English-Mania

Let'stalkaboutmanias.Let'sstartwithBeatlemania.Hystericalteenagerscrying,screaming,pandemonium.Sportsmanias,deafeningcrowds,allforoneidea,gettheballinthenet.OK,religiousmanias.There'srapture.There'sweeping.There'svisions.Maniascanbegood.Maniascanbealarming,ormaniascanbedeadly.Theworldhasanewmania,amaniaforlearningEnglish.ListeningasChinesestudentspractisetheirEnglishbyscreamingit.HowmanypeoplearetryingtolearnEnglishworldwide?2billionofthem.InLatinAmerica,inIndia,SoutheastAsia,andmostofall,inChina.IfyouareaChinesestudent,youstartlearningEnglishinthethirdgradebylaw.That'swhythisyear,Chinawillbecometheworld'slargestEnglishspeakingcountry.WhyEnglish?Inasingleword---Opportunity,opportunityforabetterlife,ajob,tobeabletopayforschool,orputbetterfoodonthetable.Imagineastudenttakingagianttestforthreefulldays.Herscoreonthisonetestliterallydeterminesherfuture.Shestudies12hoursadayforthreeyearstoprepare.25%ofhergradeisbasedonEnglish.It'scalledtheGaokao.And80millionhighschoolChinesestudentshavealreadytakenthisgruelingtest.TheintensitytolearnEnglishisalmostunimaginable,unlessyouwitnessit.SoisEnglishmaniagoodorbad?IsEnglishatsunamiwashingawayotherlanguages?Notlikely.Englishistheworld’ssecondlanguage.Yournativelanguageisyourlife,butwithEnglishyoucanbecomepartofawiderconversation,globalconversationaboutglobalproblems,likeclimatechange,orpoverty,orhunger,ordisease.Theworldhasotheruniversallanguages.Mathematicsisthelanguageofscience,musicisthelanguageofemotions.Andnow,Englishisbecomingthelanguageofproblemssolving,notbecauseAmericanispushingit,butbecausetheworldispullingit.SoEnglishmaniaisaturningpoint.LiketheharnessingofelectricityinourcityorthefalloftheBerlinWall,Englishrepresentshopeforabetterfuture,afuturewheretheworldhasacommonlanguagetosolveitscommonproblems.Thankyouverymuch.