One of the most challenging tasks you can accept is trying to teach English to a second language learner because English is one of the hardest languages to learn. It has rules, exceptions to the rules, and sometimes, exceptions to the exceptions. There are verb irregularities, homophones, homographs, and a complex grammatical structure. In addition, there are idiomatic expressions and slang that add a whole new dimension for the language learner.

Many books have been written and websites developed to help individuals either learn the language or learn how to teach the language. There are some TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) gurus, like Professor Dana Ferris, who have done extensive research on second language learning in all three arenas: reading, writing, and speaking. Each arena brings its own set of challenges that differ across the various cultures based on their native language. For instance, some speakers from Asian cultures sometimes have difficulty pronouncing "gl", as in glass. For some, it may sound like "gr". Most times, pronunciation difficulties like these are a result of how their tongue was trained to hit (or not to hit) the roof of their mouth when learning to talk.

The TESOL world is very intriguing because researchers are constantly seeking ways to make learning English as easy as possible. Will it ever be easy? Probably not, but individuals, associations, and forums are trying to ensure that roadblocks that can be removed, are removed.

If you find yourself in a position of having to teach English to a second language learner, you may find the following website helpful.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/index.html

This website includes a variety of handouts that can be used by teachers and students. It also includes links for ESL resources for students and pedagogical resources for teachers.