10 things you didn't know about the English Language

Everybody knows that April 23rd is a celebration of St George but since 2010 it has also been designated as English Language Day at the United Nations. The date was chosen to coincide with the birth of one the English language's greatest exponents, William Shakespeare, who would have been 450 years old today. The purpose of the UN's language days is to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity. We thought this would be as good an opportunity as any to find out more about this language that we're all so fond of.

1. The English language as we know it began to emerge in the 14th century, although if you were to listen to that version today you may struggle to understand what was going on. It developed from a variety of dialects including Old Norse and Late West Saxon but has changed a great deal in subsequent centuries.

2. The three most spoken words in the English Language are ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘the’. The top three written words are ‘the’, ‘of’ and ‘and’.

3. Shakespeare has been credited with the invention of more than a thousand words that are now an everyday part of the English language, including 'generous', 'majestic' and 'zany'.

4. English is spoken by more than 2 billion people worldwide and has official status in at least 75 countries.

5. Up until 1755, when Dr Samuel Johnson published his 'Dictionary of the English Language,' there was very little standardisation in English spelling and grammar. Along with Shakespeare, Dr Johnson is believed to have had more of an impact on shaping the English language than anybody else.

6. Aegilops, a type of grass, is the longest word in the Engilsh language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

7.  The rise and rise of the internet has seen English cement its place as the world's global language. 80% of electronically stored information is written in English and it is used as the primary means of communication in the fields of science, technology, medicine and business.

8. The English language grows at a rate of about one new word every two hours.

9. Words added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013 included 'selfie', 'twerk' and 'binge-watch'.

10. About 750 million people speak English as a foreign language and around six million teachers of English are believed to be working worldwide. In order to join them all you have to do is get TEFL certified and open the door to a whole new life!

The Italian Job: Making it in Milan

After completing her UK-TEFL training and gaining some voluntary experience, Hannah Mutters took the bold decision to move to Italy with no job lined up. Thankfully her bravery paid off and she quickly secured a position. Here she tells us why she is glad she took the plunge and left her job for a more satisfying life abroad...

Ciao!

I'm Hannah, I'm 29 and from the UK, I completed my TEFL in April 2013 after being made redundant for the second time from jobs in Marketing and as a Career Adviser and realising that my job in Insurance was making me extremely unhappy.

I knew I needed experience immediately to put all of my new skills to good use but I wasn't in the position financially to just up sticks! Instead I did some research around my local city, York, and found a volunteer group and a number of Language schools. After getting in touch with these schools and the volunteer group I managed to secure a position over the summer of 2013 teaching in the English Language Centre in York and I also volunteered as an English conversation teacher for Refugee Action York. The experience I gained doing this was invaluable and really cemented the idea of becoming an EFL teacher and moving abroad.

I have dreamed of living in Italy for a long time. Who doesn't want to live La Dolce Vita? So, I decided to just go for it. During my training I was given some good tips on how to find a job in Europe. It's not as common to have a Skype interview or to be hired without meeting your employer face to face if you want to work in Europe. I didn't want the expense of having to keep flying to Italy and back so I decided to just move to Milan and "wing it." About 2 weeks before I went I  put a free advert in an English publication here in Milan called "Easy Milano" I advertised myself as a tutor and I also advertised myself as looking for a job as a Teacher. This was a really useful thing to do because by the time I got there I had a couple of people interested already.

I gave myself a month to find a job. As soon as I got here I was straight on the case. I located as many language schools as I could, wrote a functional style CV and started ringing and emailing and even visiting some of the schools to make connections and to find a job.

I chose the functional style CV because it has a more "skills based" approach, I don't have alot of experience and a chronological CV would just be full of useless and irrelevant information so a Functional CV works better in this case, the employer can see all of the relevant information straight away if you highlight your skills and back them up with evidence using short and concise bullet points.

By the end of the first week I had a job working 3 hours a week tutoring children. By the end of the second week I landed another job at Wall Street English. I found the school by chance when I was walking to work, it was raining and I was feeling a bit miserable, I walked passed it and decided to go in and ask if they needed any teachers. The next day I received an email from the Service Manager who invited me for an interview the following day. By the end of the week I had a job offer!

I have been working for just over a month now and I have received some excellent support from my school. The only trouble is, if you are on an Italian contract the pay isn't as good, however, I just love to teach and I have the option to work for another school if I want to/need to.

My life has completely changed and the thrill and excitement of being somewhere new is motivating me to continue to do what I love and to learn more about the culture and learn the language.

I live with a family, they found me from an advert I posted on a website. You can live with students or other professionals but I wanted to live in a family home and really get the feel for the way Italians live and to immerse myself as much as possible, in and around the times I'm teaching, my rent is discounted because I offered to teach the child English!

So if you are thinking of taking the plunge, DO IT!

Hannah blogs regularly about living and working in Milan. To keep track of her adventures visit her website at http://www.muttersmutterings2.blogspot.co.uk/

The Long (and Ridiculous) Arm of the Law

The first few weeks of a TEFL job are usually spent trying to settle into your new surroundings. An important part of this is making sure you 'go native' and respect the local codes and customs. Sometimes that's easier said than done though, as you will see from our list of weird and wonderful laws from some top TEFL destinations. In fact you may be breaking the law without even realising it, so familiarise yourself with all of the below to save yourself from a hefty fine or worse...a stint in a foreign jail!

Italy: Pigeon Feeding

After a study showed that repairing the damage caused by pigeons cost each Venetian taxpayer 275 euros a year, the mayor's office decided to ban feeding them.The feathered fiends were causing chaos in the city's iconic St Mark's Square, mainly by using it as a toilet. The ban enraged grain vendors, who were put out of a job as a result.


Singapore: Chewing Gum

The import, manufacture and sale of chewing gum was banned in Singapore in 1992 as a way of keeping the city's pristine pavements clean. After much lobbying from key industry players, the ban was eventually revised so that medicinal gum was allowed, provided it was sold by dentists and pharmacists. The penalties for smuggling gum are still tough though, a £3,00 fine and a year in the slammer would certainly give you something to chew over.


Dubai: Cohabitation

In 2010 a British couple were arrested and jailed for living together in a hotel room in Dubai. Under Sharia law, which is applied in the UAE, two unmarried and unrelated persons of the opposite sex are prohibited from cohabiting. Ultimately it's up to you to decide which is the better option - marriage or prison. Some would say there's not much to choose between them!


Mexico: One-Footed Cycling

With all its stunning scenery and luscious green countryside, Mexico might sound like the perfect place to plan a cycling trip. Just don't try any funny business. It's forbidden for bikers to lift either foot from the peddles, as it might result in a loss of control.


Greece: Stiletto Heels

In 2009 Greek lawmakers moved to protect the country's key archaeological sites by banning people from visiting them in stiletto shoes. Apparently the pressure they exerted was damaging fragile tourist hot spots, which were getting trampled underfoot. Heralded as a great step in preserving Greece's rich architectural history, it was no doubt a huge blow to fashion conscious females the world over.