
Let's talk about manias. Beatlemania,
Sports mania and Religious mania. Manias can be good. Manias can be
alarming. Or manias can be deadly.
The world has a new mania. A mania for
learning English. How many people are trying to learn English worldwide? Two
billion of them.
In Latin America, India, Southeast
Asia, and most of all, in China. A Chinese student start learning
English in the third grade. That's why this year, China will become
the world's largest English speaking country.
Why English ?, because Opportunity
for a better life, a job, to be able to pay for school, or put better food on the table. 80 million
high school Chinese students have already taken a giant test for three full days,and
20 % is based on English. It’s called
the Gaokao. The intensity to learn English is almost unimaginable.
So is English mania good or bad? English is
the world's second language. But with English you can become part of a
global conversation about global problems like climate change or
poverty, or hunger or
disease.
The world has other universal languages.
And now English is becoming the language of problem-solving. Not because
America is pushing
it, but because the world is pulling it. So English mania is a turning
point.
English represents hopefor a better future,
a future where the world has a common language to solve its common problems.
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