Don't insist on English!

Speakers Patricia Ryan: Language teacher

UK-born language teacher Patricia Ryan has spent most of the past 40 years teaching English in the countries of the Arabian Gulf. She is currently teaching at Zayed University in Dubai, and studying for a second Masters degree in Law.

"English is big business and languages are dying as never before. Is there a connection? Is this another manifestation of McDonaldisation – the undesirable face of globalization? Do we want to lose the variety of languages and all the rich culture that comes with them? Languages are dying at an unprecedented rate. A language dies every 14 days."

Filmed Dec 2010 • Posted Mar 2011

Source: TED.com