| Preface | p. v |
| Guide to the Phonetic Symbols Used in This Book | p. x |
| Why English? Why Are We Teaching English and Not Some Other Language? | |
| The Importance of English in the World Today | p. 1 |
| How English Became a Global Language | p. 9 |
| English's Strengths and Weaknesses as a Language | p. 9 |
| Further Reading | p. 12 |
| The Importance of English in Today's World | p. 13 |
| How Does English Compare to Other Languages? | p. 14 |
| English Use around the World | p. 15 |
| A Brief History of the English Language: A Language Evolves in a Changing World | p. 16 |
| Before English | p. 17 |
| Old English (c. 450-1100) | p. 20 |
| Middle English (c. 1100-1500) | p. 26 |
| Early Modern English (c. 1500-1700) | p. 30 |
| Modern English (c. 1700-Present Day) | p. 33 |
| Further Reading | p. 38 |
| The Development of English | p. 40 |
| English Grammar: Why Are There So Many Irregular Forms in English Grammar? | p. 42 |
| What Is Grammar? | p. 42 |
| Describing Grammar | p. 44 |
| Irregularities in Morphology | p. 48 |
| Irregularities in Syntax | p. 63 |
| Modern Changes in Grammar | p. 72 |
| Further Reading | p. 74 |
| Irregular Verbs in English | p. 75 |
| Irregular Plural Nouns in English | p. 77 |
| English Vocabulary: Why Are There So Many Words, and Where Did They Come From? | p. 78 |
| The Size of the English Lexicon | p. 78 |
| The Origins of the Modern English Lexicon | p. 80 |
| English Words That Have Been Created | p. 92 |
| Conclusion | p. 100 |
| Further Reading | p. 101 |
| Old English Vocabulary in Today's English | p. 102 |
| Where Did Old English Vocabulary Come From? | p. 103 |
| Where Did English Vocabulary Come From? | p. 104 |
| Classroom Handout: A List of Useful Latin Prefixes | p. 105 |
| The Vocabulary Levels Test | p. 106 |
| The Sounds of English: Why Does the Pronunciation of English Vary, and Why Doesn't It Always Match the Spelling? | p. 111 |
| Variation in the Pronunciation of English | p. 111 |
| Mismatches between Pronunciation and Spelling in English | p. 112 |
| Describing the Sounds of English | p. 113 |
| Why Does Pronunciation Change? | p. 121 |
| Historical Sound Change and Its Effect on Modern English Pronunciation | p. 128 |
| Accent | p. 136 |
| Further Reading | p. 142 |
| When Did Words Come into English? | p. 144 |
| Find the Silent Letter | p. 146 |
| Many Spellings for One Sound | p. 148 |
| The Spelling of English: How Did the Writing System of English Develop? | p. 150 |
| The Origins of the English Alphabet | p. 150 |
| The Standardization of English Spelling | p. 156 |
| Changing the Spellings of Words | p. 162 |
| Further Reading | p. 167 |
| Comparing British and American English (Spelling) | p. 169 |
| English around the World: How Is English Different in Various Countries around the World? | p. 171 |
| The Uniformity of English around the World | p. 171 |
| Standard English | p. 173 |
| The Three Circles of Global English Usage | p. 178 |
| What Are the Differences between American and British English? | p. 180 |
| English in Non Native-Speaking Countries | p. 192 |
| Further Reading | p. 200 |
| Comparing British and American English (Vocabulary) | p. 202 |
| Comparing Different Kinds of English | p. 204 |
| English in the Future: Where Is English Going? | p. 207 |
| Will English Become More Uniform, or Will It Fragment in the Future? | p. 207 |
| Will English Continue to Be a Prominent World Language? | p. 211 |
| What Will English Look Like in the Future? | p. 214 |
| Further Reading | p. 216 |
| Endnotes | p. 217 |
| Teacher's Notes and Answers to the Classroom Exercises | p. 226 |
| Index | p. 243 |
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