For Mongolians, E Is for English, F Is for Future
By JAMES BROOKE Published: February 15, 2005

"...part of a nationwide drive to make [English] the primary foreign language learned in Mongolia, a landlocked expanse of open steppe sandwiched between Russia and China. "We are looking at Singapore as a model," Tsakhia Elbegdorj, Mongolia's prime minister, said in an interview...

Its camel herders may not yet be referring to one another as "dude," but this Central Asian nation, thousands of miles from the nearest English-speaking country, is a reflection of the steady march of English as a world language...

"I need 2,000 English teachers," said Puntsag Tsagaan, Mongolia's minister of education, culture and science. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/international/asia/15mongolia.html?pagewanted=2&hp