limited sources to find out what`s going on around the world. Today, almost all the information is in English. English has been recognised by people all over the world and spoken by many people. People travel without fear because most countries use English. Knowing English is useful when you travel the world for business study and pleasure. It is possible to access any information that you want in English online, while you travel. Let me mention a few examples. People around the world were able to access the internet fully because of English. When you search for something online, plenty of sources are in English. You can have many free resources only if use English. According to David Crystal in A History of the English Language, around 330 to 360 million people speak English as their first language. And 470 million to over 1 billion people speak English as their second language. Even English is the third common primary language after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, though there are over 50 English speaking countries in the world. Plus, many European countries have large English-speaking populations. I think every country requires its citizens to learn English at school. The other reason how English became a global language is international trade. English is also called as an international language, especially in the business world. Things never stay the same. Every country's business field is also extending. It tries to reach out to the world. All international job requirements include possessing good English knowledge. Even if you are skilled at your job, English is a must. If I try to name all the advantages of English it will be a long list. In Mongolian, we say books are the way to the whole world. I`d like to change it to become: English is the way to the world. I haven`t been to many English speaking countries, but I feel like I did with the help of the English language. You can stay without English or you can own it and embrace the world. Like my student, you can have very short, limited sources and stay, not knowing what`s around you. How did he get it so wrong? It was all there. The answer is simple. He can`t find out about that by himself. Someone has to help him to realise the fact. But it is hard to rely on someone to come and tell you what`s going on around the world. Instead, we can step out wherever we are, start using English just like everybody and be a citizen of the world.
