Letter: Talk to teachers about English grammar

Sir: English teachers and their pupils are fortunate if their Fifties primers have gathered any dust (Letters, 5 February). At our local sixth-form college, some of the French textbooks used date from before 1920, and my son's algebra textbook was first published in 1892.

'User-friendly' was definitely not part of the vocabulary in those days. In fact, it is rather like learning to use a microwave from an instruction book written by Charles Dickens.

Yours faithfully,

MELINDA MEASOR

5 February