United States: Multilingual Potpourri & English Tutoring

The United States of America happens to be one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse countries in the world. The credit goes to large scale immigration from various nations! The existence of people from diverse cultural backgrounds across the US makes it home to a number of languages. As a result, there are millions of people for whom English is second language. Not only the towns and cosmos consist of immigrant population, even small districts are inhabited by multi ethnic groups. Hispanics (primarily consisting of people originally from Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico), Europeans, Asians (China, Japan, India, Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam) and Native Americans define the population of the United States. Talking of linguistic affiliation, one would be surprised to know that the United States of America has no official national language. While a major chunk of the population speaks English, there is also a rather large population that speaks Spanish. In fact, the country ranks fifth in the number of Spanish-speaking people in the world. For all these reasons, it becomes complicated for educators to devise one single methodology to teach English. The problem intensifies due to the fact that spoken English in the US is characterized by multi-dialects. These dialects derive influence from not only popular languages like German, Dutch and Asian, they also reflect less common languages such as Greek and Basque. This eclectic mix of dialects, culture and languages is the reason why English tutoring is a must for new English-language learners in the US. The issue that most parents and teachers face is that children either do not read English properly or do not show fluency in writing the same, latter being the more prominent case. Technology has graduated in the field of education too. Software for teaching English is available easily today. Unlike regular tutoring or private tutoring, software-oriented tutoring combines the power of both audio and video to derive the most out of education. This way online English tutors can demonstrate visually how alphabets and phonetics are used to construct words and sentences. Synergy of spoken and written English makes online English tutoring an interactive and productive affair. The best thing about English learning is that teachers can teach even elementary subjects simultaneously with English. Use of online English software in tutoring can facilitate quick and efficient monitoring of child’s progress. Most basic-level English learners face problems in areas such as phonetics, pronunciation, word formation, and grammar. English learning can be simplified using the right combination of technology and teaching methodology. Online English software can also save a lot of time. For instance, an English tutor using software to teach English can load the questions which he had prepared prior to the tutoring session, instead of writing questions one by one on the whiteboard. Talking about the United States, most elementary students (and in some cases, high school students) show below-average skills in writing English. The whole purpose of writing English is to give word to your thoughts. And that can only be achieved with proper guidance, hard work and determination.