If Beale Street Could Talk, a love story set in 1970s Harlem, is the first English-language film adapted from one of James Baldwin’s novels. This video and interactive book can be used in class to explore Baldwin’s work and the film. It is a romance but also an ode to loving family bonds. And it … Continue reading “Love in Harlem: Teaching Tools”
International Safer Internet Day on 5 February encourages everyone to learn good online habits. A downloadable activity from Microsoft is perfect for language learning. It combines arts and crafts, English and Internet safety in one simple package. The activity involves downloading and printing out what they call a “chatterbox” — also called a fortuneteller, or … Continue reading “Safer Internet Day Communication Activity”
Green Book — winner of the 2019 Best Picture Oscar —is a road movie about friendship and race relations in the 1960s American South. The biopic is based on a real story: In 1964, Dr Don Shirley, a virtuoso classical pianist, was booked to play a series of concerts across the Deep South. Dr Shirley … Continue reading “On the Road with the Green Book”
Andy Warhol remains one of the most famous and iconic American artists. He contributed to bridge the gap and blur the boundaries between pop culture and fine arts and his work is a wonderful way in into American 20th century history, culture, and values. Some thirty years after his death, the New York Whitney Museum … Continue reading “Andy Warhol: From A to Z”
The Hate U Give is a bestselling young-adult novel and now a new film. The carefully nuanced novel, written in part from experience by young African-American author Angie Thomas, gives a fascinating insight into the life of a teenager caught between two worlds: the mostly black neighbourhood where she lives and the mostly white private … Continue reading “The Hate U Give”
The biopic about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is excellent for discussing gender issues in this class. This short clip should really get students talking. It’s suitable from B1+, as there is a lot of implicit content. It’s a scene from early in the film, On the Basis of Sex. It’s 1956, and Ruth … Continue reading “Teaching with Film: Ruth Bader Ginsburg”
Brexit is a complex topic to tackle in class. We’ve scoured the web for the simplest videos we can find. This 2’30 video is aimed at British children, so it’s a fairly simple explanation of Brexit. Usable from A2+. This video from Channel 4 News is a very good explanation of the importance of the … Continue reading “Teaching about Brexit: Web Resources”
A suggestion from a group of British teenagers is helping food banks serving people who live on the breadline. These two videos are good for discussing the social phenomenon in class. As you can read in our article, a group of Exeter teenagers suggested putting signs on supermarket shelves next to priority items for food … Continue reading “Food Banks Videos”
St Andrew’s Day, 30 November, is the Scottish national day. It’s a time to wear some tartan, listen to some bagpipes playing “Oh Flower of Scotland”, dance a Highland fling and eat some haggis and shortbread with a wee glass of malt whisky! A typical Scottish expression at this time of year is, “The nights … Continue reading “Go Scottish for St Andrews”
2018 marks the centenary of the 1918 law which gave some British women the right to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time. Dr Helen Pankhurst has particular insight into this subject, not just as an academic but as the great-granddaughter and granddaughter of Emmeline and Sylvia Pankhurst, two of the leaders of the … Continue reading “Suffragettes Interview”