Exploring English: Language and Culture from FutureLearn

English: the global language Music: making a difference Countryside: a green and pleasant land Literature: books and identity Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts. Find out more This course is for non-native English speakers who have studied English to around intermediate level (approximately B1 on the CEFR). You can use the hashtag #FLlearnenglish to talk about this course on social media.

Topics Covered

Why is English so widely used?
How does technology help you learn?
Language focus: passives
Useful expressions
What does British music mean to you?
Music and society
Language focus: clauses
What do people think about the British countryside?
A visit to the Lake District in north-west England
A look at the different parts of the UK
Language focus: description
British literature
Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre
Anniversaries in British literature
Language focus: comparatives and superlatives

Reviews summary

Exploring english language and british culture

According to learners, this course offers an engaging introduction combining English language and British culture, covering music, literature, and the countryside. Students praise the high quality videos and helpful materials like transcripts and quizzes, finding content well-structured and informative. The language points are useful but brief, often a review for B1 learners. Overall, it's enriching and highly recommended for its topic blend and focus on language in use.

Good pace and content for intermediate.

"It's a good pace for intermediate learners."

"I found the pace suitable as an intermediate learner."

"It was the perfect level for my B1 English skills."

"I felt it was not too difficult, but challenging enough."

Helps understand real-life language use.

"It also helped me to understand how people use language in everyday life and in formal situations."

"The focus on language *in use* was particularly valuable. The sections on everyday and formal language helped a lot."

"I strongly recommend it for language learners and for teachers who want to know more about how language is used in real life."

Videos, transcripts, quizzes are helpful.

"The videos, transcripts, course notes and quizzes help you follow and practice the language."

"The videos are very well-made and the quizzes help solidify the learning. The transcripts are also a great aid."

"Very well-structured and the content is presented clearly. The videos are high quality and the supplemental materials (transcripts, notes) are very helpful..."

"The materials provided were excellent."

Engaging mix of English & UK culture.

"Absolutely fantastic course! The mix of culture and language was perfect for me."

"It was excellent, especially the culture part, it gave a good impression about the UK in different aspects (literature, geography, music)..."

"The blend of topics made it engaging throughout."

"Enjoyed the cultural topics a lot, especially the sections on music and literature."

"I've learned new facts and revised some language points."

Grammar sections useful but not in-depth.

"The language points were useful but brief."

"The language focus points were a good recap, but didn't introduce much new material for me at B1 level."

"The language parts were okay, mostly review."

"I felt some topics could have been explored in more depth. The language points were useful but brief."