The Three Africas

        When many people hear the word Africa, they picture steaming jungles and gorillas. Hollywood films have shrunk the public image of this immense, varied continent into a small segment of its actual diversity. To have a more accurate picture of the whole continent, however, one should remember that there are, roughly, three Africas, each with its distinct climate and terrain and with a style of life suited to the environment. The continent can be divided into the northern desert areas, the southeastern grasslands, and...

The change in employment opportunities for English language teachers

Since the early 1970s, there has been significant growth in the number of students studying in the English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) sector in Australia. However, despite this growth, by the late nineties, it was becoming more difficult to obtain employment as a teacher of general English as the ELICOS sector experienced difficulties. This essay will consider some of the causes of the change in employment opportunities for English language teachers, and some of the effects. The first cause of the...

English is the first choice of second language studens

Increasingly, over the past fifteen to twenty years, greater numbers of people have been studying English. What causes people to study English? Why does it continue to be the first-choice of most second language students around the world? The reasons, of course, vary from person to person, and it is important to note that a reason why a person studies is no more important or valid than a different reason that motivates another person to study English. This essay will examine some of these causes along with some of the effects of English...