Every year on Australia Day, 26 January, the country honours the Australians of the Year: citizens who have made a major contribution to making other people’s lives better. This year’s Young Australian of the Year is Danzal Baker, alias Baker Boy, a 22-year-old Indigenous Australian who raps in three languages. As well as achieving success … Continue reading “Indigenous Rap: Young Australian of the Year”
As media headlines around the world once again proclaim a new record of horror in Las Vegas — the most deadly mass shooting in U.S. history — Gary Younge asks us to stop and consider the terribly banal everyday reality of guns in America. An average of seven children and teenagers is shot dead every … Continue reading “Gun Violence in the U.S.A.”
Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project site is a mine of materials to work on the environment. Many of them are regrouped under Climate 101. That is also the title of a downloadable 18-page booklet which would be perfect for use with B1-B2-level students. An excellent document for working on Education aux médias is this 5-minute … Continue reading “Climate Change Webpicks”
The organisers of National Poetry Day in the UK, 28 September, have a treasure trove of poems and teaching activities on their website, including a free ebook of poems to download. This year’s theme is freedom. We’ve made a selection of those that work best for language teaching, with teaching suggestions. The Freedom Films page … Continue reading “Creative Activities for National Poetry Day”
In 2017, the U.S.A. has been commemorating the hundredth anniversary of John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s birth. In this B1-B2 sequence, pupils view a short, downloadable animated slideshow giving basic facts about JFK’s life. They will then work in groups to expand their knowledge before preparing a presentation in the Bac oral format. Language and structures John … Continue reading “President Kennedy Slideshow”
For the United Nations World Day Against Child Labour on June 12, or any other time you want to discuss this important topic in class, here are some teaching resources for different levels. The Australian NGO Worldvision has a teaching resource on child labour with downloadable worksheets and photo stories. Several of the topics have … Continue reading “Teaching about Child Labour”