The world's second language?

The discussions on how to save the euro were, bizarrely conducted in English, though there were not a Briton in sight. The Sunday Times 14/02/10

According to David Graddol's extensive survey for the British Council, the number of non-native or second language speakers of English now outnumbers those of primary or native speakers. At the same time there is an ever increasing need for speakers of different languages to communicate with each other:

International tourism is growing, but the  proportion of encounters involving a native English speaker is declining (1.9). There were around 763 million international travellers in 2004, but nearly three-quarters of visits involved visitors from a non-English-speaking country travelling to a non-English speaking  destination. This demonstrates the scale of need for face-to-face international communi-
cation and a growing role for global English.

English: Global Language FAQ

Where do English words come from?

Something from my site:

Origins of English Words

You can find linked texts, quiz and other activities here http://englishlanguage.eslreading.org/english/vocabulary/latingreekfrench.html

Doctor's Dilemma

Here’s a dilemma for you from the psychologists, Tversky and Kahneman. They asked the following to a group of doctors

The U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual Asian disease. It is expected to kill 600 people.

Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed.

If program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved.

If program B is adopted, there is a one third probability that 600 people will be saved and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved.

Which of the two programs would you favor?

What do you think?