English speaking on the increase
Half of the world’s population will speak English within the next decade, according to a new report.
Speaking at a British Council conference on international education in Edinburgh, David Graddol, an academic of the Open University, said two billion people would be learning English by 2015, with three billion able to speak it.
In his The Future of English report, derived from computer models based on Unesco estimates, Mr Graddol predicted English would be the global lingua franca.
German, Chinese, Arabic and Spanish would be “key” languages in the future, he said, with French set to decline.
Charles Clarke, Education Secretary, also present at the conference, urged British students to improve their own foreign language skills.
Mr Clarke warned against the “arrogance” of native English speakers who lacked another language.
“To be quite candid, I’m the first to acknowledge there is an immense amount to do,” said Mr Clarke.
“Not least to contest the arrogance that says English is the world language and we don’t have to worry about it – which I think is dangerous and pernicious.”
