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Globalization and EnglishThe influence of western culture is evident throughout the world. Many countries are transforming into westernized nations, which is 'often regarded as a part of the ongoing process of globalization"(2). China, japan, South Korea and even India are all included in the widespread of western culture. From this transformation comes the spread of the english language which quickly becoming the international language of choice. If there is a modern global language it is hard to argue that english is not it. 'It is possible to argue that, in order to become global, a language has to be taken up by other peoples, different from the motor tongue one(s)'. Many secluded parts of a non-english speaking country, it is recognized through signs and menus written in english. It is used in many forms, including government, law courts, the media and the educational system. It is currently the mother tongue in at least seven countries and continues to dominate all other languages worldwide. As countries, like the US, continually rise and fall out of power, and China is progressively gaining strength, there will always be the notion of the "American Dream". From children growing up in developing countries, to children growing up in first world countries, there is a uncanny desire to, at some point, visit America. The dream of making it in Hollywood as a famous actress, actor, or performer is a dream that can be found anywhere in the world. The ideal place to become famous and really make a worldly impact in entertainment would be the united states. Even in foreign countries where many people do not know any english, people can recognize famous Hollywood actors and even sing along to American songs. english is everywhere, whether people want to be part of it or not Many people in the world today are becoming bilingual, if not multilingual. More common than not one of the new languages students are learning is english. "english is now the language most widely taught as a foreign language-in over 100 countries, such as China, Russia, Germany, Spain egypt and Brazil- and in most of these countries it is emerging as the chief foreign language" (1). For these teachers, there will be an increase in the number and quality of resources used in the educational system. According to a recent survey, it appears that english speakers around the world come to a surprising 1.5 billion while chinese comes in second, spoken by 1.1 billion people. It is an understatement to say that english is a difficult language to learn, especially as a second language, making it more surprising that across the world there are more and more english speakers each and every day. Aside from it being easier to travel and connect with other cultures through a similar language, the world may become more peaceful with less of a language barrier. Translators will not be in high demand like they are today. Political leaders may come to an agreeable consensus, hopefully without the horrible outcome of war. Globalization is inevitable and with globalization comes the dominance of one language. It is looking more and more likely that language will be english. Resources 1. Crystal, David. 'english as a Global Language' Second Edition. Cambridge University Press 2003. Pages 1-4 2. Lagana, Massimo. 'english as a Global Language' 2008 http://www.sprachshop.com/sixcms/media.php/811/English_as_a_grobal_lang_sample_ch.pdf http://compu.unime.it/illuminazioni/numero6/3.pdf