26 September is the day the EU celebrates all the many languages spoken in Europe and around the world. They have lots of resources for multilingual fun in schools. This language detective game requires no preparation. There are 40 short texts in 40 different languages each time you have to choose between six possible languages. … Continue reading “European Day of Languages 2023”
It’s the beginning of the school year and working on school vocabulary can reassure pupils and help them realise they CAN actually remember some of what they learned in previous years. A video and a quiz from the BBC Newsround site are a great way to start the year. Not all of the videos on … Continue reading “Back to School”
This A1-level activity will help you introduce or revise some basic school vocabulary at the beginning of the school year. Pupils can type in the vocabulary directly onto the image on the interactive pdf, or you can print it out and ask them to write the words in. Vocabulary and structures school buildings and equipment … Continue reading “My New School”
26 September is the day the EU celebrates all the many languages spoken in Europe and around the world. They have lots of suggested activities to get your pupils enthusiasm flowing for languages. You can find out 20 fascinating facts about languages on this poster, and 20 MORE facts on this new one for 2022. … Continue reading “Celebrating Languages”
“Uncle Sam” is commonly used as a symbol of the United States, but where does the name come from? The name, which happens to have the same initials as the country, has been around since the War of 1812 (which actually lasted from 1812 to 1815) between the U.S.A. and the U.K. The officially sanctioned … Continue reading “Happy Uncle Sam Day!”
26 September is the Day of European Languages, celebrating all the diversity of languages across the continent. For the 20th anniversary edition, there are some great teaching resources. The general theme of the resources is interesting quirks and facts about the different languages, starting with a downloadable poster called “20 Things You Might Not Know … Continue reading “European Language Day 2021”
Both the U.S.A. and Canada celebrate their countries’ workers on the first Monday in September, they just don’t agree on the spelling! Featuring picnics, barbecues but also political speeches, both public holidays grew out of union movements in the late nineteenth century demanding shorter working days and more rights for workers. It’s no coincidence that … Continue reading “Labor or Labour Day?”
3 September is Jersey Day in Australia. People wear sports jerseys to work to raise awareness of a good cause: the importance of organ donation. The day was started by the family of a 13-year-old, Nathan Gremmo, who suffered a fatal injury but chose to donate his organs, which saved six other lives. Nathan was … Continue reading “Wear a Sports Jersey, Support Life”
On 21 September many people across the UK wear jeans to school or work to raise money and awareness of genetic disorders. More than half a million people in the UK live with a genetic disorder which can be incredibly debilitating. The concept of Jeans for Genes Day is incredibly simple. People wear jeans where … Continue reading “Jeans for Genes Day”
The first Monday in September is Labor Day in U.S. and Canada and heralds the beginning of the school year. This 1-minute video presentation explains the holiday. Perfect for a quick injection of Anglophone culture! It’s an animated slideshow with written text rather than voiceover and can be used from A2. It presents the holiday, … Continue reading “Labor Day Video”
