The first national curriculum on English for Speakers Other Languages (ESOL) is being launched today. The new curriculum is part of the Government’s Skills for Life strategy, which aims to help 750,000 adults improve their literacy and numeracy skills over the next three years. It will provide ESOL teachers with a national framework of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills at five different levels, together with examples of practical teaching activities for each skill. The curriculum waims to ensure uniform standards and adequate quality of provision across the country.

Adult skills minister John Healey said: "Earlier this month the Home Office published a White Paper setting out how important it is that people living in the UK should be able to take a full and active role in our society. Language skills are a key part of achieving integration. We know that migrants who are fluent in English, are, on average, 20 per cent more likely to be employed than those lacking such skills. Of the seven million people who struggle with reading, writing and maths, up to one million of them do not have English as their first language and we should not let this be a barrier to their learning and progression. They are a diverse group – some have difficulties with basic reading, writing and maths in their first language, others have higher education qualifications – but all deserve to have their language needs addressed."

The government recently introduce the Highly Skilled Migrant programme to ease entry to the UK for people with skills which are in short supply here.