Another UK Electoral Surprise

Posted by Speakeasy News > Saturday 10 June 2017 > In the News

The UK General Election that was supposed to consolidate the Conservative majority has a resulted in a hung parliament: no one party has reached the 326 seats needed for an absolute majority. The sitting Conservative government has asked the Queen to form a government with the backing of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party. The … Continue reading “Another UK Electoral Surprise”

Britain Goes to the Polls

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 08 June 2017 > In the News

The exception seems to be becoming the rule in Britain, where the latest election campaign, just like the last general election and the EU referendum, has not gone the way anyone expected. Britons go to the polls today for the election Theresa May announced on 18 April, and which the Conservatives were expected to win … Continue reading “Britain Goes to the Polls”

UK Elections

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 09 May 2017 > Ready to Use

This A2-level article enables pupils to understand simply the electoral system in the United Kingdom as both the UK and France go to the polls. It could be part of a topic for an EPI « Information, communication, citoyenneté » on different electoral systems, differences between a monarchy and a democracy, in connection with the parcours du … Continue reading “UK Elections”

Teaching About the British Electoral System

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 26 April 2017 > Webpicks

The UK snap general election will be taking place on 8 June, so campaigning will coincide with the French presidential and legislative elections. It’s a good time to have pupils think about democracy and compare and contrast the British and French systems. The video on this page has a 1-minute explanation of how a general … Continue reading “Teaching About the British Electoral System”

Theresa May Calls for a Snap Election

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 18 April 2017 > In the News

The British government, led by Theresa May, has called a general election on 8 June, reversing the promises the Conservatives have made since the Brexit referendum vote on 23 June 2016. Although the Conservative government had called the Brexit referendum, its Prime Minister and many of its ministers campaigned leaving the E.U. When the “leave” … Continue reading “Theresa May Calls for a Snap Election”

Valentine’s Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 03 February 2017 > Ready to Use

This A1+-level article will shed perhaps a different light on what your pupils think of Valentine’s Day in the U.S.A and in the U.K. The audio activity distinguishing kind and mean messages in Valentine’s poems fits into the media education and citizenship curriculum. Vocabulary and structures friendship, love simple present simple past: irregular verbs rhymes … Continue reading “Valentine’s Day”

U.S. Trips for Low-Income Lycéens

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 31 January 2017 > Pedagogy

Every year, the American Embassy Youth Ambassadors for Community Service programme allows 20 French lycéens from low-income families to go on an expenses-paid two-week trip to the U.S. The trips, for 20 high-school students and 10 youth leaders involved in community work, aim to develop intercultural links between French and American young people, and develop … Continue reading “U.S. Trips for Low-Income Lycéens”

Civil Rights: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 25 November 2016 > Ready to Use

Sixty years ago, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which had started on 5 December, 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat, finally ended. It was the first victory for Martin Luther King on the road to civil rights for African Americans. This B1-level article recapitulates the beginnings of the Civil … Continue reading “Civil Rights: The Montgomery Bus Boycott”

President Trump

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 09 November 2016 > In the News

Donald J. Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States of America as part of a Republican landslide that sees the party keep its majority in both Houses of Congress. It has been an election campaign full of surprises. In the run-up to the primaries last autumn, no one seriously expected Donald … Continue reading “President Trump”