For a long time, I have held the view that China is going to dominate the world as an economic power during the next few decades. Relating this to languages, I enjoy discussing whether this will create a change in terms of using English as a business medium.
My conclusion in the past has been, unfortunately, that it is far more likely for the Chinese to learn English than vice versa. This is simply because I believe they are becoming more international in their business thinking and have already established it in their school system.
However, this news article talks about how a US school is replacing its French lessons with Mandarin. Will this become more common in English speaking schools so students can compete in the new global economy? Will European languages lose even further due to the European Union and the greater use of English within it?
Stay tuned to find out.