Why is language so powerful?

Welcome to St John’s College’s 2025 Inspire Critical Thinking programme, which is all about language: what it is, where it came from, and the varied roles it plays in our diverse and complicated social lives. Our information comes via language from many sources, newspapers and broadcasting, the internet, social media, and advertising. Some are truthful and balanced, some biased towards one point of view, and some deliberately aimed to mislead and misinform. To understand the world and make it a better place for you to live in, you must learn to critically assess rather than unthinkingly accept what you hear and read. Nothing is more important to you as you face the problems and hazards the world will throw at you than how to understand and make the best use of language.

Each month a link to each workshop is sent to your email so you can discover at your own pace. Each workshop has articles, videos, challenges, interviews and interactive elements. Upon their release you will be able to find each workshop below…

Katie Inwood

School Partnership Coordinator