Catégorie : In the news

Understanding (or at least trying to understand!) the Brexit

À la Une par Kate Beaton, publié dans Expression orale, In the news, Spaces and exchanges

Spaces and Exchanges

The Brexit is a perfect topic for illustrating the notion of Spaces and Exchanges. What will be the implications for the movement of people and of goods across the new borders? How will industries and businesses be affected by the new taxes placed on cross-border trade? How will the fishing industry be organised? How will people be able to travel out of and to the UK? How will student exchanges be affected? There are so many questions and the answers are not always clear.

  • For a simple explanation about the Brexit take a look at the BBC’s « Newsround » website.
  • The Northern Irish Border is also very important in the Brexit negotiations. Watch this video to understand just why the problem of the Backstop is holding things up. It also explains the history of the troubles in Northern Ireland and why the border is so important.
  • You can also read this article on the Speakeasy website which explains what is the difference between a « hard Brexit » and a « soft Brexit » and what is « no deal ».
  • Finally with such a complex subject it helps to have some humour. Here is funny video about the « Brexit divorce »!
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Compréhension Orale – Spaces and Exchanges

À la Une par , publié dans Compréhension orale, In the news, Les 4 notions, Spaces and exchanges

The immigration debate in the USA

A new video to help you train for the oral comprehension exam

The hidden life of a US undocumented immigrant

To go further on the immigration debate in the USA you could also talk about the latest TV advertisement for Aeromexico

The Brexit : all you need to know!

par Kate Beaton, publié dans In the news, Places and forms of power, Uncategorized

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The UK has officially notified the European Union that it is leaving. So what exactly will happen now? Here are a few articles and links to help you understand the situation.

  • All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU : BBC News
  • No turning back now – Article 50 is triggered : BBC News
  • Eight key points you need to know about the Brexit: The Guardian
  • What does Brexit mean? What does Article 50 mean for the economy, immigration, the pound? : the Express
  • The power of the media (places and forms of power) What influence did the tabloids have on the Brexit campaign? : The Guardian 
  • What will happen to London after the Brexit? (places and forms of power) : Bloomberg

 

 

Happy New Year!

par Kate Beaton, publié dans In the news, Places and forms of power, Spaces and exchanges, The idea of progress, Uncategorized

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Happy New Year to you all! I wish you success in all your projects and for those sitting their BAC this year I hope you pass with flying colours!!

To start the year off let’s look at a topic that is very much in the news at the moment: climate change, particularly after the COP 21 – the United Nations conference on climate change in Paris.

This topic can be linked to the notion of idea of progress : how is our world changing, what effect does increasing pollution have on our environment? How can we predict the sort of weather we are going to have and the impact the extreme weather conditions can have on our planet? It can also be linked to the notion of spaces and exchanges as well as places and forms of power: how can developed countries help developing countries to cope with climate change? How can the different countries work together to reduce the impact that pollution has on our environment?

Here are a few articles and videos about it:

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  • A BBC article about the impact El Nino is having on the world’s weather
  • A BBC article about the current flooding in the UK
  • An article from the Guardian on the floods in the UK and extreme global  weather

 

Reactions after the Paris Attacks

par Kate Beaton, publié dans In the news

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It is not an easy subject to talk about but we all are affected by the terrorist attacks that took place on Friday 13th November in Paris.

Please feel free to comment on how you feel after these attacks in Paris and post any links or pictures you think are relevant.

(all comments and posts have to be approved before being posted)

Here are a few links on the subject:

How do Parisians feel after the attacks? BBC news

Social media response BBC News

World support for France following the attacks

Barack Obama « An attack on all of humanity »

Madonna’s speech about the attacks during her concert in Stockholm

The crisis in Calais – why do migrants want to reach the UK?

par Kate Beaton, publié dans In the news, Spaces and exchanges

Copyright:Kerry Davies/Daily Mail 2/08/2015 Immigrants last night made another attempt to rush the Channel Tunnel but were beaten back by police with tear gas. They then staged a sit-in on the main lorry route to the tunnel blocking vehicles for the entire night until they were dispersed by riot police. picture shows: Immigrants staging the sit-in blocking lorries.
Copyright:Kerry Davies/Daily Mail 2/08/2015
Immigrants made another attempt to rush the Channel Tunnel but were beaten back by police with tear gas.
They then staged a sit-in on the main lorry route to the tunnel blocking vehicles for the entire night until they were dispersed by riot police.
picture shows: Immigrants staging the sit-in blocking lorries.

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One of the topics that is very much in the news at the moment is the problem of migrants fleeing their country and trying to reach the UK. An excellent topic to illustrate the notion of spaces and exchanges!

What are the reasons behind this problem?

Why are they so desperate to cross the Channel?

Here are a few articles and videos on the subject

Why is there a crisis in Calais? – BBC news website

Would Calais immigrants really be better off in the UK? – BBC News Website

The migrant crisis in Calais

The truth about immigration in the UK (BBC tv programme)

The impact of immigration in UK

America’s Gun Problem

par Kate Beaton, publié dans In the news, Places and forms of power, The idea of progress

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Here is an excellent article about gun violence in the USA – a topic which is very much in the news at that the moment and that can be used to illustrate the notion « Places and forms of power ».

The article includes a video of Obama’s speech after the Umpqau Community College shooting, tables and explanations about the problem and a video showing how some American politicians go to extreme lengths to show their support for gun rights: Senator Ted Cruz (republican) cooking bacon with a machine gun (!)

Finally there is a section on how other developed countries have had huge successes with gun control (Idea of progress/places and forms of power)

Red Nose Day – Friday 13th March 2015

par Kate Beaton, publié dans Civilisation, Compréhension orale, In the news, Spaces and exchanges

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On Friday 13th March 2015 it’s Red Nose Day in the UK! But what exactly is Red Nose Day and why does it take place?

The first Red Nose Day (RND) was held on 5 February 1988, when it was launched as a National Day of Comedy, and since then they have been on the second or third Friday in March. Red Nose Day is often treated as a semi-holiday for example, many schools have red-themed non-uniform days. The day culminates in a live telethon event on BBC One, starting in the evening and going through into the early hours of the morning, but other money-raising events take place. As the name suggests, the day involves the wearing of red noses which are available, in exchange for a donation, from supermarkets and charity shops.

Here are a few articles and links about this fun day!

A reading comprehension on the British Council website

The Official Red Nose Day Page

The official Comic Relief Page

Have some fun here

The Ebola outbreak

par Kate Beaton, publié dans Compréhension orale, In the news, Spaces and exchanges, The idea of progress

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The Ebola outbreak is currently in the news and even more so now that several cases have been detected in the USA.

What exactly is Ebola? Is there a cure to this deadly disease? How can countries work together to reduce the risk of the disease spreading?

Ebola – or Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) – is a really deadly virus: 50% to 90% of people who catch it die from it. But there are a few forms of the virus which have been identified by scientists and given the right medical care and treatment, you can recover. Ebola was first spotted in the African countries of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976. In the space of five months in that year, 284 people in Sudan caught the virus. It killed 117 of them.

You can catch it through direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person such as blood and saliva. It is not airborne like the flu so is more difficult to catch but is very infectious: so infected people have to be kept separate to reduce the risk of it spreading. Healthcare workers who have looked after sick patients have also been infected.

For the moment there is no known cure however a new experimental drug, ZMapp, has been used in the US on health workers and a UK nurse who caught the disease in Africa. They recovered from the virus.

The World Health Organization warns greater global efforts are needed to combat the Ebola virus, which is spreading ever faster in West Africa despite efforts to contain it. Barack Obama and EU leaders took part in a videoconference on Wednesday 15th October to discuss the growing Ebola crisis following warnings that the outbreak could grow to 10,000 new cases a week within two months. They discussed what further action can be taken to help stop the spread of the virus in west Africa and how passengers arriving from Africa can be screened to prevent the disease spreading further.

Here are a few videos that explain more about this outbreak.

What is Ebola? – in 60 seconds 

An interactive video : Ebola – the virus posing a deadly threat to millions

Documents, videos and articles on the BBC website

Progress towards a vaccine : video

Vocabulary exercises about vaccines

Ideas for a debate about compulsory vaccinations

Scottish Independence referendum

par Kate Beaton, publié dans Civilisation, In the news, Places and forms of power

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The Scottish independence referendum takes place on September 18th 2014. The voters will be asked one question: « Should Scotland be an independant country? »

The result of the referendum should be known on the 19th September. Today a poll (sondage) shows the « yes » side in the lead for the first time. Many people still haven’t made up their mind.

Here are a few articles to help you understand more about the Scottish independence referendum:

– a very clear BBC article which explains why the referendum is taking place, what are the arguments « for and against » and the key issues at stake

– a website for resources and views on the referendum

– a pdf to download with the background information

– a video with different opinions for and against :

– 9 reasons why Scotland is better off independant :

– the arguments against Scottish independence :

– Oral comprehension (type BAC)

– What is at stake? (BBC videos)

Do you think that Scotland should become independant?