What is it that is so special about english?
English is the first language of the U.S., the U.K., most of Canada, and Australia. Because of the economic and social advantages, it's become the lingua franca of much of the world.
Think about the European countries, each speaking a different language. English is a common language for most Europeans. Several years ago I was in Switzerland which has four official languages -- French, German, Italian and Romansch. Yet many parents wanted their kids to learn English as a second language because it was more useful than learning two or three more Swiss languages.