The Voyage of the Mayflower

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 31 August 2020 > Celebrate

On 16 September 1620, a ship set sail from Plymouth, England on a voyage that became part of the foundation myth of the U.S.A. The Mayflower carried Puritan religious dissenters called the Pilgrims and the colony they founded in Plymouth, Massachusetts has taken on mythical status. Plymouth wasn’t the first British settlement in the future … Continue reading “The Voyage of the Mayflower”

Fourth of July in Lockdown

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 01 July 2020 > Celebrate

U.S. Independence Day will be a subdued affair this year due to Coronavirus but celebrations will take place. The U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs decided to mark the event with a video available in English and eight other languages. It’s a simple introduction to the event for students from A1+ (reading … Continue reading “Fourth of July in Lockdown”

The Latest Lumni Classes on TV for Lycée

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 10 June 2020 > Pedagogy Shine Bright Lycée

The Lumni classes on TV for lycée are continuing — here’s a round-up of the latest programmes. The English classes are on France 4 every Wednesday.   Several of the recent programmes have focused on debating and speech making , both as cultural traditions and practical activities to help students improve their own oralexpression. The 20 … Continue reading “The Latest Lumni Classes on TV for Lycée”

Rock ‘n’ Roll Pioneer

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 27 May 2020 > In the News

Little Richard was one of the pioneers — or as he put it, the architect— of rock ‘n’ roll. He was the flamboyant singer of a string of hits from “Tutti Frutti” to “Good Golly Miss Molly”. Had Richard Penniman been white, he probably would have had a career like Elvis Presley’s. But Little Richard … Continue reading “Rock ‘n’ Roll Pioneer”

Comic Notes: Joe Sacco “Paying the Land”

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 14 May 2020 > What's On

Joe Sacco has been creating works of comic non-fiction for more than two decades, illustrating conflict, war and human atrocity through the medium of graphic art. For his latest book — “Paying the Land”—Joe Sacco travels to the Arctic regions of Canada and tells us the history of the Dene Nation, an indigenous people living … Continue reading “Comic Notes: Joe Sacco “Paying the Land””

Daily Routine with Rockwell

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 06 May 2020 > Webpicks

As we have said many times, teachers are finding amazing creative ways to keep providing their pupils with motivating, and feasible, work to do during lockdown. This sequence found on the Académie de Grenoble’s English site can be done entirely in distance learning. It mixes culture and language in a class for 6e about daily … Continue reading “Daily Routine with Rockwell”

Edward Hopper: Telling Stories

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 22 April 2020 > Shine Bright Lycée What's On

Evocative American painter Edward Hopper was to be the subject of an exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland this spring. But since visitors can’t go to the museum, the museum can come to them online. Hopper’s paintings are wonderful jumping off points for creative writing, or, as film director Wim Wenders explains, for … Continue reading “Edward Hopper: Telling Stories”

Tales of the US Border in Theatres Around France

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 24 February 2020 > What's On

San Francisco theatre company Word for Word’s annual French tour is being postponed to the autumn. This year their show is a coming-of-age story by Mexican-American writer Octavio Solis, Retablos: Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border. They will perform it in Nancy, Paris, Angers and Lyon. For 25 years, Word for Word has … Continue reading “Tales of the US Border in Theatres Around France”