History

English

9-10

11-12

Classification: General

The Norman invasion of 1066 relegated English from the primary language of the country to a poor third - after French, the tongue of the court, and Latin, the tongue of the church. This episode tells the story of its re-emergence.

English

Intercultural Understanding

7-8

9-10

Classification: Parental Guidance

The decision to use English in countries where it is not the first language is controversial. In South Africa, some schools are refusing to teach in English, and in Malaysia, opposition to English classes has led to riots on the streets. Is speaking English an essential 21st century skill and how are new generations growing up with the internet influencing the use of English in the digital age?

English

Intercultural Understanding

7-8

9-10

Classification: Parental Guidance

The decision to use English in countries where it is not the first language is controversial. In South Africa, some schools are refusing to teach in English, and in Malaysia, opposition to English classes has led to riots on the streets. Is speaking English an essential 21st century skill and how are new generations growing up with the internet influencing the use of English in the digital age?

History

English

9-10

11-12

Classification: Parental Guidance

In this final episode Melvyn Bragg travels to the United States, examining the influences and changes that helped make American-English evolve. Words like "skyscraper", "well-heeled", "yes-man", "go-getter", "lobby" and "elevator" are all American terms.

History

English

9-10

11-12

Classification: Parental Guidance

This episode begins with the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers in America in 1620, and their efforts to maintain the purity of the language they spoke. They borrowed relatively little from the natives, and the regional accents of the early settlers blended to produce a much more uniform sound than was the case in their homeland. Later, Scots and the Irish added their influence.

EALD

Languages

English

7-8

9-10

Classification: General

In this episode of Everyday English, learn to talk about food and meals.

EALD

Languages

English

7-8

9-10

Classification: General

Learn how to talk about your family in this episode of Everyday English.

History

English

9-10

11-12

Classification: General

Recounts the story of how English became the language of the English church. The long uphill battle begins with John Wycliffe and the first English translation of the Bible and the program goes on to describe how in the time of Henry V, political necessity made English the language of state, and how the work of the Chancery and later of the printers, helped to codify it.

History

English

9-10

11-12

Classification: Parental Guidance

The English language pushed hundreds of local languages aside. In Australia, English was coloured by a few of the local Aboriginal words - kangaroo, koala, boomerang, barramundi, woomera and cooee. Australian-English quickly developed its own character and was shaped not so much by the local native languages but by the regional and criminal backgrounds of the early settlers.

History

English

9-10

11-12

Classification: General

The way in which a few tribal and local Germanic dialects spoken by a hundred and fifty thousand people grew into the English language - spoken and understood by about one and a half billion people - has all the characteristics of a tremendous adventure. An adventure of tenacity, luck, near extinction on more than one occasion, dazzling flexibility and an extraordinary power to absorb.

History

English

9-10

11-12

Classification: Mature

The fourth program visits the England of Queen Elizabeth the First, and shows how naval enterprise and foreign trade brought scores of new words into the language - anchovy from Spain, ketchup form Malay, and knapsack from Dutch are just three familiar exports from this time. We see how scholars were bringing new Latin terms into the language, and how there was a movement to stop this and keep English pure if it had succeeded, we might now say ungothroughsome instead of impenetrable. We visit Penshurst Place, home of the Sidney family, to see how poetry joined swordplay as a proper attribute of any up-and-coming young man. And we travel to the South Bank of the Thames and to Stratford-upon-Avon to find out how Shakespeare's English really sounded, and how he combined the languages of the common people and the aristocracy to take English to new heights and to invent so many memorable words and phrases that it seems - as a modern spectator said of Hamlet - that his plays are full of quotations.

English

Intercultural Understanding

7-8

9-10

Classification: Parental Guidance

Globalisation is having a huge impact on communication within the workplace, often driven by American multi-national companies. Why has English emerged as the language of international communication and what are the social, and political consequences?

EALD

Languages

English

7-8

9-10

Classification: General

In this episode, take a look at how you can talk about the weather.

EALD

Languages

English

7-8

9-10

Classification: General

Talking about your family members? Learn how to use the appropriate adjectives and prepositions to talk about your family.

EALD

Languages

English

7-8

9-10

Classification: General

What words do you need to know when you're in the kitchen? Find out in this episode.

EALD

Languages

English

7-8

9-10

Classification: General

Many Australians enjoy watching and playing sport, so how do you talk about a recent game you've watched? Jack and Sarah explore this in this episode.

EALD

Languages

English

7-8

9-10

Classification: General

When you go to the doctor, what can you say to describe how you're feeling? Find out more in this episode.

EALD

Languages

English

7-8

9-10

Classification: General

Learn more about travel options, tenses and idioms in this episode.