English in Action has marked the project’s 500th lesson to be published in the Prothom Alo newspaper, on 18th May.

The lessons form part of the project’s adult learning work – known as BBC Janala – and are published four times each week in partnership with Bangladesh’s biggest-selling Bangla language newspaper. With 1.8m readers using the lessons on a regular basis, they are proving to be a popular way for learners to improve their English – whether they’re reading over the breakfast table, on the bus or at the tea stall.

Richard Lace, Head of Project for EIA at BBC Media Action, said: “The publication of the 500th lesson is a real milestone for the BBC Janala team and we’re delighted that this method of learning is working so well for readers. Our partnership with the newspaper is very important and we’re grateful for the support that they continue to provide to the project.”

Readers of the newspaper lessons can complete learning exercises and quizzes on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. The content of the lessons is synchronised to BBC Janala’s other services – including bbcjanala.com and a mobile phone service which can help readers improve their pronunciation as well as take part in a weekly interactive quiz to check their learning.

EIA’s links with Prothom Alo have also resulted in the publication of two English learning books, each containing a collection of lessons previously published in the newspaper. Together, over 50,000 copies have been sold and a third book – featuring lessons from the first BBC Janala Amar Engreji Course – will be published in the autumn.