English language teaching elt policies and practices. Some 380 million people speak it as their first language and as much as 300 million as their second. English language pdfs heres a list of all the pdfs on the site, for easy downloading. Read on for other interesting facts about the language that brings us all together. Jun 29, 2016 for many people, the question regarding the history of the english language is often one they think about. Yet, externally, l2 users have different uses of second languages from monolinguals, have a different command of the language, and utilize different skills. Did you know dreamt is the only word that ends in mt. I have a real passion for language, how we process things in our mind and produce them mechanically in our mouth.
Professional diary entries written by the researcher during a one year english language teaching experience in korea provided the core data for this research. By 2050, it is predicted half the world will be more or less proficient in it. About 375 million people have english as their mother tongue while about 750 million speak english as a second language. English as a global language with millions of popular intuitions at a level which had simply not existed a decade before. Interesting facts of english language free download as word doc. Generally, when people hear the word grammar, they immediately think of correct or incorrect and good or bad language. This blog post is available as a convenient and portable pdf that. The importance of english language learning and teaching.
Interesting facts english language bloomsbury international. English language acquisition program is defined as a program of instruction designed to help eligible individuals who are english language learners achieve competence in reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension of the english language. While old english is a heavily inflected language, the use of grammatical endings diminished in middle english. Pdf how much further can we expect the spread of english to go. Pba builds on the current work on language policy and practice, but instead of providing a set of standards, it identifies a set of principles that can help policymakers in diverse contexts develop locally appropriate language policies and practices. Did you know that enneacontakaienneagon is actually a word in the english language. Modern english started being used in the 14th century and the closest languages to english are dutch and west flemish. University, haryana, india abstract english has occupied an important place in our educational system and life of our country. Quantitative indicators from cameroon, nigeria, rwanda, bangladesh and pakistan the findings of this study were developed through primary source interviews across a wide cross section of private and public sector subjects. English is a language used to reach across the borders and bridge the gaps. Approximately one new word is added to the english language every two hours.
As these stories illustrate, language affects many facets of human. Almost everyone in the world has heard of the great william shakespeare, the famous english poet and playwright of the 16th century. English language history and facts today translations. Here, cactus language offers up our most interesting english language facts. The anglosaxons settled in the british isles from the mid5th century and came to dominate the bulk of southern great britain. An additional twenty nations identify english as one of two or more official languages. Forty percent of the students enrolled in program year 2012 were in english literacy classes, and 78 percent of those. Shakespeare added over 1,000 words to the english language.
Interesting facts of english language alphabet english language. Its syntax, child language acquisition, phonology and language processing. Nevertheless, it is clear that the books authors were fully engaged with the diversity of english language use and. Lets take a look at ten interesting facts about the english language. Back then, it was a mixture of german dialects with some very old celtic words, as well as other words that came from latin. The benefits of the english language for individuals and societies. These include the words fashionable, advertising and laughable, and the phrase fight fire with fire, which means to respond to attack with a similar form of attack. A sentence that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet is called a pangram. The language is the collection of symbols and rules for combining the symbols, which can express and infinite variety of messages.
In fact, as many as one in eight of all the letters written in english is e. Did you know there are only 4 words in the english language which end in dous they are. The english language, like all languages, traces its ultimate ancestry to a time predating the written word. Both names derive from anglia, a peninsula on the baltic sea. Shakespeare added 1,700 words to the english language during his lifetime. Pronunciation is the word which is most mispronounced in the english language. Of course english is a global language,they would say. Next, it tries to define the words culture, cultural awareness and cultural studies. White paper series the english language in the digital.
Typically, external goals have been measured against the abilities of monolingual native speakers. Plain english means analyzing and deciding what information investors need to make informed decisions, before words, sentences, or paragraphs are considered. In truth, however, language can operate in all of these ways. A number of the things people ask are queries such as what is the origin of the english language, how long have we been speaking english and several others. English is currently one of the most widely spoken and written languages worldwide, with some 380 million native speakers. English as an international language this concise volume from 1978 is preworld englishes and before the acceptance of kachrus model of the inner, outer and expanding circles of english language use. First is language is symbolic which known as the use of symbols such in spoken or written words to express ideas to the world. Supporting english language learners in the elementary and. English language and linguistics university of kent. English language study and teaching foreign speakers. Kappa delta pi ell myths and facts bolster their efforts. A same language friend, especially one more advanced in english, can be an ideal working partner.
The importance of english language learning and teaching in. Did you know the first letters of the months july through to november spell jason. Due to a printing error, there was a word in the english dictionary from 1932 to 1940 which didnt have a meaning. English has its origins in old high german, old norse, and anglo norman. E is the most commonly used letter in the english language.
English language study and teaching alberta handbooks, manuals, etc. The glish en language grounded in linguistic research and argumentation, the english language. Today, english is the main language of the united kingdom, ireland, the united states of america, canada, australia, new zealand and more than fifty other countries. English is most closely related to frisian and low saxon, while its.
As we go back in time, we have to take account of therelationships among languages, and these. The benefits of the english language for individuals and. A principlesbased approach for english language teaching. Goals of language teaching can be divided into external goals that relate to actual second language l2 use outside the classroom and internal goals that relate to the educational aims of the classroom itself. The importance of the knowledge of english language is. We have compiled a list of thirty fun and interesting facts about the english language. Using plain english assures the orderly and clear presentation of complex information so that investors have the best possible chance of understanding it. Did you know the most commonly used letter in the alphabet is e. English language has become a global means of communication, it is not only the most widely written counting scientific articles, periodical and the impressing fact that it is a common language of the internet, its also spoken throughout different international conversations, no matter whether they are official or business meetings, or just a casual skype talk. I am unlikely to do it justice in this short exposition, but it may at least suffice to give an overview of the main developments. This course explores the history of english words, tracing back a number of common. The word lol was added to the oxford english dictionary in 2011.
California leads the nation in the number of limited english speaking proficient people, with 19. For example, the sentence the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog is a pangram. Get ready to impress your friends with your newly gained. English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and with the british council estimating that 2 billion people will be learning it by 2020, that certainly looks set to continue. Since history relies heavily on written documents as records of the past, it follows logically that the roots of language must be prehistoric. The following sentence contains all 26 letters of the alphabet. First is language is symbolic which known as the use of symbols such in spoken or. The english language is as fascinating as it is popular and obviously has its own history. Same language buddies can sit next to each other during the engage phase so that the english language learner can whisper questions to the buddy in the native language hansen, 2006, p. Due to increasing importance of communication in english, we as english teachers need to teach language skill with a.
English is a west germanic language that originated from anglofrisian dialects brought to britain in the mid 5th to 7th centuries ad by anglosaxon migrants from what is now northwest germany, southern denmark and the netherlands. Nevertheless, it is clear that the books authors were fully engaged with the. Click here to jump to the pdfs of grammar explanations exercises. White paper series the english language in the digital age sophia ananiadou university of manchester john mcnaught university of manchester paul thompson university of manchester georg rehm, hans uszkoreit editors. And the dictionary grows by about 4,000 words a year. More people in the world have learned english as a second language than there are native english speakers. Teaching and learning english as a foreignsecond language.
English is a west germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval england and eventually became a global lingua franca. L2 users of english in particular need to interact with different types of nonnative speakers. Pdf on jan 15, 2015, nawar alsaadi and others published importance of english language in the development of tourism management find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Grammar distinctions were lost as many noun and adjective endings were levelled to e. In the definition, language separate to three criteria. Below are 35 interesting facts about english thatll both surprise you and help.
History of the english language carsonnewman college. Here is the collection of some useful facts about english language that you should know. English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world so it is not surprising that so many people want to learn how to speak english in your english classes you no doubt learn interesting things but im sure you havent heard all of these facts before 1. This chapter focuses on the importance of language skills in the workplace, and covers basic tips for how you can improve your.
The english language has been developing for more than 1,400 years. The english language changed enormously during the middle english period, both in vocabulary and pronunciation, and in grammar. Pdf on jan 15, 2015, nawar alsaadi and others published importance of english language in the development of tourism management find. These are the kinds of statement which seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. It explains why learning english is so important in czech surroundings as well as names reasons for studying a foreign language. The percentage of public school students in the united states who were english language learners ells was higher in fall 2016 9. May 2003 e an opinion, when all is said and done, it would ill becom e m e to suggest that i should com e down like a ton o f b rick ge as life an d tw ice as n. English originates from north west germany and the netherlands. Old english 4501066 external history the coming of the germanic tribes to england c 450 the christianisationof england c 600 the scandinavian invasions c 800 literature epic literature. English is the sole official language in 31 nations. It is used to communicate anything from microchip to oil. The word unable is the longest english word in normal use that contains no letter more than once. W ords have fascinating stories to tellabout the history and culture of their speakers, about the human mind and human creativity, and about the power of language.
May 03, 2017 the english language has been developing for more than 1,400 years. English is an indoeuropean language and belongs to the west germanic group of the germanic languages. Old english first came into use way back in the 5th century ad. It is the language that continues to dominate the nation. Why did you choose english language and linguistics. Shakespeare was an architect of the english language the legendary playwright was responsible for many of the things we say and write today.
Old english 450 to 1066 middle english 1066 to 1500. English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world so it is. From sound to sense offers readers who have little or no analytic understanding of english a thorough treatment of the various components of the language. There are three main divisions in the history of english and these were reflected in the presentations which were given during the term.
See more ideas about english language, tesol, facts. The english language is, quite literally, the greatest language in the world. There are 24 different dialects of english in the us. Here are 11 facts about english that you probably didnt know. English is spoken by one out of every six people in the world.
Korea such as the methods of learning and teaching english language in korea, and policy makers impact on the way english language is being taught and learnt in korea. English speaking countries among students of english language at a secondary school. Dec 15, 2011 the origins of the english language pdf 1. Only surpassed by mandarin on native speakers, english is the language of international. In fact, we actually have a higher population of english speakers than the united kingdom itself. Old english originated from a germanic tribal and linguistic continuum along the frisian north sea coast, whose languages gradually evolved into the anglic languages in the british isles, and into the frisian languages and low germanlow saxon on the continent. Beowulf c 800, manuscript from c minor poetry 600 onwards the anglosaxon chronicle 8th century onwards structure of language sound system. The word was dord and it became known as ghost word. We have compiled a list of 30 fun and interesting facts about the english language. Pdf resources for aviation english 12 pronunciation units and teacher notes english exam, teacher.
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