Across the US, the number of students who are English learners, “those whose first or primary language is anything other than English and who identify as requiring assistance in school to reach English language proficiency,” has been rapidly rising. As of 2021, nearly 11% (5.3 million) of public school students were classified as English learners (ELs), and the National Association for the Education of Young Children has estimated that by 2030, 40% of students will have a home language other than English. Due to decades of insufficient support from the government, many ELs are suffering academically. The most recent national data from the 2019-2020 school year show that the high school graduation rate percentage for ELs is 71% compared to the national average of 86%. And as of 2017, a very small percentage of graduating ELs, 1.4%, end up taking college entrance exams like the SAT or ACT. Despite the clear and pressing need for school programs dedicated to effectively supporting the increasing number of ELs and addressing some of these academic disparities, a multitude of challenges such as insufficient funding, teacher shortages, and a lack of culturally sensitive classroom spaces persist. 

Something that must be immediately addressed is the need for more funding and readily equipped EL teachers. As the New America think tank explains, “Education advocates have been pushing for more federal funding for ELs for years, calling attention to the fact that funds have not kept up with the pace of growth among the EL population.” Since 2022, the federal grant program dedicated for ELs has decreased by 24%, despite the increasing number of EL students. Furthermore, the Trump administration “has fired nearly every Education Department staffer who ensured states and schools properly spent the hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked to help over 5 million students learning English.” This development has sparked concerns from education advocates over the proper management of the already limited federal funds dedicated to ELs. 

To further complicate matters, there are not enough EL educators available. According to the latest federal data, while the number of EL students increased by 2.6% between the 2018-2020 school years, the number of certified EL teachers decreased by 10.4%. A report by the nonprofit the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) highlighted the impact of this data stating, “In the 2020-2021 school year, 33 states and DC reported a shortage of ESL or bilingual teachers.” The CCSSO further stated that in the 2020-2021 school year, “only 10% of teachers had a major, minor, or certificate in EL instruction.” Although 48% of these teachers were familiar with EL instruction to some degree due to courses taken in college, this is not the same as long-term training or a specialized degree. It is important that universities encourage education majors to consider learning more about EL instruction and offer specialized programs, as research has shown that EL students perform better academically when both their general and EL teachers have specialist certificates or training. General classroom teachers must be properly prepared to potentially instruct ELs, as “U.S. Department of Education statistics for 2020-21…showed 67% of all U.S. teachers had at least one EL student in their class.” 

Researchers and education advocates have also emphasized the importance of valuing students’ L1, or first language, as well as culturally sensitive classroom spaces for ELs. Educators and researchers have repeatedly expressed concerns over the common practice of “restricting support for students’ home languages, and emphasizing English-only approaches.” A multitude of studies and meta analyses have shown academic, cognitive, and language acquisition facilitation benefits that result from incorporating students’ L1 into classroom instruction. Furthermore, a research study on equity in classrooms emphasized the importance of teachers approaching education from a bilingual and bicultural perspective, understanding the intersection of language and culture, and applying this knowledge to support effective instruction for ELs. In order to fully support EL students and help them succeed, educators must embrace an asset-based pedagogy with ELs that values the “existing linguistic and cultural knowledge” that these students already bring with them to the classroom.  It is extremely evident by the lack of sufficient funding, trained EL teachers, and culturally responsive classrooms that ELs have been and continue to be drastically underserved and undervalued in the current US education system. With the Trump Administration eliminating “nearly 200 civil rights attorneys who would make sure school districts meet their legal obligations to support English learners” as well as declaring English to be the official language of the US, which “could lead schools to put less effort into translating documents and conversations for immigrant families” and discourage L1 incorporation in classrooms, it is clear that these policies actively harm EL students. Policymakers must recognize that EL’s “unique cultural and linguistic resources…can add considerably to the breadth and depth of knowledge, perspectives, and talents of American society.” The rise of ELs is not a burden but instead an opportunity for everyone present in the classroom. Educators and lawmakers valuing EL students and their perspectives allows for a “global, dynamic, and multicultural approach to education”—something that is necessary in an increasingly diverse and globalized world.

It is hardly a groundbreaking revelation that this is a rapidly globalizing world. In fact, many theoretical physicists have taken to systematically forecasting the details surrounding our planet’s steps towards a united society. Michio Kaku, one of contemporary science’s most renowned minds, is one such example of a prolific theoretical physicist who directs a great deal of energy towards the science of futurology. Kaku predicts that by the end of the century, we will achieve a “Type 1” civilization status, a distinction that the theoretical physics community doles out to civilizations capable of harnessing the entire power of a planet. However, international cooperation is widely considered a prerequisite to achieving Type 1 status and having the capability to master our environment. Winding back even further, a universal language is thought to be needed to attain the adeptness necessary to become a planetary society. Theoretical physicists and I agree that English will be our ticket to international cooperation and eventual graduation to Type 1 Civilization status.

Today, English is the world’s most spoken language with an estimated 1.5 billion speakers worldwide. Excluding China, English also has an “official” or “special” status in at least seventy-five countries, whose cumulative approximate 2 billion people the English-speaking world can smoothly interact with. Two of the world’s most important emerging economies, China and India, are in the middle of an English-learning craze. In China, at least 300 million citizens already speak English, and within the next five years all students will be required to start English classes in Kindergarten. This narrative is analogous in India, as Hindi is a feigned language spoken by very few in the country, and English is the official language of business, media, and higher education (most Indians can only speak one of several hundred unfeasibly localized languages and dialects). As the world’s interactions and economies become increasingly digitized, English is dominating the realm of technology, with 80% of all the information stored on the world’s computers. English’s commercial presence cannot be understated, and the Harvard Business Review recently stated that English is essential to conducting business globally. English also serves as one of three procedural languages of the European Union, one of six official languages of the United Nations, one of three official languages of the World Trade Organization, and an official language of countless other international organizations. Since English so deftly trounces all other world languages in its number of speakers, economic presence, and political power, it is clearly here to stay for some time.

As important as statistics are, I find that personal experiences are often most revealing. Although the following examples I share are unique to me, they all took place in the span of a few weeks, and I am certain they are typical abroad. My first example takes place in Lisbon, Portugal, where I saw a Chinese man and a Colombian woman bump into each other, and then break out into a verbal altercation. As ironic as it was to see a pointless fight break out on a national monument of Portuguese pride and rigidness, what most interested me was that the two individuals immediately resorted to what little English the other knew. In order for that to have happened, the two perfect strangers had to know that the other was at least proficient in English. While in Berlin, Germany, I helped edit a Czech man’s email written in English to an important German businessman. Although the Czech Republic and Germany share a border, neither could speak the other’s language, but both were well versed in English. In Hungary, the local who owned my hostel and her Japanese boyfriend could only communicate with each other using the English they knew. This of course indicates that English might actually be beating the romance languages at their own game. However, perhaps the most telling situation occurred while I was in Morocco and saw a French family communicate with a nomadic Berber in English. What struck me the most out of this otherwise mundane exchange was that Morocco was a French colony until 1956, and though French remains the language of economics, education, and government, both parties reverted to English. I firmly believe that incidents like this will be increasingly commonplace across the globe.

As staggering as English’s prodigious staying power may be, its growth is every bit as impressive. One leading hypothesis about demand for learning a second or foreign language is that the less usable a native language is outside a country’s borders, the more likely a country is to have significant demand for other more viable languages. One telling example is Sweden, the country thought to have the world’s highest English proficiency for a population that doesn’t have English as an official second language. Not to disparage the lovely Swedish language, but this phenomenon fits the hypothesis, as Swedish is a language seldom spoken outside the constraints of the country’s border and the nine million Swedes who use it daily. Since English is spoken more frequently and in more nations across the world than any other language in human history, a remarkable amount of demand for foreign language education is directed towards English. Also of tremendous importance is the fact that English is considered the “vacuum-cleaner” of all languages, readily sucking up words and expressions from all languages and cultures it makes contact with. Conversely, most world languages such as Arabic and French have special councils electing exactly what can and cannot become a word. English on the other hand is the world’s most diverse and adaptable language, with over 4,000 words added yearly. Many think that this diversity gives English-speakers a unique insight into key economic and political concepts, including the very essence of democracy, in addition to the ability to understand changing global trends. Just about anybody armed with these statistics and the ability to learn English would be crazy and at a severe disadvantage not to take advantage of the opportunity.

The upside for English assuming the position as the globe’s universal language is colossal. Perhaps the most obvious and important advantage would be an increase in global communication and understanding. While the latter assertion may come off as saccharine hogwash, there is reason to believe that an increase in linguistic understanding can relate to a proliferation of mutual tolerance, if only theoretically. Should English one day become the world’s standard language and the internet continue to unfurl throughout the world, it is not outlandish to think an individual could communicate with any other person on the face of the earth, regardless of background or geographic bearings. One can only imagine the reverberations this boon in the increased efficiency of correspondence would have on world peace, economics, education, and many other matters that affect our lives diurnally.

Regrettably, a single world language could also pose a wide array of issues. First, the transition could initially leave many behind and could prove potentially painful for many accustomed to a language dissimilar to English. Also during the transition years, it seems as if solely the elites in foreign countries will have access to English education, further oppressing and limiting opportunities for the lower classes. Also of grave concern is the fact that the omnipresence of one language risks killing off many native tongues and the cultural idiosyncrasies intrinsically linked to said languages. Finally, one world language could conceivably take away some of the world’s spark. That is to say that there may be unforeseeable damage to the latent desire within all of us to learn about other people and cultures if we are already connected by language. Therefore, we must ensure that we proceed with caution if one language is to be the way of the world.

No matter where the upshot of this trend takes us, it will be several decades before English is truly spoken all over the world (yes, even with its precipitous growth in popularity and demand). I also by no means encourage people to remain ignorant of foreign languages and cultures. I for one speak Spanish and am trying to learn French, as I believe people are at a loss if they do not experience all of the world’s other customs and traditions. Usually, knowledge of foreign languages is compulsory for full cultural exposure. In fact, while I agree with the theoretical physicists introduced at the outset of this article that English will be a language everybody speaks someday, I happen to think that the world will find an oligopoly of languages to be the most sensible option. It seems that if everybody defaults to English as a standard language and keeps their own native tongues, we can maximize the benefits of a Type 1 language, while minimizing its cons. According to Moore’s Law, available technology doubles every 18 months, and we might well sooner find ourselves in a future where translating technology follows us everywhere and instantaneously translates other people’s conversations into our languages of choice. Thus, the main takeaway here is that we are in a genuinely providential position to live in the English-speaking world during its most electrifying time.