English Language Unit 2

My business teacher told us in class the other day, that because of the growth of china, and the popularity of the english language, China might eventually be the main english speaking country in the world. It isn’t proven, it might not even happen, but it makes sense.

I have learnt from an article i found, that most  schools and universities in china, offer courses in english, many of the universities offer English as a major. There are also thousands of training centres that specialise in teaching english to children and adults. Anyone in china, now has easy access to english, which is becoming an important element of the one of the fastest growing countries in the world. Because there are so many english speakers in china, serious chinese students and citizens must be fluent in the language to be competitive in gaining employment.

This next bit may seem pointless, but thats what you get in economics.

Employment growth in China.
China has an average GDP growth rate (Measurement of economic growth) of 9.9%, this means that the total production of goods and services (e.g. iPods, clothing, toys) is increasing at an average of 9.9% from one year to the next. Contributing to this, they have also maintained a steady trade surplus over the last few years. This means that China is exporting more goods & services than they are importing.
These two factors are generating mass income for China, causing more spending within the country (e.g. houehold goods and services like iPods & clothing). If demand (spending) grows, then there will need to be a growth in employment to satisfy the growing demand, and produce more goods and services.

What this means for English.
So if the article i found is right, in the sense that learning and being fluent in english determines whether or not you get a good job, then the competition in English speaking will grow when employment grows. So the more that China grows, the more English-speaking Chinese citizens are wanted or needed.
Also, when China’s trade with english speaking countries grows, it may require more English skills for smooth communication.
In conclusion, the more people speaking English in china, the closer they will get to overtaking us (Aus.) and our fellow “native english” speaking countries. Not cool in my opinion.

p.s. i think it counts just people who speak english, without any consideration about whether it’s a first or second language.

Does this make sense??
ciao. x

Sources of information:
Article mentioned.
http://www.teachabroadchina.com/why-learning-english-in-china-is-no-longer-just-important/
China’s balance of trade graph.
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Balance-of-Trade.aspx?Symbol=CNY
China’s GDP growth graph.
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDP-Growth.aspx?Symbol=CNY