How to Learn English in No Time on the Internet

At last count, there were over 6,500 spoken languages on Earth. However, on a fraction of those tongues have more than one million speakers. Although there is no consensus among experts in the field, many linguists believe that English is the most spoken language in the world today, even though it does not have the most native speakers.  How could that be?

With over 800 million first language speakers, Mandarin Chinese is easily the most popular tongue learned at home. However, it is not nearly as popular outside of the home. In other words, students aren’t especially keen on learning Chinese if it isn’t their first language. The same could not be said of English, a language that has far more second and foreign language speakers than native ones.

Just how popular is English?

According to recent estimates, when you add the number of native, second, and foreign language speakers, there could be as many as 1.5 billion earthlings who understand some English. Of course, most of these folks aren’t fluent in the tongue. They may have taken just enough English in school to answer a few basic questions or sightsee in an English-speaking nation. 

Why learn English?

There are dozens of good reasons, but for the sake of brevity, let us discuss the 5 most obvious and compelling reasons to master the most spoken language on Earth. (Learn more about our courses here)

1. Because you like to travel.  Let’s say you’re sightseeing in a foreign country and you don’t know the native language, which is often the case. You have a much better chance of locating someone who speaks at least some English than any other language, with the obvious exception of the native one.  If you were to visit France, for example, which is the most visited country on Earth, most of the cab drivers, hotel workers, and waiters speak some English.

2. Because you are a businessperson.  Whether dealing with German, Japanese, French, or Chinese clients, odds are the meetings and negotiations will be handled in English, since most foreign businesspeople know the tongue.  As a result, a non-English speaker can make him or herself more marketable and attractive if they learn the language.

3. Because you use the internet.  More than half of the websites on the internet present text and content in English. The second most popular online language is Russian, with just over 6 percent!  Not mention the fact that most of the videos and music that is available online are in English.

4. Because you’re moving to an English speaking country.  It goes almost without saying that if you don’t the native language of any nation, you will find your career and job opportunities severely limited.

You won’t be able to work in business, the service industry, or any other profession that requires communication, which is nearly all of them.

5. Because you want to teach your children the language.  Even though they will eventually learn it in school, you can give your kids a head start if you start speaking some English at home, rather than your native tongue. 

Learn English online

The traditional way to learn a new language is to study it in a classroom. But that can be expensive and inconvenient, especially for people who work full-time jobs and/or do not have access to reliable transportation.  When you learn English online you can save time and money by eliminating travel and setting your own class schedule. (Get more information on how it works here)

10 Reasons Why You Should Take English Courses Online

When linguists debate which languages are the most spoken on Earth, they must consider several different factors. To begin with, they must determine what it means to truly know a tongue. Does it mean that you are completely fluent or that you simply understand bits and pieces?

If we go by the former criteria, Mandarin Chinese is easily the most widely-spoken language on Earth, since it has the most native speakers. But if we go by the latter, English would come out ahead, mostly because more people study it than any other tongue.  According to some estimates, as many as one billion people have taken English as a second language.

Growth potential

As the most popular foreign tongue the world over, English is the only language other than French that is spoken on 5 continents. Of course, it is far more popular and influential than French.  At last look, English was the official tongue of more than 50 nations and the de facto one of several others, including the U.S. and the U.K.  It is also the language of the internet and of business, which means its speakers will only grow in numbers in the coming years.

Where to study English

Until recently, if you wanted to learn the language, you had to attend traditional classes at colleges or language study centers.  But new technologies have given students the option of taking the same or similar classes on the internet.  What are the benefits?

1. More affordable

Because they don’t need to teach in an actual, physical classroom, instructors are able to save the company or institution of higher learning they work for money on overhead when they teach English courses online. They can then pass these savings along to their students, which may result in much lower class or tuition fees.

2. More convenient

Whatever the reason or excuse, most people who’ve ever attended any class anywhere have been tardy or late.  Since they are held online and you don’t have to dress up or travel to them, it’s obviously much easier to be on time to a virtual class. 

3. No need to travel

Expanding on our previous point, transportation costs can be prohibitive for students who do not live in close proximity to a local college or language center.  Even if they take public transportation, it can cost them a pretty penny on a monthly basis.

4. Saves time

For all of the reasons we’ve mentioned including travel time, dressing up, and lugging around books, the average student can save hours each week if they simply take English courses online, instead of in a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom.

5. May be just as effective

To be sure, there are some subjects that require a student’s physical presence. You couldn’t properly learn how to dissect a frog or cook a chocolate soufflé without actually being in a laboratory or a kitchen.  But language is a different story because it does not require action and the internet is the greatest medium of communication the world has ever seen.

6. 24/7/365 Accessibility

One of the great things about the internet is that it never closes, and neither do most reputable online language websites. Most allow their students to review English courses online whenever they choose, including multimedia lessons, tutorials, and live classes.

7. Flexible schedules

When you sign up at an online English School, the schedules are rarely written in stone. In other words, you don’t have to take a scheduled class on the same days and times each week. Rather, you can select classes based on your experience level and weekly schedule. This makes things a heck of a lot easier on students who have full-time jobs that involve shift work.  

8. Trial lessons

Unlike most colleges and language centers, some online English schools offer free trials that generally last for a couple of weeks. These trial sessions may be just what you need to decide if learning a new tongue online is for you.

9. Learn from any location

Even when you’re away from home, you can attend online language classes if you can find a place that has wireless internet service, and it isn’t hard to do.  Libraries, fast food restaurants, even some coffee shops have free Wi-Fi that that their customers can use during normal hours of operation.

10. To meet new people

Even though you might not physically attend classes with them, many online language students make friends with their classmates and instructors.  Whether they choose to actually meet in the flesh is entirely up to them.