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”

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”

La La Land: Singing and Dancing all the Way to the Oscars

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 25 January 2017 > What's On

“La-la Land” is usually an affectionately insulting nickname for Los Angeles, home of Hollywood and purveyor of unrealistic dreams. The film La La Land, however, is a hymn to the City of Angels, the golden age of cinema and musical comedies. La La Land is making a sensation, having won seven Golden Globes, more than … Continue reading “La La Land: Singing and Dancing all the Way to the Oscars”

Drama and Cabaret with Footsbarn Theatre

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 24 January 2017 > What's On

The wonderful itinerant Footsbarn theatre company has taken up residence at the Cirque Romanès in Paris till 26 February with two shows: a drama, Cuckoo’s Nest, and a cabaret, Shakespeare Celebration. Footsbarn began in Cornwall but has been based in France (in La Chaussée (03)) for years. If you’ve been lucky enough to catch one … Continue reading “Drama and Cabaret with Footsbarn Theatre”

Women on Stage: How Shocking!

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 24 January 2017 > What's On

For three nights only, a play about the pioneer women actresses who were the celebrities of Restoration London in seventeenth century. In Shakespeare’s plays, the women’s roles were played by boy actors. In Puritan England, the idea of a woman acting on stage was considered scandalous. In fact theatres in general were considered immoral, and … Continue reading “Women on Stage: How Shocking!”

Supreme Court Rules on Brexit Launch

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 24 January 2017 > In the News

Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled that Parliament must vote on the government’s plans to trigger Article 50 of Lisbon Treaty, to start the process of leaving the European Union. The Supreme Court was hearing the Government’s appeal against the October High Court ruling that the government couldn’t trigger Article 50 and start Brexit negotiations without … Continue reading “Supreme Court Rules on Brexit Launch”

Stephen Hawking at 75

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 20 January 2017 > In the News

Stephen Hawking is a phenomenal scientist and scientific phenomenon. He enjoys his unique position as a popular cultural icon as well as one of the most respected scientists of his generation. The man who doctors gave two years to live when he was 21 has just celebrated his 75th birthday. To coin a phrase from … Continue reading “Stephen Hawking at 75”

Shetland Viking Fire Festival

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 19 January 2017 > Celebrate

The Shetland Islands are the northernmost part of the U.K., and belonged to Norway until 1468. So it’s no surprise that the highpoint in the Shetland cultural calendar is a spectacular Viking fire festival in January: Up Helly Aa. On the last Tuesday of January, a thousand costumed men pull a Viking longship through Lerwick … Continue reading “Shetland Viking Fire Festival”

Learning to Learn

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 19 January 2017 > Pedagogy

What does a pupil understand when a teacher says, “Learn today’s lesson for next time”? What exactly should the pupil do? Read the work over, copy it out, memorise the new words or expressions, use them in context to produce a message…? Which tools should be used (notebook, textbook, school homework website…)? And how will … Continue reading “Learning to Learn”