Native American Film in Class

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 08 September 2016 > Webpicks

Songs My Brothers Taught Me takes place on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (South Dakota). It shows the life of  Lakota Indians today. The film’s website has concise information about the Lakota people who acted in the film, and a director’s statement. The trailer provides plenty of images which can challenge pupils’ images of Native … Continue reading “Native American Film in Class”

Brooklyn Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 08 September 2016 > Webpicks

Brooklyn is a beautiful coming-of-age story about a young Irish woman emigrating to the U.S.A. Colm Tóibín’s 1989 novel has now been adapted as a film. It is perfect for working on themes of immigration, family duty and love. For more about the film, and the trailer, see our article. The film’s website has several … Continue reading “Brooklyn Webpicks”

Paralympics: Yes We Can

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 08 September 2016 > Webpicks

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”

U.S. Presidential Election Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 07 September 2016 > Webpicks

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”

In the Trenches

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 06 September 2016 > Ready to Use

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”

Battle of the Somme WWI Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 06 September 2016 > Webpicks

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 Virtual Visit to Buckingham Palace

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 06 September 2016 > 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”

Marlon James Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 06 September 2016 > Webpicks

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”