The Semaine des langues has become a fixture in French schools and this year is celebrating its 10th edition already. It will start on St Patrick’s Day, 17 March, and run through to 22 March. This year’s theme is « Des langues pour créer, innover et s’engager ! » There are lots of events planned around … Continue reading “Time for the Semaine des Langues”
What are you planning for la Semaine des langues? This year’s edition is from 18 to 23 March and is on the theme of « L’important, c’est de communiquer ! », which we would happily adopt as our motto here at Speakeasy News. The event makes special reference to the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer … Continue reading “Ready for the Semaine des Langues?”
This year’s UK National Poetry Day is on 5 October. A great opportunity to get some poetry into your class, and to explore this year’s theme: Refuge. The National Poetry Day site has lots of poems and teaching resources. We picked out some which are especially well adapted to ESL learners. There are short films … Continue reading “Poetry in the Classroom”
Back in January, we announced this year’s Cicéronnades competition organised by the Académie of Orléans-Tours, which enncourages pupils to video themselves reciting a poem or prose text. The winners have just been announced, as part of la semaine des langues vivantes. The Académie of Orléans-Tours is organising a competition for pupils to recite texts in … Continue reading “They Spoke and They Conquered”
Why not encourage your pupils to participate in a competition to video themselves reciting a poem or prose text? Practising recitation can be a valuable activity in any language class. The Académie of Orléans-Tours is organising a competition for pupils to recite texts in the languages they are learning, which is open to pupils and … Continue reading “Ready to Recite?”
It’s National Poetry Day in the UK on 7 October. On that day, or any day, why not have fun with poems in class? They’re a great way to explore language and practise diction. The National Poetry Day site has a lot of poems. Many are difficult for ESL learners but we’ve picked a couple … Continue reading “Read Poems Out Loud for National Poetry Day”
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 honour of National Poetry Day 2016 in the UK, on 6 October, there is a free ebook of poems to download from the National Poetry Day website. We’ve made a selection of those that work best for language teaching, with teaching suggestions. You can download the ebook in epub, Kindle or pdf formats. A1+ … Continue reading “Free Poetry eBook for National Poetry Day”
Every autumn, Britain breaks out in verse for National Poetry Day, this year on 6 October. We often reach for poetry when we want to say something meaningful, whether it is in a birthday card, a graduation speech, wedding or funeral. The aim of National Poetry Day is to have people encounter poetry in unusual … Continue reading “Say it with a Poem on National Poetry Day”