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The English language in its different varieties (American English, British English, etc) is the gateway to the world of education, business, technology and inter-people communication. More than a billion people speak the English language, and there are only a few places in the world where English is not understood. Here in the Philippines, English is the language of government, education, commerce and industry.

The Philippines has a population of around 78 million. As of December 2004, there were more than eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) employed in over 180 countries as nurses, engineers, doctors, entertainers, domestic helpers, seamen, business management experts, etc. The term "Filipino diaspora" has been used to describe this scattering of Filipinos all over the world. Foreign employers prefer Filipinos, not only for their industry and technical competence, but for their ability to communicate in English.

There are also thousands of Filipinos pursuing their studies in colleges and universities in English-speaking countries.

Thousands of Filipinos are also employed in the call center companies here in the Philippines. Acceptable fluency in the English language by Filipinos is one big factor for the booming call center industry in our country.

However, Filipinos who can speak, read and write excellent English are the exceptions rather than the rule. Studies have shown that the Filipinos' grasp of the English language is slipping, and other Asians are fast catching up, thanks to their governments' aggressive English language training programs.

According to one media report, only two out of ten applicants in call centers eventually get hired, the rest having failed in the English proficiency tests. Those who do get hired are often required to undergo a rigorous review of English. The same report also stated that many graduates from our top universities have English language skills comparable only to 2nd grade children from Western countries. Another news item reported that out of 100 Filipino nurses who take the English proficiency exams abroad, only 50 percent or less pass.

To address this problem of decreasing competence in English among Filipinos, Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed in early 2007 the Department of Education to use English as the medium of instruction in all school levels.

In Congress, House Bill 305 or the proposed "Act to Strengthen and Enhance the Use of English as the Medium of Instruction in Philippine Schools" is expected to be passed in 2008. Under Section 4 of this bill, English will be the medium of instruction starting from Grade 3 up to high school. In addition, HB 305 will encourage the use of English in language interaction in schools and the organization of English-based clubs such as book, oratorical, debating, writing and related associations. Under Section 5 of the bill, the use English will be required for government examinations and entrance examinations in public schools, state colleges and universities.

If you are a teacher or student from grade school up to college, an OFW, a professional, an entrepreneur, an employee in government or in the private sector, this website can help improve your mastery of the English language. Proficiency in English will help improve your grades and create opportunities for advancement in work and career.

The website is divided into the traditional classification of English grammar of the eight parts of speech, plus sections on idioms, vocabulary, spelling, listening, speaking, pronunciation, and writing. Based on these divisions, we have searched for and selected good discussions and interactive exercises from more than a thousand ESL (English as Second Language) and EFL (English as Foreign Language) websites.

The websites we have chosen are consistently good, fast loading, and generously offer to their users, free of charge, a wide range of resources. Besides the materials listed in this website, these excellent sites offer a tremendous range of valuable resources in learning the English language.

Except for three or four websites, the selected sites come from American, Australian, British or European sources. Thus, Filipinos may sometimes find it difficult relating with the situations or the contexts of the discussions and interactive exercises. As soon as we find online English lessons with an Asian context, we will include them here.

According to the National Statistics Office, there are presently more than 13.4 million Filipino users of the Internet. While broadband connection is becoming more accessible and affordable for homes, most of you probably still have online access either through slow dial-up connections or through rental by the hour services of Internet cafes. This website thus uses predominantly text links, with very few graphics.

Differences between American English and British English; an emerging standard of Philippine English

Please take note that these websites either teach American English or British English. Although American English is the standard in the Philippines, we have included websites on British English since the countries Filipinos have gone to as workers or students include those where British English is the standard. For a better understanding of the differences between American and British English, please read the following articles : (1) American and British English differences from Wikipedia; and (2) Differences Between American and British English from About.com.

According to scholars (Dr. Teodoro Llamzon,1969; Bro. Andrew Gonzales, FSC of De La Salle University, 1981; and recently, Dr. Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista, Professor Emeritus, DLSU), there is now a brand of English known as “Standard Filipino English” or “Philippine English”. Dr. Llamzon described it as “the type of English that educated Filipinos speak and which is acceptable in educated Filipino circles.”

In answering the interactive exercises, you should follow carefully the prompts and directions. You should read each sentence or part aloud before clicking the answer you think is right. After the correct answer is displayed, think it over as to why it is the correct answer. (Please take note that the correct answer may depend on whether the exercise comes from an American English or a British English website.) After doing so, read the complete sentence again aloud with the correct answer.

To train yourself to think in English, try to recite the sentences with the correct answers from memory and at your full speaking volume. Or you can ask a friend to read out loud the sentences with the correct answers and you repeat them without looking at the computer screen.

The section on "Spoken English Learned Quickly" is a complete course in English excellent for self-study or classroom instruction and with enough mp3 and PDF lessons for nine months of study (two hours a day. five days a week). You can easily download the mp3 lessons, the Instructor's Guide and the 450-page Student Workbook in PDF format.

Another unique feature is the section on "Learning English and creative writing through photographs". While the primary intended beneficiaries of this website are OFWs, professionals, teachers and students from the Philippines, everyone (from any country) is welcome to make use of this feature of the website.

Before browsing the other sections of this website, it is a good idea to first test your level of mastery of the English language. Listed below are some online diagnostic and assessment tests. Clicking the blue link will take you to the specific page where the diagnostic and assessment test is located, while clicking the website name will bring you to the site's home page.

Great and witty video on giving better presentations (uses Hollywood movie posters and discusses among others "The Morgan Freeman Rule" and "The Biggest Loser")

PresenTired: "The Voicemail"
from Scott Schwertly on Vimeo

Olympics ESL exercises and activities, from ESLTower.com (prepare and motivate your English class for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games through printable vocabulary puzzles, quizzes, flashcards, game cards and exercises related to Olympic Games, sports and countries)

Olympic sports
“Olympic Sports” Dictionary Hunt
"Olympic Sports" Wheel Search Puzzle
"Olympic Sports" Matching Quiz
Olympic Games word puzzle
What we do in sports crossword verbs puzzle
Olympics Games word puzzle
"Olympic Sports" Spelling Quiz
"Olympic Sports" Multiple Choice Quiz
Olympic Sports Vocabulary Game Sheet
Sports and Olympics - Word Puzzle
Countries, Sports and Athletes

Public Speaking Tips by Scott Ginsberg, from ExpertVillage.com

How to Begin a Public Speech
Public Speaking in a Business Setting
How to Use Your Voice in Public Speaking
Tips for Giving a Memorable Public Speech
How to Use Openers in Public Speaking
How to Use Storytelling in Public Speeches
How to Use Humor in Public Speaking
Tips for Managing Time in Public Speaking
How to Engage an Audience in Public Speaking
How to Make an Audience Feel Comfortable in Public Speaking
How to Prepare a Public Speech
How to Close a Public Speech
How to Pace a Public Speech
Memorizing Vs. Notes in Public Speaking
Public Speaking Rules & Advice
How to Be a Good Public Speaker

Good News Comprehensive English Course is a free teach yourself English course for absolute beginners both young and old, and based on a modern English version of the most translated bestseller of all times, the Bible. It aims to develop all the language skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing. Lessons in audio and PDF may be downloaded and used offline. Audio lessons are voiced by both British and American speakers (Real Audio required)

Some parts of the course have been translated into the following languages: Albanian, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese - Simplified, Chinese - Traditional, Farsi, French, German, Gujarati, Indonesian, Italian, Khmer, Korean, Nepali, Russian, Spanish, Tamil, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese and many more translations are expected to follow.

"The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" from C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia has become a beloved classic the world over. Four children walk through a seemingly ordinary wardrobe into the magical land of Narnia. A fantastic adventure begins to unfold as Aslan the Great Lion is pitted against the evil White Witch. Battles are fought, heroes are made, and one of the children has committed a crime that demands the death penalty... What will happen? Take off on an adventure you never imagined ...

Listen now to The Narnia Story (narration by Ray Comfort and introduction by Kirk Cameron) or download the MP3. If you have trouble extracting a zipped file, you may need to install a free program. Just click this link to download a free copy of ZipReader.