U.S. Election Adverts

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 14 October 2016 > Webpicks

Television adverts, as opposed to the the carefully regulated “party political broadcasts” more common in Europe, are an intriguing aspect of American politics. And they are a fabulous teaching tool, giving an insight into American culture, and perfect for educating your pupils about the media. Pupils should pick up details that repeat from one ad … Continue reading “U.S. Election Adverts”

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 14 October 2016 > Ready to Use

Tim Burton’s new film is perfect for a theme on Halloween. It has scary monsters, a gothic Manor House with lots of strange goings-on, and fabulous costumes. It also has a great message about tolerance and vivre ensemble. Vocabulary and structures Developing writing skills by expanding vocabulary use of adjectives to convey a story. Modal … Continue reading “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”

Collecting Statistics: Class Project on Gender Equality

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 12 October 2016 > Webpicks

This project from the United Nations is really concrete and could work well as part of an EPI with Maths and Geography, or at a more sophisticated level as part of a Lieux et formes du pouvoir or l’idée du progrès theme in lycée, especially with ES classes. It asks pupils to collect statistics about … Continue reading “Collecting Statistics: Class Project on Gender Equality”

International Day of the Girl Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 11 October 2016 > Webpicks

In 2011, the United Nations declared 11 October the International Day of the Girl. It’s a day to celebrate girls and raise awareness of the problems they face. The UN, Plan International and USAID all have excellent resources for working on gender equality and education in class. Many of these topics would work well as … Continue reading “International Day of the Girl Webpicks”

Free Poetry eBook for National Poetry Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 06 October 2016 > Webpicks

In honour of National Poetry Day 2016 in the UK, on 6 October, there is a free ebook of poems to download from the National Poetry Day website. We’ve made a selection of those that work best for language teaching, with teaching suggestions. You can download the ebook in epub, Kindle or pdf formats. A1+ … Continue reading “Free Poetry eBook for National Poetry Day”

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 05 October 2016 > Webpicks

Tim Burton’s latest film, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, is based on the best selling American novel by Ransom Riggs. The overriding message of the story is one that fits well into any classroom full of teenagers: be different, don’t feel you have to conform to artificial norms, and respect others for their differences. … Continue reading “Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Webpicks”

Christopher Columbus, Myth or Hero?

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 23 September 2016 > Webpicks

Columbus Day in October is a good time for class work exploring this controversial figure, and how his legacy is perceived in the U.S.A. and in Spanish-speaking countries. Christopher Columbus is honoured with a national holiday in the U.S.A., on the second Monday in October. For collège, this is a relatively simple description of Columbus … Continue reading “Christopher Columbus, Myth or Hero?”

Refugee Speech

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 20 September 2016 > Ready to Use

This speech by UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie on World Refugee Day in June 2016 is a good introduction to the unprecedentedly large numbers of refugees in the world today, and the international summits and actions trying to come up with solutions. At 1’19, it works for practising listening comprehension for the Bac exam, on … Continue reading “Refugee Speech”

‘What They Took With Them’: Refugee Poem

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 20 September 2016 > Webpicks

This thought-provoking spoken-word poem about the experiences of refugees is a good way to have pupils connect with what can seem a nebulous, theoretical problem. The simple listing of the most important items refugees took with them on their flight should allow pupils to exercise their empathy and imagine themselves in refugees’ shoes. Actor Cate … Continue reading “‘What They Took With Them’: Refugee Poem”