Happy Birthday World Wide Web

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 12 March 2019 > In the News

It’s the thirtieth anniversary of the conception of the World Wide Web. In seems incredible to imagine that something billions of us use hundreds of times a day was the brainchild of one man trying to solve a practical problem. British scientist Tim Berners-Lee – he wasn’t Sir back in 1989 — was a software … Continue reading “Happy Birthday World Wide Web”

Queens on Screen

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 21 February 2019 > What's On

Films about Stuart queens are like buses — there are none for ages, then two together, just in time for the Oscars. Mary Queen of Scots and her descendant Queen Anne are both gracing our screens in radically different biopics, both diverging from history as it has traditionally been portrayed. The Favourite portrays the reign … Continue reading “Queens on Screen”

Love in Harlem

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 07 February 2019 > What's On

If Beale Street Could Talk,  one of this year’s Oscar-nominated films has impeccable credentials: the first English-language film adapted from one of James Baldwin’s novels, it was both adapted and directed by Barry Jenkins, who won the 2017 Best Picture Oscar for Moonlight. Like Moonlight, and Baldwin’s work, it is centered on a working-class African-American … Continue reading “Love in Harlem”

All About the Royals

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 05 February 2019 > What's On

The next “Talk in English” at the British Council in Paris will be on Thursday 21 February and will be on a popular topic: the British Royal Family. The talk will be given by one of the British Council’s teachers, Amy Brightling, and will cover the recent history of the Royal family, and their importance … Continue reading “All About the Royals”

Black History Month in Rennes

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 30 January 2019 > Celebrate

In honour of the Black History Month, the Institut Franco-Américain in Rennes has two events centered around author James Baldwin, just in time for the release of the Oscar-nominated If Beale Street Could Talk. Born in 1924 in Harlem, New York, Baldwin is remembered as a novelist, poet, playwright, essayist and social critic. From 1948 … Continue reading “Black History Month in Rennes”

Dorothea Lange Winners Collège and Seconde

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 29 January 2019 > Pedagogy

We had so many fabulous entries to our Dorothea Lange creative writing contest that we’ve chosen 30 winners instead of 10. Here are the winning texts from collège and Seconde pupils, in alphabetical order except where we’ve regrouped texts about a single photo. Agathe, Mme Joubry’s class, Lycée Gustave Monod, Enghien les Bains (95) Damaged … Continue reading “Dorothea Lange Winners Collège and Seconde”

Dorothea Lange Winners Première

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 29 January 2019 > Pedagogy

We had so many fabulous entries to our Dorothea Lange creative writing contest that we’ve chosen 30 winners instead of 10. Here are the winning texts from Première pupils, in alphabetical order except where we’ve regrouped texts about a single photo. (We’ve included Première LVA pupils with the Terminale winners.) Here are two of our … Continue reading “Dorothea Lange Winners Première”

Dorothea Lange Winners Première LVA and Terminale

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 29 January 2019 > Pedagogy

We had so many fabulous entries to our Dorothea Lange creative writing contest that we’ve chosen 30 winners instead of 10. Here are the winning texts from Première LVA and Terminale pupils, in alphabetical order except where we’ve regrouped texts about a single photo. Aminata, M. Benain’s class, Lycée Gustave Monod, Enghien-les-Bains (95) Alabama, 1938, … Continue reading “Dorothea Lange Winners Première LVA and Terminale”

Myth and Hero

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 29 January 2019 > What's On

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has had quite a year. The Supreme Court Justice has been the focus of a biopic and a documentary, which has been nominated for an Oscar. At 85, and despite frail health, Bader Ginsburg seems to have reached greater influence than she ever imagined. The 85-year-old is the doyenne of the Supreme … Continue reading “Myth and Hero”