Britain’s commercial Channel 4 TV company revolutionised the televising of disability sports for the 2012 Games in London. It has continued its commitment to disability sport, proudly proclaiming on all its communication that it is the “Paralympic Broadcaster”. This from the channel that brought us Big Brother and Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. For the 2016 … Continue reading “Paralympics: Yes We Can”
We’ve sifted through the many resources online about the U.S. elections to find the ones best adapted for use in collège and lycée classes. The U.S. presidential elections is a hot topic and information is constantly changing. A lot of what is available online is too difficult for non-native speakers, who, as well as the … Continue reading “U.S. Presidential Election Webpicks”
This B1-level article will enable your pupils to get a better picture of a specific and horrific aspect of World War I: the trenches. It puts particular emphasis on the Battle of the Somme, June-November 1916. Vocabulary and structures war, weapons past tenses: simple past (with irregular verbs), past perfect, past continuous the passive If … Continue reading “In the Trenches”
The Battle of the Somme in 1916 was a tragic turning point in World War One for British and Empire forces. There are many on-going commemorations planned from 1 July to 18 November. And the British Legion, British Council and other organisations have prepared excellent tools to help teachers use this theme in the classroom. … Continue reading “Battle of the Somme WWI Webpicks”
A new app will allow classes to virtually visit Buckingham Palace without leaving their classrooms. Beam me up, Scottie! School trips are wonderful learning experiences, especially for language learning. But all sorts of issues with time, finance and security mean that it is not possible for every child to go on a trip. So this … Continue reading “A Virtual Visit to Buckingham Palace”
Animals are always a great subject to get pupils talking, and the film trailer for The Secret Life of Pets has great humour too. From A1 The teaser trailer for The Secret Life of Pets is perfect for introducing or revising lots of everyday vocabulary — animals, rooms in the house and household items … Continue reading “Secret Life of Pets: Teaching with Trailers”
The 2015 winner of the Man Booker prize for fiction, Marlon James, is a star guest at the 2016 America festival in Vincennes from 8 to 11 September. These resources about his prizewinning book about Bob Marley, A Brief History of Seven Killings, would be a good topic for lycée classes. Both the theme of … Continue reading “Marlon James Webpicks”
In the U.S. presidential elections, all the candidates are chasing the youth vote. So Barack Obama has made a short video to encourage young people to sign up to vote. It would make a great classroom activity. The video shows the President doing “Five things that are harder than registering to vote.” Barack Obama is … Continue reading “Barack Obama Register to Vote Video”
Irish poet, playwright, novelist, editor, dandy and wit Oscar Wilde was a major figure of the nineteenth century literary scene, and his work is still widely read and performed today. A major exhibition at the Petit Palais presents his life and work – both as an immensely popular writer and as an object of scandal … Continue reading “Oscar Wilde”
Shakespeare’s birth and death are both celebrated on 23 April, St George’s Day (the English national day). And this year is a special celebration, 400 years after his death in 1616. There are lots of Shakespeare events on all year and lots of online resources, such as an online exhibition at the British Library, an … Continue reading “Shakespeare Online Resources”