How long will English be the no. 1 foreign language

[Sisyphus2000]

Its tough....I recently have been working in laos pdr, which is becoming an additional state of China...easy investments and small population with lots of land and minerals....

[Vital Spark]

English has an unassailable position as the absolute number one (business) language in the world and this will be the case for another long time if not forever.
The Chinese want to do business and open up to to the rest of the world and they certainly are aware that it is easier to educate your own people and let them learn English instead of trying to force people from other countries to learn Mandarin.

Absolutely right Roel.

As Jimbob pointed out, it's so mindnumbingly difficult to learn, especially for a Westerner. Some of my students, however, who are already proficient in English, are studying Chinese as a minor or major subject. Apparently, to get a well-paid job in Thailand nowadays the students need to be tri-lingual. Chinese is a pretty good option, and they seem to pick it up quite easily - maybe because most of them have Chinese lineage?...

VS

[Bamboo Grove]

VS wrote:

nowadays the students need to be tri-lingual. Chinese is a pretty good option, and they seem to pick it up quite easily - maybe because most of them have Chinese lineage?...

Chinese and Thai are also both isolating, tonal languages so that might help as well.

[Jimbob]

The irony is that English is often among various Chinese dialect speakers as an extra tool for communicating. I bet the Chinese teachers all arrive in thailand.speaking good English and use that skill for teaching.
English will still be a no. ! foreign language.

I can't imagine India being so receptive to learning Chinese ecept to combat their trade competitors.