• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Kinney Brothers Publishing

Kinney Brothers Publishing

ESL Teaching & Publishing

  • Kinney Brothers Publishing
  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Audio Stories

Kinney Brothers Publishing

The Future of English

05/08/2021 by admin Leave a Comment

This writing marks the 100th post in my Fun Facts About English series on the Kinney Brothers Publishing website – a goal I set almost two years ago.  I thought it worth sharing this personal milestone as one of my monthly posts.

Out of the world’s approximately 7.9 billion inhabitants, 1.35 billion speak English as a first or second language. Natively, English is spoken by about 360 million people with the vast majority being in the United States. In addition to being widely spoken, English is also the most commonly studied foreign language in the world. Today, for every native speaker of English there are five non-native speakers. In fact, the global spread of English, a language once considered useless outside the shores of Britain, is unprecedented in the history of languages. Who could have predicted that English, an amalgamation of European languages, would one day become the lingua franca of the world?

Modern, or Present-Day English (PDE), has many dialects spoken in countries collectively referred to as the “anglosphere.” These dialects include American English, Australian English, British English (containing English English, Welsh English, and Scottish English), Canadian English, Caribbean English, Hiberno-English, Indian English, Pakistani English, Nigerian English, New Zealand English, Philippine English, Singaporean English, and South African English.

Non-native speakers of English take the learning very seriously. Adults and children all over the world invest years of time and money studying English as a second language. English is the official language of maritime and aeronautical communications. English is the international language of science, business, and the hyper-connected web of global trade. In almost any international education environment, English is the central language. A 2013 Harvard University report found that English skills and better income go hand-in-hand and lead to a better quality of life, a fact not lost on citizens in developing nations.

We are increasingly moving toward a time when no one will be able to claim sole ownership of the English language. It will have become a common property of all, a Global English, albeit with many varieties. A World English will be the common factor that allows for mutual intelligibility among its localized varieties. Unlike most major languages in the world, English has no regulatory agency overseeing its use. Attempts have been made to create a standardized international English protocol, but no consensus on the path to this goal has been achieved. And yet, the language continues to spread.

As languages are prone to do, these Englishes are also continuously evolving. With so many varieties, the possibility exists that English will look different in the not-too-distant future. What’s in store for the English language is anybody’s best guess. Our crystal balls have shattered making it impossible to divine a clear message. Looking at the history of English, once a reliable way of making predictions, is not going to give us a blueprint for the future of a language unleashed to the rest of the world.

six official languages of the United Nations

With native speakers clearly in the minority, the course of the English language may well be dependent on the billion people speaking it as a second language. This influence is not just because of their number, but also because the majority of interactions in English occur between non-native speakers. As Modern English moves into its global lingua franca role, changes are inevitable and could happen out of the purview of its native speakers.

Pronunciation

When looking at how a language may change among differing populations, look no further than the pronunciations most often stumbled over or difficult to differentiate to provide clues as to how English may be adapted. The aspects of a language that promote intelligibility tend to spread while those that promote misunderstanding wither away.

There are linguists who believe that we aren’t finished yet with the Great Vowel Shift. Though some vowels may seem durable, e.g., “ship,” “bet,” “ox,” and “full” have been the same for centuries, other vowels are certainly going to shift and drift. The word “home” was once pronounced “heim” in Germanic, “hahm” in Old English, and “hawm” in Middle English. Someday, it may be “hoom.” Consider the regional pronunciations of the word “tour” in both England and North America.; variations include /toor/, /too-uh/, and /tew-r/. Americans and Britons alike increasingly make less distinction between the pronunciations of “pour,” “pore,” and “poor” or “Mary,” “marry,” and “merry.” These shifts in pronunciation, while subtle, can indicate the direction the language will change in the future.

There may also be changes ahead for consonants. Consider how often the “th” of “this” and “that” are dropped and replaced with either “s” and “z” or “t” and “d.” The soft “l” of “hotel” and “rail” are sounds that can be particularly difficult for second-language speakers to hear. Some clusters of consonants will simplify, surviving in the beginning of words, but vanish at the end of words; e.g., “best” may become “bess” and “accept” could change to “assep.”

Spelling and Grammar

The third person singular (such as “she runs” or “he writes”) is the only English verb form with an “s” at the end and is often dropped by non-native speakers. Simplifying verb phrases also occurs, saying “I look forward to see you tomorrow” instead of “I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.” In my own distinct Midwestern American dialect, we Iowans often drop the cumbersome “to be” in passive sentences, such as “the baby wants fed” instead of “the baby wants to be fed,” or “the cat wants let out” rather than “the cat wants to be let out.”

Mass and count nouns are another difficult aspect of the English language that non-native speakers might simplify, opting for “informations” and “furnitures” rather than be encumbered with object/noun agreement. While such “grammatical errors” have a negative ding in any native speaker’s ear, it’s more efficient for non-native speakers negotiating across their own cultural borders.

Technology, slang, and popular culture will continue to have enormous influence over language. Where changes may have occurred more slowly in the past, today they are happening at the lightning speed of satellite connections. Abbreviations and acronyms, once the provenance of military and business cultures, are now the language of tech-savvy youth who text, sext, and share with friends all over the world. Zoom meetings, Facebook groups, and other popular platforms are the virtual trading posts of language. Given one’s field of expertise, there is undoubtedly a long list of acronyms and industry-specific vocabulary that must be known to communicate among global colleagues.

Though the lack of oversight and the changes incurred by non-native speakers may seem off-putting to native speakers, this is English playing its role as a global lingua franca, helping speakers of other languages connect with each other. New dialects, slang, expanding lexicons, and linguistic variations will evolve. Some will stick and others will die out. Walter Raleigh’s expeditions in the early 1600s saw American English take root within a matter of days, with newly encountered Native terms such as ‘wigwam,’ ‘pecan,’ and ‘skunk’ becoming a permanent part of the American dialect. Likewise, it’s imperative that we nurture an adaptability and willingness to adopt new language that will most efficiently serve our communicative needs.

Filed Under: Kinney Brothers Publishing Tagged With: esl, ESL Activities, ESL Flash cards, ESL Games, ESL teaching, esl textbooks, ESL Worksheets, future of english, kinney brothers publishing

English Day – 4/23

04/21/2021 by admin Leave a Comment

In 2010, the United Nations introduced an initiative dedicating one day to each of its six official languages: French (3/20), Chinese (4/20), Spanish and English (4/23), Russian (6/6), and Arabic (12/18). The language days recognize the importance of global communication through multilingualism and cultural diversity. The UN first celebrated English Language Day on April 23, 2010.

English, one of the two working languages of the UN Secretariat, is often referred to as a “world language”, or the lingua franca of the modern era because it is so widely spoken. The U.N. also celebrates International Mother Language Day on February 21 and International Translation Day on September 30.

English Language Day aims to entertain and inform people about the history, culture, and achievements associated with the language. The U.N. selected April 23 for English Language Day to commemorate the celebrated playwright and poet, William Shakespeare (1564-1616), whose (speculated) birthdate and death are recorded on the same date. The day often features book-reading events, English quizzes, poetry and literature exchanges, and other activities that promote the English language.

If you’re looking for some activities to celebrate English Day, the British Council offers an English Day lesson plan for teenagers and adults for online or in-classroom lessons.

The British Council will also be holding a special live stream for teachers on Facebook Live on 4/23.

To learn more about the United Nations’ English Day commemoration and language courses, click here!

Best of luck in your classes and Happy English Language Day!

Donald Kinney
Kinney Brothers Publishing

Filed Under: Kinney Brothers Publishing Tagged With: Donald's English Classroom, English Language Day, English language learners, esl, kinney brothers publishing

Easy Sight Words – A Closer Look

01/27/2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Whether you call them sight words, popcorn words, or high-frequency words, they are, by definition, “commonly used words that young children are encouraged to memorize as a whole or by ‘sight,’ so that they can automatically recognize these words in print without having to use any strategies to decode.”

In addition, high frequency words can be abstract, difficult if not impossible to represent using pictures, and especially difficult to understand where meaning may have an inferred understanding through context (something a second language learner doesn’t have the advantage of in early language development.)  It can be very elusive to create a clear mental model of words like have and get, both of which can cross several different word choices in a language learner’s native language.

This is why students of English need to be exposed to the patterns of speech and inferred meaning of sight words early on in oral and writing exercises.  Inevitably, as you move children from decoding individual words to decoding language in connected text, sight words should be a regular part of your ESL program.

  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf download)
  • Donald’s English Classroom support materials
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf download)
  • Donald’s English Classroom support materials
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf download)
  • Donald’s English Classroom support materials

As your emergent readers display rudimentary reading ability and become capable of decoding and deriving meaning from connected text, including sight-word practice is imperative. The habits that you build into the children’s learning activities will help them to acquire new words more quickly, build on their knowledge base to infer meaning, and progress more confidently in their studies.

Filed Under: Kinney Brothers Publishing Tagged With: Donald's English Classroom, ESL Activities, ESL Flashcards, ESL Games, esl textbooks, ESL Worksheets, kids writing practice, kinney brothers publishing, popcorn words, sight words

Phonics Series – A Closer Look

01/17/2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Kinney Brothers Publishing Phonics Series

A solid phonics program is the cornerstone of many pre-K through elementary classes. Focused phonics lessons and phonemic awareness improve pronunciation, listening comprehension, and give students the confidence to read and understand English. The Kinney Brothers Publishing five-book Phonics & Spelling Series is designed to teach kids the fundamental sounds and spelling of English in a multi-year, step-by-step ESL program.

The Phonics & Spelling Series series is also published by Independent Publishers International (I.P.I.) in Japan and available with a special discount through David Paul’s ETJ Book Service.

You’ll find an abundance of support materials for this series in our online store, Donald’s English Classroom.  Visit for downloadable flashcards, charts, games, and activities.

A to Z Kinney Brothers Publishing
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Nellies English Books (Japan)
  • ETJ Book Service (Japan)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf color and black & white)
  • Donald’s English Classroom support materials
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Nellies English Books (Japan)
  • ETJ Book Service (Japan)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf color and black & white)
  • Donald’s English Classroom support materials
Phonics & Spelling, Book 2 Kinney Brothers Publishing
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Nellies English Books (Japan)
  • ETJ Book Service (Japan)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf color and black & white)
  • Donald’s English Classroom support materials
Phonics & Spelling, Book 3 Kinney Brothers Publishing
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Nellies English Books (Japan)
  • ETJ Book Service (Japan)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf color and black & white)
  • Donald’s English Classroom support materials
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Nellies English Books (Japan)
  • ETJ Book Service (Japan)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf color and black & white)
  • Donald’s English Classroom support materials

Kinney Brothers Publishing offers a wide range of textbooks including a Communication Series for upper elementary through high school language learners, an Easy Sight Words Series, and Trends for adult English language learners. If you’re looking for more support materials, be sure to check out Q&A, Cursive Writing!, and a treasure trove of games, charts, and flashcards in Donald’s English Classroom!

Filed Under: Kinney Brothers Publishing Tagged With: ABC and phonics, ABCs, Donald's English Classroom, ESL Activities, ESL Flashcards, ESL Games, esl textbooks, ESL Worksheets, kids writing practice, kinney brothers publishing, phonics and spelling

Communication Series – A Closer Look

01/17/2021 by admin Leave a Comment

The Kinney Brothers Publishing Communication Series is designed to extend students’ skills and interest in communicating in English. The four-book series includes Stories For Young Readers and Dialogues For Young Speakers. The textbooks work in tandem to provide students with exercises in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Each textbook is detailed below with links for downloadable previews and purchase.

In Japan, The Stories For Young Readers series is published by Independent Publishers International (I.P.I.) and available through Nellies English Books and David Paul’s ETJ Book Service.

You’ll find an abundance of support materials for this series in our online store, Donald’s English Classroom.  Visit for downloadable audio files, Lesson Packs, and Teacher’s Answer Keys. You’ll also see links for Lesson Packs on Google Slides for online courses and Kindle Books for your digital library.

  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Nellies English Books (Japan)
  • ETJ Book Service (Japan)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf color and black & white)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (support materials)
  • Donald’s English Classroom Lesson Packs (pdf downloads) Free Sample
  • Donald’s English Classroom Lesson Packs (Google Slides) Free Sample
  • Kindle Books (Amazon)
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Nellies English Books (Japan)
  • ETJ Book Service (Japan)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf color and black & white)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (support materials)
  • Donald’s English Classroom Lesson Packs (pdf Downloads) Free Sample
  • Donald’s English Classroom Lesson Packs (Google Slides) Free Sample
  • Kindle Books (Amazon)
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf color and black & white)
  • Donald’s English Classroom Lesson Packs (pdf Downloads) Free Sample
  • Donald’s English Classroom Lesson Packs (Google Slides) Free Sample
  • Kindle Books (Amazon)
  • Preview Download
  • Kinney Brothers Publishing (Amazon)
  • Donald’s English Classroom (pdf color and black & white)
  • Donald’s English Classroom Lesson Packs (pdf Downloads) Free Sample
  • Donald’s English Classroom Lesson Packs (Google Slides) Free Sample
  • Kindle Books (Amazon)

Kinney Brothers Publishing offers a wide range of ESL textbooks including a Phonics Series that begins with your youngest students, an Easy Sight Words Series, and Trends for secondary and adult English language learners. If you’re looking for more support materials, be sure to check out Q&A, Cursive Writing!, and a treasure trove of games, charts, and flashcards in Donald’s English Classroom!

Filed Under: Kinney Brothers Publishing Tagged With: Dialogues For Young Speakers, Donald's English Classroom, ESL Activities, ESL Dialogues, ESL Flashcards, ESL Games, esl textbooks, ESL Worksheets, kids writing practice, kinney brothers publishing, Stories For Young Readers

Christmas Puzzles

12/09/2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Kinney Brothers Publishing Christmas Puzzles

It’s the time of year to start planning for Christmas parties! Like Halloween parties, I’m tasked with organizing a series of activities that are easy to set up and repeat over multiple days for dozens of classes ranging in age from wee little ones through junior high students.

Many games I use in class are for introducing and reviewing vocabulary. Once a year I have a window of opportunity to introduce or repeat holiday vocabulary that I otherwise never get the chance to use during the rest of the school year. Over time, and with repetition, my students pick up Halloween words like mummy and jack-o-lantern and Christmas words like elf and wreath.

Many of the paper activities I use have been created over many years and recycled as my kids grow up and move on. I’ve also used these puzzles in my adult classes as a quick warm-up during the holiday season.

You can download a free collection of paper puzzles to play in your own classes. Merry Christmas! These activities are great for introducing holiday vocabulary before parties, as a cool-down activity during parties, or a last-chance review after the holidays. Hopefully, they will spark some ideas for creating your own puzzles! They include answer keys and word banks.

Kinney Brothers Publishing Christmas games

https://www.kinneybrothers.com/DOWNLOADS/CHRISTMAS_PUZZLES.pdf

If you’re looking for more Christmas cheer, check out these Bingo, Tic-Tac-Toe, and (free) Pairs activities from my online store! Whether you’re playing in class or online, these games are easy enough to play with your youngest students. Christmas I Have/Who Has is only available as a bonus in the Christmas Game Bundle!

Donald's English Classroom Christmas games

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2021!

Donald Kinney
Kinney Brothers Publishing

Filed Under: Kinney Brothers Publishing Tagged With: christmas, christmas bingo, christmas puzzles, Donald's English Classroom, english language learning, esl, ESL Activities, ESL Games, esl textbooks, ESL Worksheets, flashcard activities, flashcard games, kinney brothers publishing

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 11
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Search

Kinney Brothers Publishing

Kinney Brothers Publishing Catalogue

Donald’s English Classroom

Donald's English Classroom Catalog

Click to download!

USA Map Puzzle

Sign up and download for free!

Kinney Brothers Publishing 50 Plus Flash Card Activities

Click to see full listings!

Jooble Ad ESL Tutor Jobs

Weekly Fun Facts About English!

Fun Facts About English

Now in Japan!

Independent Publishers International
Kinney Brothers Publishing Kinney Brothers Publishing ©2018-All Rights Reserved Worldwide Contact
 

Loading Comments...