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Norma Waterson: English Folk Singing
History & The Arts

Norma Waterson: English Folk Singing

...English Folk singing, the traditions behind the songs, and the stories behind the traditions. Performances from folk singer Norma Waterson complete the fascinating journey through English folk heritage. This material is drawn from The Open University course AA317 Words and music... Norma Waterson: English Folk Singing A short introduction to this album Becoming a folk...
Feeling more comfortable speaking English
Education & Development

Feeling more comfortable speaking English

Overthinking pronunciation and grammar can be stressful when you speak English as a non-native language. This animation explains how making mistakes is a crucial part of language learning. ...Find out more about The Open University's BA/BSc (Honours) Open degree. Transcript Watch the other animations in this series
Why has English taken over academia?
Languages

Why has English taken over academia?

...English is globally squeezing out teaching in local languages, the fault isn't with the language but with economics. Anna Kristina Hultgren and Elizabeth J. Erling explain...[Morrissey on a classroom wall in Manchester] A mural of Morrissey on a Manchester classroom wall Not only is April 23 the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, but the UN has chosen it as UN...
Is Brexit going to unseat English as the lingua franca?
Languages

Is Brexit going to unseat English as the lingua franca?

...English start to loosen its grip on the EU - and beyond?...[The word Exit sits on a wall, waiting to be used in all manner of metaphorical contexts] One way of looking at the outcome of the British referendum is to understand it as an act of self-sabotage: "...and in the end, Britain, which had colonized the world, destroyed itself in fantasies that it was being colonized...
Is English squeezing out local languages in Uganda?
Languages

Is English squeezing out local languages in Uganda?

English is the official language of Uganda - but this shouldn't be at the expense of other languages, argues Judith Nakayiza and Medadi Ssentanda...There are 41 living languages in Uganda. But only three are ever mentioned in debates about the East African nation’s official language: Luganda, Swahili and English. All three are controversial, and present an interesting...
Explore our English literature free courses
History & The Arts

Explore our English literature free courses

Read a great novel and want to explore it further? Check out our free courses on the wonderful world of English literature...[This is an image of a pile of books]
How emoji are changing the shape of everyday English
Languages

How emoji are changing the shape of everyday English

...English lexicon. In 2011 it was included in the Oxford English Dictionary, along with other initialisms such as ‘OMG’. In fact, both of these had been around long before the digital era – examples of ‘LOL’ crop up from the 1960s onwards, although in those days it was used to refer to a ‘little old lady’. But it was textspeak – the particular way of...
The evolution of English: From the 17th century to the present day
Languages

The evolution of English: From the 17th century to the present day

Part two: The history of colonialism was a major factor in the development of English. Follow the global spread of English from the 17th century to the present day...Scroll back and forth through the dates in the timeline below using the arrows either side. You can then read more about each time period, see images and even play videos.