Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a key technique in image processing and computer vision, particularly applied in language detection and recognition. While OCR has been explored for various languages, the English language has received significant attention due to its global prevalence. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive review of OCR techniques for English, serving as a basis for further research and as a reference for character processing in other languages. Recent methods for detecting and recognizing printed and handwritten text in the past five years are selected and classified into two approaches, including traditional rule-based approach, modern approach. The authors also discuss, evaluate, and classify the latest research on OCR applied to English printed and handwritten text. Additionally, the paper analyzes challenges faced by current OCR techniques and offers suggestions for future research directions in this field.