26 September is the day the EU celebrates all the many languages spoken in Europe and around the world. They have lots of suggested activities to get your pupils enthusiasm flowing for languages. You can find out 20 fascinating facts about languages on this poster, and 20 MORE facts on this new one for 2022. … Continue reading “Celebrating Languages”
On 1952 London’s West End, Agatha Christie’s play, The Mousetrap, is a hit. Hollywood comes knocking at the stage door. But plans for a movie version of this smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after the film’s Hollywood director is murdered. Reality The Mousetrap occupies a special place in the work of Agatha Christie. … Continue reading “See How They Run: A Whodunit Within a Whodunit”
On 8 September, the British Royal Family announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96. Britain’s longest reigning monarch had been on the throne for 70 years, which had been marked this summer by Platinum Jubilee celebrations. She was immediately succeeded by her son Charles, who will be known as King … Continue reading “The End of an Era”
Under the pseudonym Henry Fuseli, Swiss artist Johan Heinrich Füssli, became one of the leading lights of the 19th-century British art world and a popular proponent of Romanticism and the Gothic. His many depictions of Shakespearean scenes, the supernatural, dreams and nightmares are rich food for the imagination. A new exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart … Continue reading “Gothic Nightmares: Fuseli”
As a standalone activity or an introduction to our resource on the centenary of the BBC, this cleverly edited video provides the BBC’s answer to the question, “What is public-service broadcasting?” Or simply an introduction to the variety of programming that it has pioneered. If you show pupils the video on the Indy 100 news … Continue reading “This is Our BBC Video”
The British Broadcasting Corporation is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2022, just as it faces the biggest threat to its existence. The Conservative government has announced the end of the licence fee paid by British residents to access the BBC for 2027. Without the licence fee, the BBC’s future as a public-service broadcaster, not dependent … Continue reading “Happy 100th Birthday to the BBC!”
Festival America is usually a bi-annual celebration of the literature of the Americas in Vincennes (94). After two years of COVID cancellations, the festival is finally having its 10th edition celebrating 20 years from 22 to 25 September. The festival attracts large numbers of authors: 61 this year, mainly from the U.S. but also from … Continue reading “Festival America is Back!”
The BBC is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year: founded in 1922 to produce radio programmes, it’s become a major British cultural force across TV, radio and increasingly digital platforms. This B1 resource has students use the BBC 100 website to find out about the corporation, its history, faces and voices, then prepare a podcast … Continue reading “100 Years of the BBC”
The Irish Central Statistics Office recently announced that the country’s population had surpassed 5 million for the first time since the Great Famine (1845-49). A notable event in a country whose history and culture have been marked by waves of emigration. This excellent infographic would be a great addition to Shine Bright 1e File 9 … Continue reading “Irish Population Returns to Pre-Famine Levels”
It’s a very overused phrase to say that a series is eagerly awaited, but with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, it’s completely justified. There were more than 250 million views of the teaser trailer in 24 hours after it aired during the Superbowl in February. The 8-part lavish first season of … Continue reading “Back to Middle Earth”