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)

Back to school soon?

par Kate Beaton, publié dans Compréhension orale

The holidays are coming to an end and it’s the best time to start reading and listening to videos and interviews in English. Just 15 minutes every day!

Here are a few links to help you

The British Council website has a video zone where you will find videos on lots of different topics and also listening skills practice (choose B1 or B2)

The BBC website has a « 6 minute English » series with extremely varied topics that will help you learn lots of new vocabulary

Film English is a website with short films in English

Enjoy the rest of your holidays! 🙂

American Oxygen (Rihanna) – what is the American Dream?

par Kate Beaton, publié dans Les 4 notions

A last minute idea that perhaps could be used in your oral exam!

Rihanna’s latest hit « American Oxygen » can be used to illustrate several notions –

Myths and heroes – the American dream: is it a myth or does it really exist? Martin Luther King….

Spaces and exchanges – immigration and the American dream. What makes people want to live in the USA?

Idea of progress – the civil rights movement and how life has changed for black people in the USA, space technology, pollution,

Places and forms of power – terrorism (twin towers), wars and the anti-war movement, riots, gun power

The lyrics:

Breathe in, this feeling
American oxygen

I say, you see, this is the American Dream
Young girl, hustlin’
On the other side of the ocean
She can be anything at all
America, America
I should, come see
Just close your eyes and breathe

Breathe out, breathe in
American oxygen
Every breath I breathe
Chasin’ this American Dream
We sweat for a nickel and a dime
Turn it into an empire
Breathe in, this feeling
American, American oxygen
American oxygen
Breathe in, this feeling
American oxygen

Breathe in, this feeling
American oxygen

You say, you see, this is the American Dream
Young boy, hustlin’
Tryna get the wheels in motion
But he can be anything at all
America, America
I say, can’t see
Just close your eyes and breathe

Breathe out, breathe in
American oxygen
Every breath I breathe
Chasin’ this American Dream
We sweat for a nickel and a dime
Turn it into an empire
Breathe in, this feeling
American, American oxygen
American oxygen

This is the new America
We are the new America

This is the new America
We are the new America

This is the new America
We are the new America

Breathe out, breathe in
American oxygen
Every breath I breathe
Chasin’ this American Dream
We sweat for a nickel and a dime
Turn it into an empire
Breathe in, this feeling
American, American oxygen
American oxygen

This is the new America
We are the new America
This is the new America
We are the new America
This is the new America
We are the new America
Source:http://www.directlyrics.com/rihanna-american-oxygen-lyrics.html

Réponses à vos questions

par Kate Beaton, publié dans Vos questions et commentaires

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Après un weekend d’absence je découvre toutes vos questions! Etant toute seule à gérer le blog ça va prendre un peu de temps de répondre.

Il y a plus de 9000 visiteurs par jour sur le blog! Si vous pouvez, n’hésitez pas à proposer des réponses aux questions – le but du blog est d’être un lieu d’échange. Merci à tous ceux qui pourront aider en répondant aux nombreuses questions!

Good luck for your oral exams ! 🙂

Kate!

The UK General Election – Thursday 7th May 2015

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

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On Thursday 7th May the General Elections take place in the UK. It is traditionally held on the first Thursday in May once every five years in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The 650 members of parliament (MPs) will be elected through 650 individual elections for a constituency. Each voter chooses a candidate in their area. The candidate with the most votes wins a seat in the House of Commons in the UK parliament, Westminster, London.

The main parties taking part in the election are the Conservatives (led by David Cameron), Labour (led by Ed Miliband), Liberal Democrats (led by Nick Clegg) and the United Kingdom Independance Party (led by Nigel Farage). The current Prime Minister is David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party. In the last General Election a coalition government was formed (also known as a hung parliament) with the Liberal Democrats because the Conservatives didn’t have an outright majority.

If one party wins more than half the seats (326) in the House of Commons, its leader becomes Prime Minister and forms a government. The Prime Minister’s official residence is at 10 Downing Street, London.

According to the Independant newspaper « Britain is heading for the most unpredictable general election in a generation as voters turn their backs on the established parties ». Support for the three main political parties is at an all-time low. So much so that it is possible that no single party will win a majority of seats in Parliament. The two main candidates are David Cameron – leader of the Conservatives and who has around a score of around 32% in the polls and Ed Miliband – leader of the Labour party who has around a 33% lead in the polls.  However there is growing support for smaller parties like the UKIP and the Greens. The UKIP wants to cut immigration to the UK and quit the European Union – according to some polls they could win 15% of the vote. The Green party could possibly win 15% of the vote.

To learn more about the General Election here are some videos:

How does the General Election work?

The General Election explained (Election 2010)

How does Parliament work?

What happens if no-one wins?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32235317