Could there be a connection? Well I don't know. 这两者间有联系吗？我不知道。

　　But I do know that I've seen a lot of changes.  但是我知道我已目睹了很多变化。

　　When I first came out to the Gulf, I came to Kuwait in the days when it was still a hardship post. 当我初到海湾时，我到了科威特，那个时候那儿还算是一个艰苦地区。

　　Actually, not that long ago. That is a little bit too early. 其实也就是没多久以前。这幅图还更早一点。

　　But nevertheless, I was recruited by the British Council, along with about 25 other teachers. 不去管它，我被英国文化协会招聘到这里，同时招来的还有其他25个老师。

　　And we were the first non-Muslims to teach in the state schools there in Kuwait. 我们是最早在科威特公立学校教书的非穆斯林。

　　We were brought to teach English because the government wanted to modernize the country 我们被请来教英语，因为政府想要发展国家现代化

　　and to empower the citizens through education.  让公民通过学习提高自己。

　　And of course, the U.K. benefited from some of that lovely oil wealth. Okay. 当然，英国也因此收益于那些让人喜爱的石油财富。好。

　　Now this is the major change that I've seen --  这是我看见过的主要变化--

　　how teaching English has morphed from being a mutually beneficial practice 英语教学是怎样演变的，使它从一个互惠的交流方式

　　to becoming a massive international business that it is today.  变成如今的一个规模巨大的国际交流。

　　No longer just a foreign language on the school curriculum,  它不再只是学校课程的一门外语课。

　　and no longer the sole domain of mother England. 也不再是英国特有。

　　It has become a bandwagon for every English-speaking nation on earth. 对地球上每个说英语的国家而言，说英语已成为潮流。

　　And why not? After all, the best education 为什么不呢？毕竟，最好的教育--

　　according to the latest World University Rankings -- is to be found in the universities of the U.K. and the U.S. 根据最新的世界大学排名--最好的大学总是在英国或者美国。

　　So everybody wants to have an English education, naturally.  自然每个人都想得到英语教育。