It is six years since NIACE published the findings of its Committee of Inquiry on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Its report, "More than a language," made significant and wide-reaching recommendations aimed at addressing the quality of provision, unmet demand and the structure of ESOL teaching qualifications. The…

Adult learning is not a tidy business: adults fit learning into the spaces left by the other demands on complex lives, and into the spaces left in administrative structures overwhelmingly designed for other people. No simple metric can capture adults' diverse purposes and achievements, and no single programme can capture the full range of things…

In England more is spent on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) for adults than is spent on literacy and numeracy put together, an estimated 323 million pounds for 2007-2008. This may well be the biggest investment in Europe for national language learning for adults. It is argued that ESOL is central to several social policy streams.…

Every government wants to appear to be tough on asylum seekers. But in failing to offer newcomers immediate access to English language learning one runs the risk of missing out on significant economic and social cohesion benefits. In this article, the author argues that asylum seekers need to get English language support in their first six months…