The Fulbright Experience: What International Education Week means to an International Student*

Two weeks ago, I attended the Fulbright Pakistan Fall Seminar 2015, at the University of Kentucky. The seminar began with the organiser saying, “2:15 means 2:15, this is the U.S., not Pakistan.” We were told during numerous sessions that our primary goal was to make American friends and to not be “disruptive” in classrooms.

Measuring English: The Lingua Franca of a Globalized World

“[T]he whole Hong Kong society [has] forced [children] to think since their childhood that English is high class, is superior … If you are not at a school taught in English, you are a second-class student.” – Claudia Mo Man-ching

The EF EPI is the world’s largest ranking of countries by English skills. The fifth edition ranks 70 countries based on test data from 910,000 English language learners.

English is lauded as the language of globalization that inspires hope for a future where a common language can be used to solve common issues that plague the planet.