Dangers of Online English Study

Most English educational sites present very poor English

My grandmother wanted me to have an education, so she kept me out of school. -Margaret Mead

While online language study can be highly convenient and effective (see Learning English Online), far too often the language taught is substandard, colloquial or ungrammatical. Standard English (SE) is the language expected of college students and is generally that which is required in business communication (see English Literacy). One fairly accurate definition of SE is that established by the SAT, the American college entrance examination (see What is Correct English). American secondary schools strive (with mixed results) to teach SE, but a simple tour of online education sites reveals that almost every educational website on the net contains SAT grammar or usage errors, often in profusion, and occasionally in every sentence (see SAT Errors in Educational Websites).

An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't. - Anatole France

While a well-written educational website is no guarantee of the quality of instruction and resources presented, a poorly written one almost certainly reflects an inability on the part of the educators to correct it or to provide better copy. Unfortunately, most students seeking to improve their English, are unable to distinguish good examples from the many poor ones, and the claim to be a native speaker, or even to possess academic qualifications is often unreliable and misleading.

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. - John Dewey

Online education is not for the person who must follow a leader. It is not for the person who needs to be told to study, what to study and when. But if learning is your thing, the online class is one way to give your mind what it craves most.