According to a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, lots of participants in Alliance Abroad Group's programs know English well enough to obtain a visa and work in the U.S.A.....where few people speak a language well, other than English. So what about help for participants who already know English but want to improve BEFORE they go? Here are some winning web sites that might be of interest to participants and to staff in your offices:

www.wordcount.org/main.php
This site gives us words that are most often used. For example, the first 10 words out of our mouths when we speak English are: the, of, and, to, a, in, that, it, is, was

www.bartleby.com/usage
Sometimes we aren't sure we are using a word correctly, and checking this site can help.

www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish
The British are always trying to ensure proper use of the tongue they originated, and the dialog found on this site sounds fairly funny to Americans. The dialog centers on a group of people of the approximate age of Alliance Abroad Group participants, sharing an apartment.

Finally, try www.usingenglish.com is you are just starting out.                             [print this page]