According to the theme song, it’s a “tale as old as time” – the classic fairytale “Beauty and the Beast” returns to cinema screens in a live-action remake of the 1991 Disney animation. Emma Watson stars as a Disney princess who doesn’t sit around waiting for anyone to save her. The Beauty and the Beast … Continue reading “Beauty and the Beast Again”
Some say he invented rock and roll. He was certainly one of the first to popularise it. Chuck Berry has died, practically guitar in hand, at the age of 90. His 1955 song “Maybellene” was a top five hit a year before Elvis Presley hit Number One with his first single, “Heartbreak Hotel”. It already … Continue reading “Chuck Berry, Rock and Roll Pioneer”
Chicago is the focus of the first ever American Week organised by the Institut franco-américain in Rennes, from 20 to 24 March. Chicago, the third-largest U.S. city has plenty to offer. The so-called Windy City, situated on Lake Michigan has a rich architectural and cultural heritage. The American Week will give you the opportunity to … Continue reading “American Week in Rennes”
Robots seem futuristic, in the realm of science-fiction. But a new exhibition at London’s Science Museum traces their history back 500 years. A hundred mechanical wonders have taken over the museum. The exhibition’s curator, Ben Russell, explains that it was when astrologers developed a view of the universe as functioning like a clockwork mechanism, they … Continue reading “Robots Invade London’s Science Museum”
Canada pioneered an experiment on a universal basic income for all citizens in the 1970s. Now, one province, Ontario, has promised another trial. And other countries or regions are also toying with a basic income for all. In 1974, when Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister, the federal government and Manitoba Province launched a four-year minimum … Continue reading “Basic Income: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?”
This A1+-level article will introduce your pupils to an important and fun British charity event that involves many children across the United Kingdom: Red Nose Day. This fundraising event takes place every second year. In 2019, it is on 15 March. Vocabulary and Structures Numbers: important amounts and dates Vocabulary: lexical field around the word … Continue reading “Red Nose Day”
On 15 March, millions of people in Britain will be “doing something funny for money”… and wearing some very strange red noses. Red Nose Day was started in 1988 by Comic Relief, a collective of comedians that had formed in 1985 to do benefit shows to fundraise for victims of famine in Ethiopia. It could … Continue reading “Red Nose Day: A Very British Tradition”
In this B1-level article, your students will learn how a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as ‘human computers’ used their talents to help NASA launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Even if Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white colleagues, the black women of Langley’s group contributed to America’s … Continue reading “Hidden Figures in the Space Race”
The film Hidden Figures reveals the untold true story of a team of African-American women mathematicians, or “human computers” who helped the success of the Apollo Moon landings program in the 1960s. These videos are a great follow-up after using our B1-level article and teaching activities with your pupils. This short video introduces the film … Continue reading “Hidden Figures: Teaching with Trailers”
San Francisco theatre company Word for Word are back for their annual French tour in March, with a performance of Edward P. Jones noir story “All Aunt Hagar’s Children” in Nancy, Angers and Paris. If you have already seen a Word for Word performance, you are probably skipping straight to the reservations information at the bottom … Continue reading “Detective Story on Stage Around France”