The World of English

The Support for Polish Reform in Teacher Education (SPRITE) project was set up in September 1998 by the British Council. It is aimed primarily at educating and training English language teachers in view of new requirements in the Polish education system resulting from the coming reform of the sector.

"Business is business", "Time is money", - but is it right that "Anything goes"?

"Where there's muck there's brass" is an old northern English expression. It simply means that people will make money where there are raw materials - dirty, of course - such as coal. But what about the expression: "Where there's ethics there's brass"? It doesn't have quite the same ring. If such expressions are any guide, Anglo-Saxon societies clearly tend to think of business as a necessary but essentially dirty activity.

Patrick (c. 389-461) lived in Celtic Britain, not far from the sea on the west coast, perhaps in what is now known as Cumbria, although some think it might have been Wales. He was taken captive from his comfortable home by a ship' s crew from Ireland, just before his sixteenth birthday. Ships often crossed the Irish Sea to trade with Britain and sometimes pirates raided the coast in search of plunder and slave labour.

Many words have been spoken and written about the September 11thtragedy, and just as many tears have been cried since then. Every single person's life will forever be altered. There isn't much that one can say to describe the magnitude of the tragedy; even seeing is not believing. But here are the thoughts and feelings of some students of the University of Scranton, just two hours away from New York City, about that fateful day.

The Sandakan fishmarket on the east coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah, Borneo, always boasts a huge variety of marine life on sale. Every day, fish, crabs, prawns and squids are brought to the stalls, ready for a buyer. Sometimes you might even catch some vendors selling pingpongballsized eggs eggs laid by the green turtle. These eggs are very rare and always sell out quickly, even though they are sold at RM$1 (current rate US$1.00=RM$3.80) each, an expensive price for a mere egg. Unfortunately, the huge demand also means that the survival of the green turtle is threatened./p>

The environment is a hot issue in the UK. Since the 1980s, awareness has grown of the consequences of industrial pollution, nuclear waste, carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. More recently, the BSE beef crisis and the GM food controversy have made the British public even more sensitive to the appliance of science and agricultural error. We are turning into a nation of eco-worriers.

Planning a trip to London in March? Make sure you're there on St Patrick's Day, March 17th, when everyone (well, almost) claims Irish ancestry. But wherever you are around the globe, if you really are Irish you can't fail to be popular; and if you haven't got green blood in you, you still can't fail to have a fantastic time.

Dear Readers,

The year 2001 was the first year of the new decade, new century and new millennium, but our magazine has only just completed its first decade of writing for students and teachers of English as "the universal second language." We began operations in 1992, but only two issues were published that year, so it is 2003 that really marks our 10th birthday. In today's fast-paced times, 1993 may now seem like ancient history. For the benefit of those too young to be with us then, let's recall what things were like back then.

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the World of English Summer Issue, in which we invite you to let your hair down (or if you haven't any, to let it grow) and forget, as far as you think wise, about exams, school and university (or, if you are an especially precocious pupil, kindergarten).

"Charity Begins at Home" or so the old axiom goes. But does it really? For the many homeless of Britain it begins where they live - on the street.

Different countries have different traditions when it comes to charity. Christmas is a time when attention is particularly focused on the notion of philanthropy. In Poland on Christmas Eve many households leave a place set at the table for the lonely or those without a family of their own. How often does the seat get filled? Who can say?