In truth, there are at least thirty-five English L1 countries!

Surprised? Most English teachers are. And my current list might not even be all-inclusive by now. At any rate, here it is:

• United States, Trinidad & Tobago, Belize

• Barbados, Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands

• Guyana, British Virgin Islands, Australia

• Falkland Islands, England, Grenada

• St. Nevis / St. Kitts, Jamaica, India, Bermuda

• South Africa, Bahamas, New Zealand

• Cayman Islands, St. Vincent, Grenadines

• Samoa, St. Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone

• Singapore, Liberia, Ghana, Ireland

• Hong Kong, Zimbabwe

Why not check out the official country websites for these and other countries for some eye-opening information on the impact of English on their respective cultures? Many foreign country websites include news, local current events, audio, radio and streaming video as well. Need more information? Just “Google” the country name to get a trainload or two of related websites.

What's the Point

So what’s the point? Just that it’s helpful to provide practical aspects to learning English. World travel and commerce are just two of the many reasons to be cited for the practicality of English-language learning. The internet, e-mails, chats and forums all contribute to a preponderance of English-language use online. A plethora of English teacher resource websites and a growing cadre of English language learner websites help contribute to the usefulness of the tongue.

• http://www.etprofessional.com/

• http://promo.net/pg/

• http://www.quia.com/

• http://www.weblogalot.com/ping/

• http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/teacher/

• http://www.eslbase.com/

The international news is online at so many websites it’s almost embarrassing to try to keep up with them. Did I also mention music, radio and entertainment?