While the British Council calculates that English is only the third largest language in the world, it has emerged as the international language of business communication, particularly in certain industries such as travel, hospitality, engineering and construction, healthcare, and finance.

English spread throughout the world as a result of British colonial rule and it became accepted as the standard for communication in many African and Asian countries which had disparate languages and dialects, and English soon became an accepted standard language for global trade and commerce. In the modern world, English is key in several major global industries.

Students wishing to study engineering and construction will often take specialized English classes in order to be able to create more job opportunities inside or outside their country on large internationally funded projects. They need a high standard of spoken and written communication in technical English.

Many of the world’s largest stock exchanges are based in English speaking countries. These include the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange, Toronto, Australia and Johannesburg. English has become a key language for investment, foreign exchange and banking. Many large corporations organize and pay for business English classes for their staff.

English has become one of the key languages of the internet. Anyone wishing to do work with computers or do business online needs a basic command of business English and should be able to spell common words accurately.