English Mania

Jay Walker

http://www.ted.com/talks/jay_walker_on_the_world_s_english_mania.html

What is it about?

• Jay Walker explains why two billion people around the world are trying to learn English. He shares photos and spine-tingling audio of Chinese students rehearsing English -- "the world's second language" -- by the thousands.

Jay Walker

• Jay S. Walker (born 1955) is an American entrepreneur who founded Priceline.com and Walker Digital

• He earned a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University in 1977

• "Walker shuns the sort of bibliomania that covets first editions for their own sake ... What gets him excited are things that changed the way people think." Steven Levy, WIRED

Comprehension / Vocabulary

• Why do Asians pursue English?• Approximately how many people are learning

English around the world today?• ‘Tsunami washing away other languages’

Discussion

• He claims Asians pursue English because of opportunity. What is the situation like in your country?

• Is English the world’s second language, or a second language?

• Is English destroying other languages?• Is English the language of problem solving?

Discussion / Follow up

• How do students in your country learn English? Is it effective?• Is the world pulling English or are the USA,UK and

other English speaking countries pushing it?• Why didn’t Esperanto work?• Could Spanish or Chineese take over English as a

dominant international language? • Will translation technology slow the need for an

international language?• Is English a rich language?