Teaching English as a Second Language
You can welcome yourself to this unique community and resource for English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. You can also exchange ideas, get help and encouragement, and learn from other teachers worldwide.
Visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/englishlanguageteachersforum/
Why teach grammar?
By the way, it is necessary to teach it? Want an answer?
Go to www.msu.edu/~sandinkr/grammarwhybother.htm and if you'd like to add your voice to the controversy, get to www.ateg.org/
Teaching English Rules
This is a simple way to teach basic English to any age. It gives lots of practice in a very short amount of time each day. I used this over several years to prepare my kids for the ACT test, and they did great. Hint: Always use the best speaking grammar you know how when talking to your children, and they will pick up correct grammar the easy way!
More here: www.eyedocgreg.com/homeschool/english_rules.htm
Crazy English
Is English well or, well, crazy? Before you answer at all, click hear for this author's view:
If that impresses you greatly, check out this as well
Click on this link to test your performance, but be sure to work according to your level.
What is Standard English?
With so many national and international varieties of the language, many users of English are often confused as to which of its dialects to regard as standard; hence, the question What is Standard English? The question is not so easy to answer. However, look first at this page:
www.wisc.edu/english/rfyoung/336/se.pdf
Then, come back to the sites below for in-depth discussion of the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_English
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Is-Standard-English?&id=721956 (Recommended)
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/SEtrudgill.htm (Highly recommended)
International English
International English is the concept of the English language as a global means of communication in numerous dialects, and also the movement towards an international standard for the language. It is also referred to as Global English, World English, Common English, General English. Sometimes these terms refer simply to the array of varieties of English spoken throughout the world. Sometimes "international English" and the related terms above refer to a desired standardisation, i.e. Standard English; however…
For more information, click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_English
www.exforsys.com/career-center/english-vocabulary/international-english.html
Modern English
Modern English is the form of the English language spoken since the great vowel shift, completed in roughly 1550. Despite some differences in vocabulary, material from the early 17th century, such as the works of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible, is considered to be in Modern English, or more specifically, they are referred to as Early Modern English, and most people who are fluent in the English of the early 21st century can read these books with little difficulty…
For further details, click here
American and British English differences
Briefly, we may say that,
- American English (AmE) is the form of English used in the United States. It includes all English dialects used within the United States of America.
- British English (BrE) is the form of English used in the United Kingdom. It includes all English dialects used within the United Kingdom.
But the differences between these two dialects of the language are more than this page provides; but see this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences
www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/differences.htm
www.seanet.com/~slarsson/USUK.html (Recommended)
Received Pronunciation
Sometimes, to be clear about the concept, you ask yourself, "What is "Received Pronunciation"? How did it come about? Where is one likely to hear "Received Pronunciation"? Find the answers to these questions here:
www.yaelf.com/rp.shtml
www.ic.arizona.edu/~lsp/RPEnglish.html
www.newscientist.com/backpage.ns?id=lw713
www.bbc.co.uk/voices/yourvoice/feature2_4.shtml
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