British Council, the UK's international organization for promoting cultural relations and educational opportunities, launched a free, six-week online English course earlier this month to look at the life, works and legacy of William Shakespeare, while giving participants the chance to practice their English language skills.

The course, titled Exploring English: Shakespeare, started on April 6. It was created in partnership with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and looks at Shakespeare's life and works, including five of his most popular plays: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet and The Tempest.

Each week the course looks at the plays with the help of actors and experts from around the world, then examines their lasting influence on the English language, as well as talking about modern songs and films that have been influenced by them. Participants can do listening and reading practice via this online course, and they can also record themselves speaking some of Shakespeare's lines.

This is the seventh run of the course. The program was first launched in 2016 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, as part of the global Shakespeare Lives celebration. To date, more than 230,000 people from all over the world have enrolled in this online course.

To learn more about the course, please click here