If you plan to travel to the United States for pleasure, work or to study, you need to learn American English. Online sites offering free English courses often use British English and there is a difference between the two forms of the language. One difference is in the pronunciation of the words and another is in the vocabulary used. For example, American English uses the word truck?whereas British English uses lorry? This is why you need to be specific when you search for an English course online that you can take at home on its own or to complement your other studies.

What topics do you learn about when you take a course in American English? In the audio segment of such a course, the topics are very practical ones and include such things as:

- Formal and informal ways of introducing yourself and others

- Talking about your family and where you come from

- How to use a map or a time schedule

- How to get around

- How to order food

- How to study and do research

These topics meet the needs of a broad range of people learning English as a second language. The listening exercises are made up of passages and short dialogues read by native American English speakers. After you listen to each one, you can then answer short questions to ensure that you understand the main idea of the lesson.

Another segment of an online American English course deals with the rules of grammar. In these lessons you learn the basic rules of sentence construction and the parts of speech. Although these are the same whether you study British or American English, the vocabulary is totally American and the speakers are native speakers. You will learn how to use adverbs and adjectives correctly in your speech and writing, as well as other parts of speech, such as prepositions and conjunctions. Verb usage in a sentence is of particular importance and you learn how to use the correct tense of verbs.

To enhance your learning, such a site also offers a wealth of resources, such as ESL games and reading passages. You can read condensed versions of books written in American English and you can read excerpts from American newspapers. If you are studying for the TOIEC, which is needed to meet the English language requirements of immigrating or moving to the US for study purposes, there are resources on the site to help you in this endeavour.

You have access to others studying American English as well so you are not alone. You can make connections with other students and correspond with each other using English and if you run into difficulty you can contact an instructor to get further help. Get help writing the essay you need for acceptance into an American college or university by accessing the links you find on the site you choose.

Sites teaching American English online are also free, which gives everyone with access to the Internet the chance to learn English at home no matter what part of the world you live in.