Free course

Everyday English 2

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More about this course

Having good English skills are important for everyday life. In fact, being able to communicate effectively can improve your career prospects or if you decide to continue your studies. This free course serves as good preparation for studying the formal English Essential Skills Level 2, which is available in Wales. Whilst the course does not cover all aspects of the current English Functional Skills Level 2 curriculum, available in England, you will learn tips and techniques to help you communicate more effectively in everyday life.

Working through the examples and interactive activities in this course will help you to understand the different ways in which we communicate and how to use simple techniques to improve your self-confidence in taking part in discussions or writing letters or emails.

Enrolling on this course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. The badge is a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject. What you learn by completing the course will really help if you wish to enrol on a formal qualification.

Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from your OpenLearn Profile. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn Statement of participation – which also displays your badge.

This course has been produced as part of the Department for Education's Flexible Learning Fund, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and with the kind support of Dangoor Education, the educational arm of The Exilarch's Foundation.

This course was written by Middlesbrough College in partnership with West Herts College, Bedford College Group and The Open University, in collaboration with Coleg Cambria, Addysg Oedolion Cymru | Adult Learning Wales, Coleg Gwent and the NPTC Group of Colleges.

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, you will be able to:

listen, understand and make relevant contributions to discussions with others in a range of contexts
apply your understanding of language to adapt delivery and content to suit audience and purpose
read a range of different text types confidently and fluently, and apply your knowledge and understanding of texts to your own writing
write texts of varying complexity, with accuracy and effectiveness, and correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
understand the situations when, and audiences for which, planning, drafting and using formal language are important, and when they are less important.

Earn this free Open University digital badge if you complete this course! The badge can be displayed, shared and downloaded as a marker of your achievement. The badge is awarded for completing the course and passing the quizzes.

First Published: 18/04/2019

Updated: 20/01/2020

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Course content

- Introduction and guidance
- Current section:
  Introduction and guidance
  This free badged course, Everyday English 2, is an introduction to Functional Skills English Level 2 and Essential Skills Wales Communication Level 2. It is designed to inspire you to improve your current English skills and help you to remember any areas that you may have forgotten. Working through the activities, and learning the tips and techniques outlined in this course, will help you to communicate more effectively in everyday life and make progress in your career.You can work thro...
- What is a badged course?
- How to get a badge
- Acknowledgements
- session1Session 1: Speaking and listening
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Being able to communicate effectively is the most important of all life skills. Whether we are speaking to our boss, chatting to our friends or just popping to the shop to buy a pint of milk, most of us use our speaking and listening skills every day. But have you ever really stopped to think about what makes someone a good communicator? In this session, you will explore the differences between formal and informal language, identify positive and negative non-verbal communication and practise...
- 1 Speaking in different ways
  - 1.1 Adapting your style
  - 1.2 Formal and informal language
- 2 Non-verbal communication
  - 2.1 I’d like to say something …
  - 2.2 It’s the way you say it
- 3 Taking part in a discussion
- 4 Presentations
- 5 This session’s quiz
- 6 Summary of Session 1
- Acknowledgements
- Session 1 practice quiz
- session2Session 2: Reading
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Reading is important in all areas of life. We now have to take in a lot more information compared to 50 years ago and so reading is becoming more, not less, important. In education, reading well is a skill needed for all subjects. At work, it is often necessary to read a range of material for a range of reasons.Everyone needs to be able to read in order to cope with everyday life, but for Functional Skills English Level 2 and Essential Skills Wales Communication Level 2, you must also be abl...
- 1 Why and how you read
- 2 Skimming, scanning and detailed reading
- 3 Fact, opinion and bias
  - 3.1 Prejudice and bias
  - 3.2 Fact and opinion
- 4 Audience and purpose
- 5 Structure and layout of texts
- 6 Reports
- 7 This session’s quiz
- 8 Summary of Session 2
- Acknowledgements
- Session 2 practice quiz
- session3Session 3: Writing
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Writing tasks come in many different forms, from straightforward notes and messages to complicated reports, study assignments and job applications. Each has its own rules of language and layout, but they all involve writing.It’s a bit like preparing food. Boiling an egg is different from making pizza, but both are cooking tasks.Recipes reflect this. Fish curry tastes quite different to chocolate mousse but recipes for the two dishes are structured in similar ways:Both start with a list...
- 1 The six steps to writing success
- 2 Spelling, sentences and paragraphs
- 3 Writing to inform, persuade and advise
- 4 Formal or informal?
- 5 Types of writing
- 6 End-of-course quiz
- 7 Summary of Session 3
- End-of-course summary
- Acknowledgements
- End-of-course quiz

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Everyday English 2

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