摘要
The last few centuries have witnessed the growth of English into Englishes. Originally, English was spoken by a relatively small group of mother-tongue speakers born and bred within the shores of the British Isles, it is now spoken in almost every country in the world, and has established its status as an International Language, or a Lingua Franca （Jenkins 2003： 4）. Currently, there are approximately seventy-five territories where English is spoken either as the first language （L1）, or as an official （i.e.institutionalised） second language （L2） in the fields such as government, law and education （Jenkins, 2003： 1）, and an even larger population speak English as a foreign language. Turning on the TV or radio, we can see and hear people of different races, from different countries around the world speaking the same language, to be more exact, roughly the same language： English, or Englishes. Exposed to the multitude of types of English, it is not surprising to hear some English teachers complaining： ＂Teaching English is getting more and more difficult now.＂
