It would seem that English language teaching and linguistic imperialism haven’t had an overtly negative impact in Singapore, but in other societies it has led to the death or disuse of many languages for example, the U.S. State of California has approximately 50 indigenous languages but almost 100% of them are no longer learned by children (The Philadelphia enquirer 1994: 221). Of Canada’s 53 native languages 43 were said to be on the verge of extinction in a 1990 report by the House of Commons Committee on aboriginal affairs, an additional seven were said to be threatened, only three Inuit, Cree and Ojibwa are said to stand “an excellent chance of survival”. This list could continue ad infinitum across the globe.

In this context I find myself agreeing increasingly enthusiastically with Kramsch:

The only way to preserve the room for manoeuvre vital to any human communication is not by making sure that everyone speaks the same language, but by making sure that the linguistic semiotic capital of humankind remains as rich and diverse as possible.