Migrants offered portal to language

With arrivals to the US struggling to find places in oversubscribed English language courses, the federal government is hoping that an online learning programme will bridge the gap, says Marjorie Vai

Well versed

Poetry is not about right and wrong answers and does not have testable outcomes, but Ofsted's call for more variety in teaching it is welcome

Found in translation

Brian Whitaker: A new initiative to translate important books into Arabic has announced the first 100 titles - and its a pretty good start

Leading in reading

Andrew Adonis: Literacy really is improving in our schools, but testing is essential if we are to keep driving up standards.

Foul deviations

Dave Hill: The closer I get to my dotage the more irked I become by offences against the English language. It would help to learn that I am not alone.

Questions of style

Language is an essential part of national identity, so why is Guardian America going to comply with the newspaper's British English guidelines?

Gene genie

Any day now Craig Venter - geneticist, yachtsman and Vietnam veteran - will announce that he has achieved one of the greatest feats in science: the creation of artificial life. He talks to Ed Pilkington.