The Astounding Facts of Global English

Consider the astounding facts of global English. Most estimates agree that there are some 375 million native speakers, a further 375 million second-language speakers and a staggering one billion learners of the English language at large in the world today. What's more, 90 per cent of the world's computers linked to the Internet are based in English-speaking countries. Whatever the totals (and they'll always be disputed), there's no arguing with the fact that English is now more widely scattered, more widely spoken and written than any other language has ever been. I could go on, but the point is made - by every conceivable indicator, English is the world's first truly global language. Next to the facts, the phenomenon of global English is even more remarkable. Global English is represented on every continent in the interconnected worlds of business, travel, computing, science and academia, radio and television broadcasting, telecommunications, film production, sport and international defence. It is also the language of air travel and outer space. In a profound sense, it underpins the fashionable concept of 'globalisation' and gives that idea a substance it might otherwise lack (Robert McCrum, Observer).
Consider the article "Global English and Teaching of Pronunciation" by Jennifer Jenkins, lecturer in Sociolinguistics and Phonology at King's College, London. It revolves around the author's research into the pronunciation of global English and gives some teaching implications. 

Global English and the Teaching of Pronunciation