To oversummerise a British Council report (http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-research-englishnext.htm), so many nations, so many people, are learning English that monoglots will suffer in job markets in 15+ years, partially because being able to think in another language enables you to address problems in other ways.
I think it's already happening in the contract market in the EU; most sites have natives from other EU countries. The professional language is (American) English, so every professional can compete for work in countries where English is generally spoken. But, in my experience, you can only live in a country where you speak the local language, so people can compete with me in my country but often I can't compete with them in theirs. That's the kind of challenge I enjoy (!), which is why, as a Brit, I've learnt some Flemish, French and German. I assure fellow grey-mops it's not difficult to pick up a language when you're 50+, even if you don't have the talent (I don't), so long as you make the effort.
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To oversummerise a British Council report (http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-research-englishnext.htm), so many nations, so many people, are learning English that monoglots will suffer in job markets in 15+ years, partially because being able to think in another language enables you to address problems in other ways. I think it's already happening in the contract market in the EU; most sites have natives from other EU countries. The professional language is (American) English, so every professional can compete for work in countries where English is generally spoken. But, in my experience, you can only live in a country where you speak the local language, so people can compete with me in my country but often I can't compete with them in theirs. That's the kind of challenge I enjoy (!), which is why, as a Brit, I've learnt some Flemish, French and German. I assure fellow grey-mops it's not difficult to pick up a language when you're 50+, even if you don't have the talent (I don't), so long as you make the effort.