Are people speaking better English these days?
 

I actually saw a French movie at the weekend that was mostly in English (shock!)

It made me think... there was a time when the French were known for either speaking terrible English or refusing to speak it at all.

Is English getting so widespread that people won't need to 'practise' with ESL teachers any more?

Re: Are people speaking better English these days?
 

probably not any time real soon, but you would think things will change 20 years from now. It'd be horrible to think they wouldn't. (Then what are we really doing? nothing?)

We, ESl teachers, might see a shift to being more like English language teachers. Maybe communicative competence won't be such a central role and other faculties might need more attention.

Re: Are people speaking better English these days?
 

It made me think... there was a time when the French were known for either speaking terrible English or refusing to speak it at all.

Yes, you're right. a long time ago, few French people spoke English ( and if they did ,the accent was terrible! ) at that time we didn't need to learn English to get a job in France. Today it's different. Youngsters must speak English fluently to get a job either in France or in Europe or elsewhere, the French economical situation has forced people to learn English.
It is also easier to learn languages and get a good accent today with the internet, DVDs in the original version , TV ect...)
But I know more and more students who are learning Chinese.
So will the Chinese language be the international language in the coming years?

Re: Are people speaking better English these days?
 

I find the same with Korean. They have English every where. Advertisments, TV shows, even the soccer games have English phrases in it. North Korea has no English in it's language. When the two Koreas play everybody on this side of the border are confused as there is no English in it!

Personally I can't see Chinese becoming the International Language as the Internet, Hong Kong, Business is mostly in English. English is like the second language every body learns. I read before that there are more students learning English in China then there are native speakers and it wouldn't surprise me!

Re: Are people speaking better English these days?
 

Here in Quebec, there is a law forbiding buisnesses and shops to advertise in English only. French has to be present. Also, francophones can't get in any English schools if their parents or grandparents didn't go. Many other rules like these were created to make sur Quebec would stay a french province. But with all of this, I think there are many more people who are learning English. Even here, so many employers ask to be bilingual...

Re: Are people speaking better English these days?
 

Here in Japan, I haven't seen much difference in the ability level of English learners. That said, the ones who study usually are a little more serious than in days past, mostly because there isn't as much money to throw about. If people (or businesses) are paying to learn English, at least 60% really try to get their money's worth.

My personal opinion is that their will be more and more need for well-trained ESL / EFL teachers in the near future. Globalization, outsourcing, and English as the lingua-franca all up the need for people to use English.

Any other ideas?

Re: Are people speaking better English these days?
 

Well, the state of English (and of English teaching) here in China is pretty bleak, although it is probably "better" than it was before. I don't think I need to worry about being phased out anytime soon though.

As far as Chinese becoming the dominant international language, I don't see it happening. There is such a global infrastructure for English education and for conducting business in English that the momentum is simply too great. Also, while I feel that learning to speak Chinese is easier than learning to speak English (especially from the point of view of grammar), reading and writing might be prohibitively difficult.

Hmm...
Dave

Re: Are people speaking better English these days?
 

What many people haven't noticed yet is the fact that ESL speakers are now outnumbering English native speakers. That's going to change the nature of English language significantly.