In this excerpt (chapter nine) of  his 2003 book entitled English as Global Language, David Chrystal describes how there are no precedents for a language with the same degree of global presence as English currently enjoys (apart from Latin which dominated in a ‘smaller world’).  He presents statistics outlining the number of speakers of English as a first, second or third language across the globe, the reasons for the emergence of English as a global language (politics, economics, American film and music etc.), and the future of English’s position as a global language.  It should be noted that this chapter is available for free on Crystal's website, along with many other of his publications.  This chapter constitutes solid professional development for teachers interested in understanding the impact of the English language on the international stage.