April 23 Is English

Language Day
April 22, 2015

Teachers in training at the National University of East Timor practice an

interactive learning English game. (Adam Brock/VOA)
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English Language Day

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Happy English Language Day! English Language Day is celebrated
each year on April 23 the date when tradition says William
Shakespeare was born. Shakespeare has been called the greatest writer
in the English language. His plays continue to be published, performed
in theaters and seen in films almost 400 years after his death.
Many people consider English as the unofficial world language because
it is so widely used. English is the main language of business and
aviation. It is the most widely used language on the Internet and social
media.

The first English Language Day was the result of work by the United
Nations. A few years ago, the U.N.s Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization created Language Days for each of the U.N.s six official
languages. The aim was to celebrate multilingualism the use of
different languages around the world and different cultures. Another
goal was to campaign for equal use of all six official languages
throughout the United Nations. The other five languages are Arabic,
Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.
The United Nations celebrated its first English Language Day on April
23, 2010. That day, a number of events were held at the U.N.s
headquarters in New York City. This year, the TOEFL program has
announced plans for a live question and answer chat on the social
media website Facebook. TOEFL is also known as the Test of English as
a Foreign Language. The group says the program is for students
interested in learning more about its test and the English language.
To improve your understanding of American English, you have come to
the right place: learningenglish.voanews.com. Everyday, you will find
news and information in easy to understand English. Our stories and
audio podcasts are based on a 1,500-word vocabulary, listed in
our Learning English Word Book.
You can find classic American Stories on the website every Friday,
Universal Time. On Saturdays, you can find Everyday Grammar, our
newest series. It answers common questions about the language.
For English learners who want to learn through videos, we offer
Learning English TV, News Words and English in a Minute. In
addition, you are invited to take part in Talk2US, our Skype interactive
program for English learners. This show is normally produced four days
a week. A list of production times and the subjects can be found on our
website.