27m to gain ‘language of prosperity’

Britain is preparing to fund an ambitious education project in Bangladesh to reverse a decline in English skills. The aim is to make the language more of a feature of everyday life, reports Max de Lotbinière

From their own correspondent

Hull academics are eagerly examining letters written by Philip Larkin - once the university's librarian. Chris Arnot reports

UAE college teacher wins innovation award for English course

A 'ground breaking' vocabulary course for female students in the United Arab Emirates wins new international prize at his year's British Council English language teaching innovation awards

Gone by the Bard

Seth Freedman: A protest against Shakespeare by Jewish schoolgirls has made headlines, but we should beware the rift between secularity and orthodoxy

Master of his universe

When Rachel Cooke was granted an interview with Stephen Hawking, she was told that he only had time to answer six questions. So what would you ask the scientist with one of the most acute brains of his generation?

Bosses called on to fund English lessons for staff

Companies should provide language lessons for workers with a poor English, says Jacqui Smith

English speakers ‘must have fair deal’ in language exams

Pupils who don't speak other tongues at home 'are disadvantaged' say school heads

The long shot

Susan Tomes: Reading online provides a short caffeine hit for the mind, whereas novel reading develops valuable habits of concentration and contemplation

Time for Britain to be taught some lessons

Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, last month announced "a boost to English language learning, teaching and training facilities for people throughout the world". This sounded like good news for British ELT: a major policy commitment steered by the British Council after years of declining support.

Eagleton faces axe at Manchester

Terry Eagleton, Britain's leading Marxist literary critic, faces the axe at Manchester University. The institution is in the process of losing 650 jobs to clear a £30m debt

Dawn of the digital natives

If you believe a scary US report, reading is on the decline. But, says Steven Johnson, it completely fails to consider the amount that we do every day on our computers

In praise of … Martin Amis

Leader: A stylist with the trick of defamiliarising the familiar, Martin Amis is also a keen student of the public realm. His writing on Islamist terrorism has made him enemies; his opinions are sometimes cruder and shallower than the language that dresses them

Compulsory home computers are an intrusion too far

Schools should encourage parents to buy books, not expensive IT equipment, says Michael Sterne

In defence of the IGCSE

Katy Steinmetz: The English language is like anything else: before you can convincingly break the rules, you first must know them