I know a bit of what is going on in Asian countries because they are one of my topics of interest and i am myself learning Chinese. Languages also have a market- some are considered more prestigious than others, unfortunately, according to the connotation and biases brought together with the nations who bear them as a mother tongue. You are right that English became like branded jeans or shoes or being seen in a western junkfood restaurant. I think any language, not just English should be taught through the cultural perspective as an open dialog , in a dialog you can make much more than negotiate and close a deal, you can understand the person in front of you mess up less- if its a deal or a peace treaty, the court of law. teaching simple functionality will only lead to misunderstanding.

Your essay about English used as a monetary tool is true, there are so many Asian countries now visiting other Asian countries just to learn English but do not really think of English as a subject. People who are not really not using English as their primary language seems to like English as a part of fashion. Some are using or speaking English as a show off that they are educated , rich and powerful. The English language has been used in different ways at different purposes. Maybe it is really time to look at it as one of the important subjects in education.

Ronna – Learning English is important

As for the project in London I'll try to answer your questions in order (as long as I'm not being naive and they're actually rhetorical!). Firstly, we'll only know how many of the youngsters use them at the end of the project. Who knows whether they see the point of using them, it's always difficult to make a judgment on that without surveys or data, but although the kids may be under-educated, they're not ignorant of that fact that getting something for free is always good! I do completely agree though, it's up to the educators in the class to encourage them to go (I did see a few school groups at the theatre a couple fo weeks ago) and there also has to be a way that the literature touches their lives in ways that they associate with – i think this point is intrinsic to your article/argument.

I'm not so sure however on the point that teenagers "don’t really care about government or world-historic events." Furthermore, i also don't necessarily agree that "poetry, playwriting and novels" are viewed by the higher authorities as "esoteric and redundant". For example, although it was a rushed measure, a new injection of money into London's theatres has created an opportunity for youngsters to go to the theatre and indeed learn about Brecht and Shakespeare without even paying a penny. Please see this:
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/2185...

So, do you only suggest an open-class discussion on literature or is there something more that can be done on a government and grass-roots level?

i l-o-v-e-d your insight on the "average teenager"! i think i was like it as well, but i do remember my teacher in the 9th grade teaching us "Imagine" and it was wonderful for me, but i remember my friends not relating to it one bit. one should introduce these texts – any text that has a statement imbeded in it- with care. feel the classroom before, know what your heading towards, and then decide when and how and with which tool.

Yeshar koach!