Teacher in Development

I have heard rumors about English shifting in importance as the world’s official language of business. Where? I don’t remember…but I’ve heard it "around". The idea sort of makes sense if you think about population numbers…

But one quote I found to be fascinating:

"Cheung of Executive Mandarin estimates a non-native would have to study Mandarin full time for five years to pass the securities exam."

I don’t know about you and your language school: but that kind of honesty is absolutely beautiful. I know a lot of schools that could learn a thing or two about being real with regards to answering the FAQ "How long’s this goanna take?" - How about you?

So…just curious: do you think English will fade in importance? Should we begin Mandarin classes? 

Learning Mandarin now mandatory for Western executives - International Herald Tribune "An executive can probably get by without speaking Mandarin, but the one who does will have a much better chance of succeeding," says Helen Cheung, a director at Executive Mandarin, the language school where Image studies. "It makes you seem more intelligent, more involved than the foreigner who just sits there and smiles."

From TEFLLogue Katie comments on and points to a post that I’ll be setting aside time to read: How the future of textbooks has to be

I just gotta say that I really loved the little I did read (Katie’s post) and would like to quickly add my two cents:

“if you train the students mainly to cope in real life tasks but then grade them on a grammar test they are going to feel they are being cheated and that you don’t really believe in the method you are using.”  (Case)

Isn’t it odd how our classrooms tend to disconnect away from real life tasks?

Textbooks help provide a sense of direction and structure to class, but they are often a far cry from the student’s real life.

I think real life and classroom content should be mirrors. One should not look different than the other if we want to help our students succeed. What do you think?