English is the most used language on the Web.
According to Internet World stats, English rules the roost on Internet with
over 536 million people using English while Chinese comes second in the list
with over 444 million people using the language online. Internet is not only awash with websites in English
but also with websites for teaching English.
There are websites where people can learn
English online and improve their writing and speaking skills. British Council is
running a website http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
that is dedicated to teaching English to non-native speakers of English. It is one
of the few websites that provides with text, audio and video content for users
to improve language skills.
It has several grammar exercises which provide
learners to understand online lessons well. The website also has regular
podcast soaps in which learners can learn right usage and pronunciation of English
words. Such shows include Word on the Street, Big City Small World, The Great
Britain, etc.
You must have heard people speaking the same
English words differently and it happens when English is not their mother
tongue. The Chinese will not speak the way Indians speak and Africans will
pronounce words differently from the Spaniards.
There is a Speech Accent Archive http://www.accent.gmu.edu/ that provides
over 1500 recordings. The speakers in these recordings come from countries
where English is the primary language—USA, Australia and Britain; and also from
countries where it is not such as India, China, Iraq, etc. Steven Weinberger, a Linguistics professor at
George Mason University, has developed this archive for users to know how
people from different parts of the world pronounce similar words
differently.
Several other websites teaching English serve
different purposes. Talkenglish.com teaches speaking basics and teaches users
what to say and how to say in different situations. Phrases.org.uk provides users with thousands
of English phrases with their meanings and origins. Vocabsushi is a website to
improve vocabulary and teach learners the right usage of words used in the day-to-day
world. Elllo.com focuses on listening skills.
Examenglish.com trains people for TOEFL,
IELTS and other similar exams. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has a
website for teaching English and the website also teaches how to teach English.
The most popular programme of the website is ‘6 Minute English’ and the shows
can be downloaded as a pdf or mp3 file.
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