By Hans Straub, ABD-PhD

I was in China recently when it occurred to me that life there would be impossible if I did not have English. I speak no Mandarin, but many younger Chinese do speak English, and they are keen to practice it at every opportunity. This enabled me to live and work in China and made me a lot of friends.

While few people in China speak English, they are learning it as quickly as possible for they have come to realize that their economic development depends on being able to communicate with many partners in trade from all over the world. For instance, clients from Germany or France or Italy do not expect their Chinese suppliers to learn their languages, but they do expect to be able to communicate in a common language, and that language is English. Many older Chinese managers have never learned the language for only lately has the Middle Kingdom embraced the world tongue. And then out of necessity rather than by choice. Nowadays in China, most careers in industry and commerce that lead to professional advancement require English.

Aside from being the language of commerce, English is becoming the language of instruction no matter where people live. Want to take an online course to increase your job prospects in your chosen career? Or perhaps you want to switch careers. You can do this by taking a diploma or degree programmes online. British, Australian, and American universities today offer hundreds of programmes with which you can advance yourself. But, you need to be able to read and write in the language of instruction, English.
It has often been said that India has one great advantage over China when it comes to modernization. Many educated Indians speak English. Here we mean that manufacturers in India have an easier time communicating with customers because they speak English as well as anyone. Not only that, but Indians have an understanding of western ways of doing things, of the expectations that need to be met if business dealings are to be successful. Little wonder that India is progressing as rapidly as she is.

If you already have a career, you will have noticed that most research in your chosen field is conducted in western countries, and it is published in English language journals. Medical, business, engineering, and technology journals tend to be English language publications. They simply have a wider audience than if they were published in any less popular language. Moreover, if you are conducting research and want to be noticed at all, you need to be able to publish your results in English. (I used to be a translator for research in ophthalmology, working in Germany. All the German research was published in American and British journals. )

Professional conferences, too, are being held in the English language. I attended a UNESCO conference in Finland a few years ago. People were there from all over the world: Eastern Europe, Russia, China, Africa, Japan, India, Arabia, and Latin America. There was no one there who did not speak the world language, and all papers were delivered in English.

Do you want to migrate to Australia, New Zealand, Canada or any other English speaking country? These days immigration departments will hardly consider you if you do not speak English. It used to be that people were accepted because they had a skill that was in demand; the host country would pay to have immigrants schooled in English as a Second Language. However, those days are gone. Today one needs to have a foundation in English (or French for Canada) in order just to be eligible for immigration. Times have changed.

What is sometimes overlooked is that scholarships to foreign universities are frequently available for graduate studies. These can be in Europe, North America, or Australia/New Zealand. However, you need to have English in order even to be considered. Some courses in European countries are now given in English, while the local language is barely required. Roughly 25% of the German population speaks English to some degree, while even more Dutchmen, Norwegians, Finns, and Swedes are fluent in this second language. It truly is the language of the world today.

ANC in Colombo conducts programmes that contain English-language courses designed to empower students to express themselves in the international language they need to obtain a degree from an internationally recognized university. No matter what a student's major, he or she needs English to become qualified in an academic discipline. English no longer is a matter of choice but a necessity for those who aim at success. For more information

Contact 0777 514 415 or visit 308 - 310, R.A De Mel mawatha, Colombo - 3