summary ted The world's English mania by Jay Walker

 Jay Walker


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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