In fact, being able to communicate effectively can improve your career prospects or if you decide to continue your studies. This free course serves as good preparation for studying the formal English Essential Skills Level 2, which is available in Wales.  Whilst the course does not cover all aspects of the current  English Functional Skills Level 2 curriculum, available in England, you will learn tips and techniques to help you communicate more effectively in everyday life.

Working through the examples and interactive activities in this course will help you to understand the different ways in which we communicate and how to use simple techniques to improve your self-confidence in taking part in discussions or writing letters or emails.

Enrolling on this course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. The badge is a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject. What you learn by completing the course will really help if you wish to enrol on a formal qualification.

Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from your OpenLearn Profile. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn Statement of participation – which also displays your badge.

This course has been produced as part of the Department for Education's Flexible Learning Fund , the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and with the kind support of Dangoor Education , the educational arm of The Exilarch's Foundation.

This course was written by Middlesbrough College in partnership with West Herts College, Bedford College Group and The Open University, in collaboration with Coleg Cambria, Addysg Oedolion Cymru | Adult Learning Wales, Coleg Gwent and the NPTC Group of Colleges.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• listen, understand and make relevant contributions to discussions with others in a range of contexts
• apply your understanding of language to adapt delivery and content to suit audience and purpose
• read a range of different text types confidently and fluently, and apply your knowledge and understanding of texts to your own writing
• write texts of varying complexity, with accuracy and effectiveness, and correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
• understand the situations when, and audiences for which, planning, drafting and using formal language are important, and when they are less important.