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English in Action project scoops top award for international impact

1 December 2017

English in Action (EIA), an inspiring OU-led project to transform English language teaching in Bangladesh has won a prestigious Times Higher Education Award for International Impact. The Award recognises projects which have had a significant, demonstrable impact on the world at large. “innovative and pragmatic “ The judges said that the programme was a “clear winner […]

7 creative ways teachers can get kids writing

14 November 2017

Professor of Literacy, Teresa Cremin, is working on a new research project to develop teachers’ skills as writers, in order to help develop the confidence and motivation of students. Here she shares seven ways that teachers can get their students into writing: 1. Clear time and space, and ‘just write’ Help children to turn off their […]

Still a stigma: Abortion 50 years on

27 October 2017

Fifty years on from from the 1967 Abortion Act, OU academic and researcher in abortion policy, politics and teenage pregnancy, Dr Lesley Hoggart, examines why there is still a stigma attached to women who have more than one abortion. Challenging the stigma associated with abortions “It’s been 50 years since the Abortion Act 1967 was passed, […]

Why asking what causes autism is the wrong question

11 October 2017

The animal rights charity PETA recently made a link between autism and drinking cow’s milk. The article on its website discussed research that linked a diary-free diet with a reduction in symptoms of autism in children. The charity cited two particular research projects which suggest a link between drinking cow’s milk and autism. It was […]

Take a first step into distance learning: free online course with BBC Learning English

9 October 2017

Want to be a distance learner? Don’t know where to start? The OU has teamed up with BBC Learning English to provide a free 10-week online course to teach you how to become a pro. Go the Distance includes animations, explainers, support from academics on writing techniques and interviews with students about their experiences of distance […]

Does poor spelling really mean Donald Trump isn’t fit to be president?

12 September 2017

In the aftermath of a controversial clash of protests in Boston, Donald Trump sent out a tweet about the need to heal the nation – managing in the process to misspell the word “heal”. He then quickly deleted the tweet, resent it with the same mistake, deleted the second attempt, until finally getting it right […]

Top tips on getting to sleep the night before the big day

15 August 2017

Getting to sleep before a big day is never going to be simple. But it can be much easier if you manage your sleep (and your children’s sleep) beforehand. Honorary Associate, Dr Paul Kelley, is an expert in circadian and memory neuroscience, and given his top tips on how to wind-down before the big day: […]

Trumpslation: why Donald Trump’s words give translators so much trouble

7 August 2017

Much has already been written on the difficulty that translators and interpreters have when translating Donald Trump’s speeches and messages into other languages. The president’s frequent mangling of the English language has left interpreters and translators scratching their heads the world over. The most recent challenge for translators was how to translate the president’s inappropriate […]

Women’s Euro 2017 football tournament – all you need to know

26 July 2017

The summer of women’s sport takes to the football pitch with the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 competition getting underway on July 16. It will be the 12th women’s Euro tournament and is hosted by the Netherlands for the first time, who will launch proceedings with a match against Norway in Utrecht. A total of 47 […]

Testosterone in female athletes – gender expert comments

4 July 2017

A new report from The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) says that female athletes with high levels of testosterone, such as Caster Semenya, could have a competitive advantage over their rivals. Currently the Court of Arbitration for Sport has suspended a rule enforcing a limit on naturally occurring levels of testosterone in female athletes […]

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Category: Education, languages and health