While English is the international language for business, it is not the most widely spoken language in the world: this prize goes to Mandarin, with almost one billion native speakers. As the recognized regional powerhouse, the Chinese influence on daily life has encouraged more young people to learn the language Thai-Japanese Ayaka Sato, a Grade 12 student at Satit Prasarnmit School, believes Mandarin can take her around the world. She recently passed the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education examination (IGCSE) in Chinese with a perfect 100% score.