Do You Know About… Christmas Crackers?

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 20 December 2021 > Celebrate

Christmas crackers are such an integral part of British Christmas dinner celebrations but do you know how they were invented? Hint: there’s a French connection. Enjoy our animated slideshow with your students from A2.

A Year in Words

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 17 December 2021 > In the News

Different dictionaries have been revealing their “words of the year” for 2021. The COVID pandemic has had a major influence on the words we use and look up. Vax, double-vaxxed, vaccine and pingdemic all show up, as well as perseverance, which we’ve all had to show. Oxford Dictionaries announced vax was their word of the … Continue reading “A Year in Words”

King Richard

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 09 December 2021 > Shine Bright Lycée What's On

King Richard is a film about a man with a mission: Richard Williams, who decided two years before his daughter Venus was born, that he would have two daughters destined to become tennis champions. This would seem a pretty wild ambition even if Williams had been from a tennis-playing background. However, that couldn’t have been … Continue reading “King Richard”

Josephine Baker: An Incredible Life

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 26 November 2021 > Ready to Use

Our bioboxes are short “Who Am I?” quizzes to help introduce pupils to famous figures in the English-speaking world.  This one is on Josephine Baker as she enters the French Panthéon. For more information on Baker, see our article. You can download the biobox below to use it offline with your pupils.  

Animal Farm Audio Book

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 26 November 2021 > Webpicks

If you’re studying Animal Farm with your LLCER 1e students, check out the complete and unabridged audio book of Orwell’s allegory on the BBC Sounds site. You can easily find extracts to play for pupils or for them to listen to in preparation. Free to stream.

400 Years of Thanksgiving

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 25 November 2021 > In the News

This year sees the 400th anniversary of the ancestor of today’s Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.A. 400 years after the meal shared by Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians in Massachusetts, efforts are gaining ground to see the event from the points of view of both communities. When the Mayflower brought 102 Puritans to New England in … Continue reading “400 Years of Thanksgiving”

St Andrews Day Online Resources

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 25 November 2021 > Webpicks

St Andrew’s Day, 30 November, is the Scottish national day. Here are a couple of resources to talk about the celebration with collège classes, and a suggestion to get everyone moving! This BBC Newsround article written for children has “Everything you need to know about St Andrew’s Day”. It’s usable from A2. You may want … Continue reading “St Andrews Day Online Resources”

West Side Story 2021

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 24 November 2021 > Ready to Use

Sixty years after Robert Wise’s award-winning movie, Steven Spielberg’s much awaited remake of West Side Story aims at a much more authentic portrayal of the Puerto Rican protagonists in this Romeo and Juliet-inspired tale of star-crossed lovers in NYC.  We here offer one worksheet but two articles of different levels (B1, B2) so you can … Continue reading “West Side Story 2021”

Thanksgiving with Wampanoag and Pilgrims

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 23 November 2021 > Webpicks

For many years, the Native Americans at the first Thanksgiving dinner were reduced to generic “Indians” in the national story. Today, the Plimoth Patuxet living-history museums at the site of the original Thanksgiving have created an online game to help school children learn about both the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag. The former Plimoth Plantation had … Continue reading “Thanksgiving with Wampanoag and Pilgrims”