I often think that English lessons at school leave a lot t be desired. It seems that often they are used to teach us about the history of English rather than the here and now. Of course it is great to have a back ground on English history, how it was used, by whom and for what reason but surly we should be ensuring our students have the skills they need in their day to day life.

Knowing how to write a letter to different recipients is vital and there is often a time when as an adult we will need to contact a professional body or write to the council for example. Far too many people write formal letters inappropriately and if for example, this is when applying for a job, you may find that you get turned down for it just based on your lack or English skills.

Spelling is something else we have become far too reliant on technology for. With many programs now offering a spell checking function, we forget how important this is and that there are going to be times when we cannot use a spell check and need to rely upon our own knowledge.