Manuels Scolaires Professeurs Documentalistes Lycée - Infos et contenus

Captain Cook: Voyages to the Pacific

250 years ago, Captain James Cook led the first of three expeditions to the Pacific which led to the colonisation of Australia and New Zealand. An exhibition at the British Library looks at the legacy of those expeditions, for Britain but also for the populations in the territories Cook visited. Cook was a Royal Navy Captain skilled in cartography. His first voyage (1768-71) had an ostensibly scientific mission: to observe the transit of Venus in Tahiti in 1769, which would help scientists calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun. However he had a second mission — to explore the Southern Hemisphere looking for lands ripe for colonisation. European geographers were convinced there had to be a large landmass in the Southern Hemisphere that would balance the land in the northern part of the Globe. They referred to it as Terra Australis, but didn't mean Australia, which had already been partially discovered by Europeans. They believed it would be around the South Pole. The expedition's crew were welcomed in Tahiti, and after making the astronomical observations they had come for, a skilled Polynesian navigator, Tupaia, joined the crew on its onward journey. The expedition didn't encounter a large Southern continent, but the reached New Zealand in October 1769. The country had been sighted by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman more than a century before but there had been no European contact since. Tupaia was able to act as an interpreter as the Maori people were Polynesian, having arrived in New Zealand, or rather Aotearoa as they call it, 700 or 800 years previously. Despite this, the British managed to provoke three violent incidents in 24 hours, leading to several Maori deaths. The expedition then spent several months circumnavigating the South Island and making the first detailed map of New Zealand before setting sail for Australia. Again, the first encounter with Aboriginal people ended with the British firing their muskets. And despite the land being quite clearly inhabited, Cook claimed possession of the entire eastern coast of the continent for Britain, baptising it New South Wales. Seventeen years later, the penal colony of New South Wales would be founded. To the Antarctic Cook's second voyage (1772-75) took him further south, into the Antarctic Circle, still looking for Terra Australis. His ships sailed closer to the Pole than anyone before, but he returned to Britain with no news to report of the mythical continent. He noted in his log book: "I have now done with the SOUTHERN PACIFIC OCEAN, and flatter my self that no one will think that I have left it unexplor’d, or that more could have been done in one voyage towards obtaining that end than has been done in this." The Final Voyage Cook's third expedition to the Pacific (1776-80) would be, in all senses of the word, his last. This time his mission from the Admiralty was try to find the Northwest Passage, a route mariners have believed existed for centuries, allowing a short passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the Arctic, thus avoiding the long journey via the southern point of South America. After various fruitless attempts at finding the Passage, in November 1778, the expedition sailed south for the Hawaiian Islands, which they had been the first Europeans to visit in January that year. In February, 1779, when the two ships of the expedition were anchored off Hawai'i, a boat disappeared from one of the ships. Once again showing cultural insensitivity, Cook took a Hawaiian elder hostage in order to demand the return of the boat. Violence broke out, and Cook, along with several of his men, was killed. Cook's Legacy Cook's three expeditions opened up the Pacific for colonisation. First Australia in 1787, then New Zealand in 1860, though not in exactly the same conditions. The British basically ignored Australia's Aboriginal people and considered the land available for use. They were more circumspect with the Maori in New Zealand, who had a reputation as fearsome warriors, and who had a hierarchical societal structure the British could recognise. The colony of New Zealand was founded based on a peace treaty with Maori tribes signed at Waitangi in 1860, although many of its provisions were later ignored. The three expeditions included botanists, artist and linguists, and brought back information to Europe about plants, animals and societies that were totally unknown. One of the artists on the first expedition, Sydney Parkinson, drew the first depiction of a kangaroo ever seen in Europe. (The name was an approximation of the word he heard used by the Gweagal Aboriginal clan.) Unfortunately, the cavalier spirit of the time meant that the British also took crops and animals with them to develop in the far-flung places they visited. These were meant to provide food for future expeditions, and generally bring sensible European innovations to primitive native people. At best, the crops failed to thrive. At worst, they ravaged existing ecosystems. The Voyages of Captain James Cook British Library, London Till 28 August The British Library is just a few minutes' walk from St Pancras Station if you're taking the Eurostar. Why not pop in? This theme goes well with the section on Aboriginal culture in Speakeasy Files 3e : A Gap Year in the Australian Outback.

27 Juillet 2018

Australia

British history

science

Making Mary Shelley

In the year in which the bicentenary of the publication of Frankenstein is being celebrated, a new biopic of its author, Mary Shelley, turns the spotlight on the young author who has long been eclipsed by a creation which escaped the pages of her book to enter popular culture.

27 Juillet 2018

literature

women

Cinéma

Sélection culturelle

Here We Go Again!

Ten years after the smash-hit original film, Mamma Mia is back with a "prequel and sequel". It's the feel-good movie of the summer. Perfect for an open-air or drive-in showing, with a cocktail in hand, your dancing shoes on and singing voice ready. For a couple of hours, we can all be Dancing Queens (or Kings of course)!

27 Juillet 2018

music

musical

Summer

Dorothea Lange Exhibition: Teacher and Class Visits

The Jeu de Paume museum in Paris is hosting an exhibition of Depression-era photographer Dorothea Lange's work from 16 October to 27 January. (It's a wonderful subject for class work, and we'll be publishing a Ready to Use Resource and a competition for pupils in September. Meantime, you can sign up for a special free teacher's day visit on 6 November. And the Mona Bismarck Center will be offering class visits in English to the exhibition.

27 Juillet 2018

exhibition

documentary

U.S. history

4

Ressources
complémentaires

Audio Interview with the Director of Mary Shelley

A film about Frankenstein author Mary Shelley is being released on 8 August. This B1-B1+ resource allows pupils to explore an interview with Haifaa-Al-Mansour, its director, about Shelley, filmmaking and being the first female Saudi Arabian director.

27 Juillet 2018

literature

women

Cinéma

Rendez-vous

You've Got Ice-Cream Mail

As we bask in the summer heat, our thoughts turn to ice-cream. To eat... or to stick on a postcard! This summer the U.S. Postal Service has launched its first ever "scratch and sniff" stamps to add an olfactory treat to your correspondence. "Scratch and sniff" stickers are popular, so why not transfer the technology to stamps? The recipient can scratch the stamp and get a whiff of watermelon, strawberry or kiwi ice pops. Nothing says summer holidays more than a beach scene postcard and the smell of a vanilla ice. Americans are fond of ice-cream, getting through 8.3 litres per person per year. Not quite the level of the world's ice-cream eating champions, Norway (wh would have guessed), with 9.8 litres, according to research organisation Mintel. There is even a National Ice Cream Day on 15 July. The perfect occasion for the traditional summer-camp refrain: “You scream! I scream! We all scream for ice cream!” Check out some a incredible ice-cream facts from the National Dairy Council.

26 Juillet 2018

U.S. culture

technology

ice cream

Bristol: The Painting is on the Walls

For a weekend in late July, the southern English city of Bristol hosts Europe's biggest street-art festival. The Urban Paint Festival (Upfest) is celebrating its 10th anniversary from 28 to 30 July with a "Simpsons" theme.

19 Juillet 2018

art

British culture

street art

Teaching With Film: Murder on the Orient Express

If you are using our Murder on the Orient Express Resource with your students, this introductory scene from the film is a great way to introduce the characters.

09 Juillet 2018

video

film

Agatha Christie

Sélection culturelle

Winter is Coming... for the Summer

You've watched all seven seasons, and read the books. There's a whole year to wait till the concluding season eight. Never fear, you can check out the Game of Thrones touring exhibition all summer in Paris.

04 Juillet 2018

exhibition

paris

Series

Rendez-vous

Back in Black… Hole

On Friday June 15th, after a memorial service which saw Stephen Hawking’s ashes interred at Westminster Abbey, his “message of peace and hope” was sent to the stars.

04 Juillet 2018

disability

biography

space

Westminster Abbey: Britain's Pantheon

Being buried in Westminster Abbey is the highest honour a British person can be given. And yet, like so many British traditions, it has developed in an organic way, with no real rules or system.

04 Juillet 2018

WWI

London

British history

Emily Brontë 200

Emily Brontë was born 200 years ago on 30 July. She is the most mysterious of the famous Brontë family and little is known about her. What's more, the manuscript of her only novel, Wuthering Heights, has never been found. A bicentenary project invited 12,000 visitors to the Brontë Museum to recreate the manuscript, line by line.

04 Juillet 2018

anniversary

Brontë

Jane Eyre

6

Ressources
complémentaires

Protesting for Change

Get ahead for the new school year! This A2+-level article can be used in parallel with the warm-up activities implemented at the beginning of the school year, as it deals with the Pledge of Allegiance in every school in the U.S.A, as a daily patriotic ritual, as well as recent protests against the national anthem at American football games, in the NFL, schools and universities.

04 Juillet 2018

civil rights

U.S. culture

U.S. politics

Help Us Help You Avoid Student Errors

Nous serions ravis de recevoir des exemples d’erreurs génériques que vos élèves font tout le temps afin de vous proposer en retour des méthodes efficaces pour aider les élèves à éviter ces erreurs. Par exemple, confondre les noms dénombrables et indénombrables : “I read much books.” Ou se tromper dans l’ordre des mots: "I speak very well English."

04 Juillet 2018

stratégie

erreur

correction

Brontë Family Webpicks

The three Brontë sisters lived short, isolated lives in early nineteenth century England, but they produced some outstanding novels, in particular Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. The bicentenaries of their births are being celebrated from 2016 to 2020.

04 Juillet 2018

literature

biography

Victorian

Sélection culturelle

Votes for Women: Helen Pankhurst Lecture in Paris

In 2018, Britain is celebrating the centenary of a major milestone in the suffragette movement's fight to obtain votes for women, which was led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Sylvia and Christabel. Emmeline Pankhurst's great-granddaughter, Dr Helen Pankhurst, is giving two talks in Paris: "From 'Votes for Women' to 'Time's Up', Reflections on feminism in Britain, past, present and future".

03 Juillet 2018

votes for women

gender equality

British Council

Sélection culturelle

Celebrating Author Jean Rhys

Jean Rhys (1890-1979) lived and wrote about her extraordinary life in the West Indies, London and Paris before producing her masterpiece, The Wide Sargasso Sea, a prequel to Jane Eyre, telling the story of Bertha Mason, the Creole wife Mr Rochester married for her fortune, and who in Jane Eyre is portrayed as the madwoman in the attic.

21 Juin 2018

literature

British culture

Jane Eyre

Rendez-vous

How to Be a Modern Prime Minister

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave birth to her first child, a girl, on 21 June, then shared the news with a photo on social media. The PM will now take six weeks maternity leave while her deputy steps in. At 37, Ardern is New Zealand's youngest Prime Minister in 150 years, and she is only the second elected country leader in modern history to give birth in office. (Benazir Bhutto also gave birth to a girl in 1990, while Prime Minister of Pakistan.) She joined New Zealand's Labour Party while a teenager, and became an MP in 2008. She turned down the leadership of the party seven times before finally accepting in 2017. Three months later, in October, she became PM at the head of a coalition government. Quite a Year If that wasn't enough, in January Ardern then announced – on social media of course – that she was pregnant. Her partner, TV presenter Clarke Gayford, will take time out to be a stay-at-home dad, explaining, "We weighed it up between us and decided her job was possibly slightly more important!" A declared feminist, Ardern has pushed for equal numbers of male and female candidates in her party. Despite her initial reluctance to accept the party leader role, Ardern seems to have taken to modern leadership like a duck to water. And the Labour Party is trying to keep up with the 21 st century image. Soon after the birth, they offered supporters the possibility to send good wishes to the new parents, by signing an online congratulations card .

21 Juin 2018

politics

Prime Minister

New Zealand

Sélection culturelle

War Dance

Montpellier will see the French première of an extraordinary new dance and theatre piece about the experience of Indian soldiers in World War I on 26 and 27 June.

20 Juin 2018

war

WWI

trenches

Sélection culturelle

To Find a Dragon

Dragons loom large in a lot of children's literature, from Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, as well as How To Train Your Dragon and Eragon. The theme of dragons sparked the imagination of thousands of British children, who created designs for giant dragon sculptures on view in London's Kew Gardens this summer.

18 Juin 2018

art

fairytale

Thumbs Up 6e

Oral Participation in Class: Ideas from Britain

Aurélie Watts, a French teacher working in the UK, explains some of the techniques commonly used to facilitate oral participation for all pupils in all classes. Techniques that, once put in place, can free up teachers from organisational tasks and multiply learning possibilities in class.

18 Juin 2018

Britain

collaborative work

oral expression

Introducing Thumbs Up! 5e

La collection de manuels Thumbs up! s'agrandit avec l'arrivée dans vos casiers de Thumbs up! 5e. Voici la bande annonce !

18 Juin 2018

Thumbs Up 5e

pédagogie différenciée

manuel

5

Ressources
complémentaires

The Incredibles 2

The Incredibles, super-hero family, are back on cinema screens on 4 July. This A1+ downloadable resource gives plenty of opportunities to work on modals, and vocabulary around family members and family life.

15 Juin 2018

film

animation

family

Prime Canadian

As Canada Day approaches on 1 July, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been in international headlines, though not for the reasons the golden boy of Canadian politics has attracted publicity for in his three years in office. This time it was for crossing swords with Donald Trump over trade tariffs at the G7 summit in Quebec. We look at Trudeau's career so far.

15 Juin 2018

politics

Canada

Canada Day

Rendez-vous

Cape Town: The Day the Water Stops

South Africa’s second largest city came very close to running out of water in April. Only a massive effort by its citizens has delayed "Day Zero" for now. More and more urban areas face water shortages as a result of climate change.

13 Juin 2018

ecology

environment

climate change

Fight Plastic Pollution

The theme of World Oceans Day, 9 June, is the problems caused in the oceans by plastic pollution, a subject which is very much in the news at the moment. There are some great videos and teaching resources on this topic. And more to do in Plastic-Free July.

07 Juin 2018

video

ecology

environment

Mandela Day Digital Resources

Mandela Day, 18 July, is a United Nations International Day in honour of Nelson Mandela. The date is his birthday, and 2018 marks the centenary of his birth. As well as our Ready to Use Resource and BioBox quiz, here are some online resources for classroom use about Mandela Day.

04 Juin 2018

video

biography

teaching resources

6

Ressources
complémentaires

Nelson Mandela

This year marks the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, on 18 July 1918. Our Biobox video quiz will allow you to familiarise your students with Mandela's life from A2 level. And in this B1 article your students will learn about Mandela and his part in the abolition of apartheid and the building of a democratic South Africa until his death in 2013. The current situation in the country is not mentioned here, but your more able students could read short articles from broadsheet papers as a follow-up activity.

04 Juin 2018

video

biography

Nobel prize

New for Sections européennes

If you teach in a European section, have you seen the latest addition to the Speakeasy family? Speakeasy Files 3e is designed for sections européennes with six thematic files giving an original angle on the culture of the English-speaking world. Have a look at our trailer!

Rendez-vous

New Zealand, Where Are You?

It is one of the greatest mysteries of our time — why is New Zealand always being left off world maps? A new video tackles the issue.

04 Juin 2018

Prime Minister

New Zealand

map

Professeurs documentalistes Lycée

Captain Cook: Voyages to the Pacific

Making Mary Shelley

Here We Go Again!

Dorothea Lange Exhibition: Teacher and Class Visits

Audio Interview with the Director of Mary Shelley

You've Got Ice-Cream Mail

Bristol: The Painting is on the Walls

Teaching With Film: Murder on the Orient Express

Winter is Coming... for the Summer

Back in Black… Hole

Westminster Abbey: Britain's Pantheon

Emily Brontë 200

Protesting for Change

Help Us Help You Avoid Student Errors

Brontë Family Webpicks

Votes for Women: Helen Pankhurst Lecture in Paris

Celebrating Author Jean Rhys

How to Be a Modern Prime Minister

War Dance

To Find a Dragon

Oral Participation in Class: Ideas from Britain

Introducing Thumbs Up! 5e

The Incredibles 2

Prime Canadian

Cape Town: The Day the Water Stops

Fight Plastic Pollution

Mandela Day Digital Resources

Nelson Mandela

New for Sections européennes

New Zealand, Where Are You?