William Shakespeare is believed to have been born and died on 23 April (in 1564 and 1616 respectively). Which is why the UK celebrates World Book Night on that date (and St George’s Day, England’s national day!) Normally, World Book Night is filled with book readings and events, as tens of thousands of books are … Continue reading “Celebrate Shakespeare’s Birthday on World Book Night”
This A2 activity is based on a short presentation of Washington Irving’s short story Rip Van Winkle, which was first published in 1819, two hundred years ago. Although it was inspired by a German traditional story, Irving gave it a clearly American context as the eponymous Van Winkle magically falls asleep for 20 years, completely … Continue reading “Rip van Winkle”
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”
Spike Lee’s new film BlacKkKlansman is based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, a Colorado Springs policeman who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan. This downloadable audio interview with Stallworth is excellent for listening comprehension. The 13-minute interview is a downloadable podcast from the BBC World Service. It’s very clear and extracts are understandable from … Continue reading “Teaching with BlacKkKlansman”
A film about Frankenstein author Mary Shelley is being released on 8 August. This B1-B1+ resource allows pupils to explore an interview with Haifaa-Al-Mansour, its director, about Shelley, filmmaking and being the first female Saudi Arabian director. You may want to introduce the topic of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein first with our Ready to Use … Continue reading “Audio Interview with the Director of Mary Shelley”
On the occasion of Frederick Douglass’s Bicentennial, there are lots of online resources to help you introduce this major figure of the abolition movement to your pupils. This section on Frederick Douglass from the Library of Congress children’s site is suitable from A2. It’s not a very detailed biography but has an excellent quote from … Continue reading “Frederick Douglass on the Web”
If you are using our Ready to Use Resource on the Emoji Movie to work on emojis, smileys and emotions, these audio and video activities would make an excellent complement. You can access or download them on the Banque de ressources anglais cycle 4. As an introductory listening activity, you could use an A1+-level audio … Continue reading “Emoji Video and Audio Resources”
This A2 article is based on The Emoji Movie released on 18 October. Gene is an emoji who lives in Textopolis, a digital city inside a smartphone. While all other emojis express only one emotion, he can make ‘the wrong face’ because he was born without a filter, and he is desperate to become ‘normal’. … Continue reading “Emoji Time”
The Irving Penn exhibition opening at Paris’s Grand Palais was shown in New York’s Metropolitan Museum this spring. The Met’s site has interesting videos and audio guides in English made to accompany the exhibition and which are useful teaching tools. The Grand Palais site has a teaching pack you can download giving you background information … Continue reading “Teaching with Irving Penn’s Photography”
The C3 Expedition is participating in the Canada 150 celebrations. The 150-day expedition following Canada’s three coasts from east to west, and visiting many different communities on the way. These video and audio resources will on communities the expedition will visit and on visiting the Arctic are perfect for using this theme in class. These … Continue reading “Canada C3 Expedition Webpicks”
