The UK government has said that GCSE language students are to face a number of assessments rather than a single "oral" examination at the end of the course. I am really glad to hear this, but only if it means that students will actually be encouraged to talk in class, instead of the current "open […]

A new GCSE in Chinese is to be available from September, following growing demand from schools and business. The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) said the new course would give pupils the language skills that businesses will want in future.

Long live the compound noun! Well I might be exaggerating a bit, but in to the sixth edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary hyphens have been removed from around of 16,000 words, many of them two-word compound nouns. For example:- Fig leafHobby horseIce cream!Pin moneyPot bellyTest tube Others have become one word:- BumblebeeChickpeaCrybabyLeapfrogLogjam One […]

... you think asylum seekers have money to spare. According to the Guardian newspaper state-funded Esol (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes in England are under threat. Funding changes will see many asylum seekers and low-paid migrants shut out of free English language classes in England. The government announced that most adult Esol students […]

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