English is the international language which is taught in schools around the world. English usage is increasingly making the language more deeply rooted in each community.
In countries such as India, Singapore, Malaysia and Pakistan, English is used as a second language. These countries and many other countries in Africa and North America had been under British rule. The people in the country are already accustomed to speaking English. They had no difficulty in conversing in English even though the British government has abandoned these countries decades ago. For countries which never became a British colony, the use of English is something new for them. Therefore, English is not regarded as a second language but a foreign language.
Methods of teaching English as a second language and foreign language is slightly different. In a second language classes, an English teacher does not have to wear a lot of illustrations, picture, or video while in a foreign language class, students are not familiar with the English language at all. Teachers should use more illustrations, images, video and sound recordings to help students hear, speak, read, and write in English well.
The introduction of Internet technology has helped the experience of teaching and learning English easier. Teachers can communicate and share their experiences with other teachers, and download games, grammar exercises and lesson plans. Similarly, the availability of English language learning software has helped a lot of English learners around the world to master the language better and faster.
In the future, English will no longer be a foreign language. English will be the second language or first language. More and more parents whose native language is not English would rather talk to their children in English. This can be seen among the migrants who live in the United States, Canada, and Australia. This phenomenon can also be seen in Singapore, Malaysia. Whether you like it or not, English has become part of our daily lives.