English as a second language English as a second language Return to Miscellaneous English or rather American, has become the world's second language. Secondary schools everywhere are teaching English as the second language to enable pupils to have greater contact with the worlds of business and entertainment. One problem is that at present English is not a phonetic language.
English spelling has to be simplified so that words can be pronounced as they are spelled.
English spelling has changed over the years. The spelling of Chaucer 600 years ago in the Canterbury Tales is different from modern spelling. Over the years spelling has become more consistent. Many people have tried to make it more rational. George Bernard Shaw in his will left a large sum of money for the simplification of spelling in English.