Talking Pandemic: Unravelling the Language of Coronavirus

Coronavirus mask - vocabulary of CoronavirusThe Covid-19 pandemic has caused a surge in the usage of certain words and word collocations. The language of the Coronavirus outbreak includes phrases such as the ‘fight against’ Covid, the ‘spread’ of the virus, the ‘outbreak’ of Coronavirus and the ‘response to’ the virus. We’ve heard about the ‘pandemic’, the ‘crisis’, the ‘lockdown’, ‘panic buying’ at the supermarkets and the lack of ‘PPE’ in hospitals. Continue reading

Boris Johnson Wants Immigrants to Learn English by Telephone

Boris Johnson Wants Immigrants to Learn English by TelephoneIs it possible to learn English by telephone? This was an idea put forward by the London mayor’s English Language For All initiative this month in an effort to help immigrants learn English.

Boris Johnson’s report revealed that many immigrants living in London are being denied the opportunity to gain higher paid employment due to their lack of English language skills. Learning English by telephone was proposed as a solution to the problem, alongside learning English using the internet – the latter of course being a great idea! Continue reading