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How many hours does it take to be fluent in English?
Immigrants are always being told by politicians to learn the language. But how long does it take to speak good English?
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Obviously … the only way is Essex if you want to hear nouveau cockney. Reem | Mind your language
There’s a good reason why Towie outshines its scripted reality rivals – the language. It’s well educational The reality TV show is an unlikely place to look for linguistic intrigue. Egocentricity requires very little diversity of diction; the only narrative is the first person and the only tone is audaciously brash to conceal the utter […]
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Young people ‘prefer to read on screen’
Young people are now more likely to read on screen than in a printed book Young people are now much more likely to prefer to read on a computer screen rather than a printed book or magazine, according to a UK survey.
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Talking at mealtimes boosts children’s confidence
By Judith BurnsBBC News education reporter Mealtime chatter helps boost children’s communication skills, suggests a study by the National Literacy Trust. Children whose families sit and talk during meals are more confident,
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How to become a national treasure | Mind your language
It helps if you’ve been on Strictly Come Dancing, but anyone who has been in the public eye for more than about two minutes is eligible “National treasures are often fools and worse: dare I say that until last year Jimmy Savile was perhaps the greatest of them all?” Tanya Gold wrote in the Guardian […]
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Speaking it in the family | Mind your language
Familects – home dialects in which words are given private meanings – reveal that everyone has a creative and playful linguistic story Hearing a couple I know ask each other to pass the “splinkers” – their word for sweeteners – reminded me of the English Project’s collection of family slang, Kitchen Table Lingo, the blurb […]