Could we abolish English homework? In one sense, of course we could. Yet every pupil in an English-speaking country, and just about every pupil in the rest of the world with access to films, television or pop music, will be doing English homework whether or not it is set. And before schooling starts, pupils will have done more language learning than any other 'subject'. Most pupils learn English from their families, not from professional teachers, and develop their skills doing other tasks, rather than in distinct lessons. It is English, then, of all school subjects (in English-speaking countries), that retains most of the qualities of the education available before schools became common. English teachers therefore use the universality of language-the fact that it will have been used by pupils throughout their lives and in all contexts - to enormous advantage. This chapter will look at some of these opportunities, all of which should also be applicable to those pupils with English as a second language. In Wales, Welsh is a part of the National Curriculum, and it follows two models. One is for those with Welsh as a first language, for which the homework suggestions for English, here, are most appropriate. The other is for those with Welsh as a second language, for which the homework suggestions in Chapter 9 are more appropriate.