Oscars 2017: NotSoWhite

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 16 February 2017 > What's On

The 2016 Oscars received as much publicity for the people and subjects it didn’t honour as the red-carpet dresses or the tearful speeches. The #OscarsSoWhite campaign complained that the nominations to all four top categories only featured white faces and white stories. The 2017 nominations are a radical change. Even if the nostalgic musical La … Continue reading “Oscars 2017: NotSoWhite”

Fighting for the Right to Love

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 16 February 2017 > Webpicks

Loving tells the astonishing true story of an American couple who married in 1958 and spent the first nine years of their marriage fighting the segregationist laws that found them guilty of the crime of loving someone who was a different colour. Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter were childhood sweethearts in Virginia. When Mildred became … Continue reading “Fighting for the Right to Love”

Computers Learn from the Language of Love

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 10 February 2017 > In the News

Reading romance novels is a relaxing activity for millions around the world. But could it also be a way for computers and robots to become more human? Researchers at Google’s Brain division have been feeding thousands of romance novels into working an artificial intelligence (AI) system to try to encourage the system used in search … Continue reading “Computers Learn from the Language of Love”

With Love from Loveland on Valentine’s Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 03 February 2017 > Celebrate

Valentine’s Day, 14 February, is the day to spread some love. Not necessarily romance, friendship is also celebrated. Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries. Its origins date back to Roman times, spring fertility festivals and two early Christian martyrs associated with love. But each country has its own variations, and special quirks. I Love … Continue reading “With Love from Loveland on Valentine’s Day”

Valentine’s Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 03 February 2017 > Ready to Use

This A1+-level article will shed perhaps a different light on what your pupils think of Valentine’s Day in the U.S.A and in the U.K. The audio activity distinguishing kind and mean messages in Valentine’s poems fits into the media education and citizenship curriculum. Vocabulary and structures friendship, love simple present simple past: irregular verbs rhymes … Continue reading “Valentine’s Day”

Jackie

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 03 February 2017 > What's On

Seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (Natalie Portman), Jackie is an intimate portrait of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history: the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. President Kennedy’s assassination was a generation-marking event not just for Americans but for the millions of people … Continue reading “Jackie”

A Giant Fell

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 02 February 2017 > In the News

The iconic Pioneer Cabin Tree, a giant sequoia tree with a tunnel carved through its base, fell on Sunday 8 January during heavy rains. The tree’s home was in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, 100 miles southeast of Sacramento, California. The giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) can grow taller than 100 yards, or more than the length … Continue reading “A Giant Fell”

National Parks and Sequoia Tunnel Trees Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 02 February 2017 > Webpicks

The U.S. National Parks Service celebrated its centenary in 2016. Although the first park, Yellowstone, was founded in 1872, the park service and rangers date from 1916. The U.S. was the first country to legislate to protect areas of national beauty, and National Parks are popular with American and foreign visitors alike. These resources allow … Continue reading “National Parks and Sequoia Tunnel Trees Webpicks”

Weather Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 31 January 2017 > Webpicks

Groundhog Day, 2 February, gives lots of possibilities for revising vocabulary for weather and seasons, considering weather proverbs in English and French, and getting a bit of science into English class. The weather, like Groundhog Day, comes back around regularly, and discussing the tradition can serve as a handy reminder of weather terms. Or pick … Continue reading “Weather Webpicks”

U.S. Trips for Low-Income Lycéens

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 31 January 2017 > Pedagogy

Every year, the American Embassy Youth Ambassadors for Community Service programme allows 20 French lycéens from low-income families to go on an expenses-paid two-week trip to the U.S. The trips, for 20 high-school students and 10 youth leaders involved in community work, aim to develop intercultural links between French and American young people, and develop … Continue reading “U.S. Trips for Low-Income Lycéens”