Teach English in Qing'An Zhen - Xuzhou Shi

Four years ago, being asked this question by a young woman at the back of the room in a group of around 100 Indonesian students. All were in their final month of exams, and if successful, the results in their exams would enable the Indonesian students to obtain a *non-traditional career, working on a cruise liner or a five star hotel. (*Traditional careers would include working in a rice field, or working in a small shop known as a Warung) The statistics have changed since then. English used to be the fourth most spoken or common language in the world, and now, upon researching this subject again to ensure accuracy for this question, I can see that English has moved up to the number two position in only four years. English is now the second most spoken language in the world. Before we can answer the question “Is English the truly global language?” we need to answer the question “what are the most spoken languages and and perhaps why?” *The 10 most spoken languages are: 1) Mandarin Chinese (1.1 billion) 2) English (983 million) 3) Hindustani (544 million) 4) Spanish (527 million) 5) Arabic (422 million) 6) Malay (281 million) 7) Russian (267 million) 8) Bangali (261 million) 9) Portuguese (229 million) 10) French (229 million) When you see the top 10 spoken languages in the world laid out in order like this, you may get some surprises. It is estimated that right now in China on the 4th of March 2020, the latest United Nations data shows there is 1,439,323,776 people in China alone, which is equivalent to 18.47% of the world’s population. Obviously, China has the population to be number one in the Chinese Mandarin language at the moment. However, with the every increasing demand for the English language in business globally, there is also an ever increasing demand to learn English; the Chinese themselves are taking up English is huge numbers. The reason English has been referred to as a global language in the past is because of the reach of the English language, and not in one concentrated area, as in the Chinese statistic above. However, just because a language is the most commonly used, does that answer the question “Is English the truly global language?” Let’s break down the question and look at where the student was coming from as well. Is English 'the' truly global language? The student was coming from a place of “Why should I learn this English language… convince me?” which is rare culturally for an Indonesian student to question the authority out loud of what we are affectionately known as in Indonesia - “bule”. This was encouraging, as it probably answered the question of most Indonesian students in the room. My answer was “A better question you want to know the answer to is “Why should I learn this language?” am I right?” The at the back of the room nodded in agreement. “Okay, so let’s answer that question. Imagine you are working on a cruise liner which is where everyone is hoping to get to in the next few months. You’re out on the ocean, and you take a position where you don’t have to speak with any customers from other countries. You are cleaning the ship, never speaking to a tourist. You are working with people from all over the planet, Italian, Russian, Japanese, French, Australian; all young adults wanting to see the world and get paid for it, just like you. It will be fun right?” Still standing at the back of the room, the student nodded, still with a sense of hostility about her; probably at being forced to come to a class where we are only speaking English, however, she had asked the question in great English, so maybe she was asking for a friend. I continued “So, how are you going to communicate with that Italian, Russian, Japanese, French or Australian colleague, without Google Translate because you won't have a signal out there?” Her face changed, she got it, and in that moment, I knew the answer as well. With my head down at the front of the room, thinking, and walking a bit, thinking of what I had just said, the actual question and how I could answer that question accurately. I picked my head up and answered, “Why should you learn this language? To help you with your career prospects and aspirations of travelling the world. You might be able to mop the floor better than anyone on the planet, however if your boss can’t ask you to mop the floor in a language you can both understand, you are of no use to the boss. You need to have effective communication. I was met with nods of approval and smiles back from the class. They had all gotten it as well. "Now, to answer your first question" I said. “Is English the truly global language?” my answer to that question is “no”. I believe English is a bridging language. Anywhere you go, you could be in Russia and ask, “Can anyone here speak English?” and in any city, someone will speak English. I doubt if there would be anyone that would speak Balinese, however, it’s not impossible. (I said that with a smile, and this got a few smiles and laughter from the students. You could feel the tension in the room starting to drop.) English is a great 'bridging' language. The only language I would call “global” or “universal” is maths: no cultural differences, no different meanings, no accents. Maths equations in any form, all must come up to one answer, so maths in my opinion is the only “true” global language, although English is coming in a close second” I said with a smile. English is not “the” truly global language. English is “a global language,” and will probably be the number one most spoken language within a decade going on my experience over the past four years. Russ Tuff *Reference www.fluentin3months.com