The English Question: Why China's Confusion About Foreign Languages Matters to Us All The recent call by a Chinese math teacher for English to be made optional in schools has sparked a wider debate about the value of learning foreign languages, particularly in an era where technology is increasingly doing our translating for us.
This concern may seem peculiar from across the Pacific, but it holds unexpected lessons for music lovers. It's easy to dismiss the math teacher's sentiments as a product of China's linguistic and cultural anxieties.
English has been the language of international business, science, and entertainment for decades, with no signs of its dominance abating.