More People will be Learning English in India and China
In the world today when being able to speak in more than one language matters a lot for various purposes, it is essential to keep up and never get left behind with the trend. A lot of people are learning the English language for many reasons: some want to learn the language for educational, recreational and professional reasons, while others want to learn simply just to allow themselves to communicate in another tongue. More and more people from various parts of the world are learning English; China and India are keeping up with the rest of them!
The British Council has released new research on the English markets of China and India and the results show that more people from these countries are learning the language. India and China are the fastest growing economies of the world and the estimates found by the research carried out by Ipsos MORI show that in India there are nearly two hundred fifty million learners while in China there are about three hundred million.
The latest research demonstrates that the United Kingdom must respond to the growing demand of learning English but in a way that looks to the future and lays the ground for long-term sustainable relationships in learning the language with other countries.
The Chief Executive of the British Council, Martin Davidson, has said that the demand for English language learning is huge and it continues to grow with an estimated five hundred fifty million learners in China and India alone. The research addressed some of the most important pressing questions the English language industry in the next decade including not only who wants to learn the English language but also what form of English language services will be required as their populations and economies continue to develop.
Maya Menon, the Teacher Foundation Director in Bangalore, India has said that India is complex and it is grappling with many challenges yet today it is also a land with many opportunities. Providing access to the English language is important in creating a level playing field and erasing the years of disparities that many Indians have faced in educational opportunities. One of the key challenges to achieve such is to improve the proficiency of the four million teachers of the English language in India.
Gu Yuego, a professor and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Beijing Foreign Studies University has said that English continues to provide a window to the outside world for Chinese language learners from all walks of life. The shortage of qualified English teachers in China has created a blockage in demand yet this provides a great opportunity for UK providers.
The highlights of the research show that in India, there is a large and growing market for English language services. English is taught in all schools however the latest findings reveal that the language may not be taught well, the emphasis may be on passing tests and not on real understanding.
In China, a strong and growing market of English language learners exists particularly in major cities and more developed coastal areas. The market is currently dominated by adult learners but there is a continued growth among young learners.
Now that there are more and more people in these countries who will be learning English, solutions must be formulated on how to meet the demands. In the future when people learn English in order to meet the changes in the world, it is beneficial that we start planning ahead on how to propagate the learning and teaching of languages and anticipate what happens in time.
