Internet is a wondrous tool and I use it, (ain't I a fool?)for you dear pupils, who wish to speak the Queen's English. Well, maybe not but at least, if asked whether you speak English or not, don't say: "I do not!"
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
ORIGAMI
The video on the link below on PBS is definitely a must-see if you like art, craft, beauty and human inventivity.
So do watch this Independent Lens movie called "Between the Folds". Enjoy!
http://video.pbs.org/video/1340426590/
And there's this great site in progress: Le Crimp, a French folding group:
http://www.le-crimp.org/
Here's another video with Vincent Floderer from le crimp in English, s'il vous plait!:
At the beginning he says "I'm doing Origami since twenty years." If you send me what he should have said in the comment, I'll grant you additional points on your next paper. Be the first to correct him!
(What I would do to get just one comment :-(
Monday, March 08, 2010
Friday, March 05, 2010
Monday, March 01, 2010
A word a day, my favourite sites about words.
Here is a very interesting text in today's edition of Anu Garg's newsletter:
To subscribe to his newsletter and discover his precious online work:
http://wordsmith.org/words/today.html
" Recently I visited London to attend a wedding. The bride had graduated from Oxford, and among the invitees were some of her fellow graduates and a professor. During the long ceremony, we intermittently chatted about London weather, Gordon Brown, Queen Lizzie, and language.
Among other things, we talked about the differences between British and American English. I recalled reading about the inroads American English is making even in the UK, so I decided to carry out an experiment to find to what extent American English had "corrupted" English English.
I told them that sometimes the British write certain numerals (e.g. 1 and 7) differently from how they're written in the US, and asked them to write a short sentence so I could see if there were other differences in the script.
I quickly thought of a sentence for them to write:
"Her favorite flavors were in the gray catalog, she realized."
I said it aloud and the five Oxonians and the Oxford don kindly wrote it down on their napkins (serviettes). I collected the napkins and then told them about the experiment -- it had nothing to do with handwriting. In reality, that sentence had five words that could be written with American or British spellings (favorite/favourite, flavor/flavour, gray/grey, catalog/catalogue realize/realise).
Of the six people who participated in the experiment, three spelled (spelt) everything the British way. The other three had one or more words spelled in American English.
What does this experiment prove? Not much, according to my 12-year-old daughter, "Your sample size is too small."
Language, by its very definition, is a vehicle of exchange. A language means nothing in vacuum. When two people share, they give and take, though the movement is not always equal in both directions. US export of movies, television, music, books, technology, etc. includes something that goes through under the radar: Language.
Will American English take over the other Englishes? Probably not. Will the English language diverge into distinct languages just as Latin turned into French, Spanish, Italian and other languages? Hope not.
But who knows? Only time can tell, but in the meantime let's celebrate the diversity of languages by learning words English has borrowed from some of the less-known languages: Hungarian, Hebrew, Nootka, Afrikaans, and Persian. Even though they're not as well-known to most of us, they are still spoken by thousands or millions of people."
I'm way more than a little proud to be quoted in his second book, Another word a day, on page 122! Anu Garg has written three books which are all in my library! Well, on my bedside table!
http://www.amazon.com/Another-Word-Day-Limited-Gift/dp/0471778788
And Anu's site has long been in this blog's tags.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Amazing demo: SixthSense
By the way, what movie and what actor does the speaker, Pattie Maes, refer to?
This is a question of oral comprehension for my pupils ;-) Additional points in sight for any comment...
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
1984 in Philadelphia school ?
The school's answer on its website:
http://www.lmsd.org/sections/schools/default.php?m=&t=hhs&p=hhs_today_anno&id=1143
And some articles
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1252234/U-S-school-child-porn-probe-revealed-laptops-used-spy-pupils-home.html
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/school-used-laptop-webcams-to-spy-on-us-pupils-at-home-14690166.html
http://video.news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/School-In-United-States-Accused-Of-Spying-On-Its-Students-Through-In-Built-Cameras-on-Laptops/Article/201002315553845?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15553845_School_In_United_States_Accused_Of_Spying_On_Its_Students_Through_In-Built_Cameras_on_Laptops
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, February 08, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Banksy makes his movie debut at film festival

THE ABOVE WALL PAINTING IS NOT BY BANKSY, but a Banksy-influenced artist indeed!
Now, about Banksy!
Notorious though elusive street artist Banksy, whose work has decorated his home town of Bristol to Israel's West Bank barrier, has turned his hand to film-making. Exit Through The Gift Shop will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
WHO IS BANKSY?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7504132.stm
Sounds like a tabloid headline, doesn't it?
Well, since we've studied some documents about him, including some of his works, I thought you might be curious though I hope he keeps up the good job and doesn't fall into the abyss of power. For I believe fame is one of a kind.
Anyway, here you will watch the trailer of the movie Exit Through the Gift Shop
Read the article too.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8471145.stm
Youtube Banksy, watch and say what you think in the comments.
Good for your English! Do I preach in the wilderness?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Friday, January 01, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
If you want to learn about languages:
This article (above link) is a thrill.
If you're interested in languages, that is. And who isn't?!
What is the hardest language? Not English.Lucky you English learners!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Climate change, climate gate, whatever
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/144782/This-hypocritical-charade-played-out-in-Copenhagen
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Neil de Grasse Tyson about 2012
This great scientist is both entertaining and enlightening. For all those who would be worried about 2012, listen and relax!
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
MORE TROOPS
Listen to Rachel Maddow and find out. Excellent oral comprehension exercise about war...
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
A BIG THANK YOU to G.G.
G.G. has just sent me this link to a new great ORAL COMPREHENSION SITE,
with great oral comprehension exercises to do!
Enjoy!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
OBAMA PRO-LANDMINES

As a former active member of Handicap International, I feel deeply miserable.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/25/us-obama-rejection-mine-ban-treaty-reprehensible
So the Obama administration is not going to sign the Ottawa treaty banning landmines.
The one that G.W.Bush said he would never sign...
Well, Obama didn't abolish the patriot act either. Quite the contrary, he voted to reauthorize it.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/16/obama-seeks-patriot-act-extensions/
And as for stopping wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, here it is :
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/13/obama-afghanistan-troop-deployment
and the video of a sadly unforgettable moment here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/video/2009/oct/29/obama-defence-budget
Indeed, Obama is not the president anti-war-minded people could legitimately be hoping for.
Should we keep hoping the world becomes a better place or should we give up hope?
Let's keep hoping!
Yes, always. I mean at least as long as we live... PEACE
http://www.handicap-international.org/
http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Treaties/MBT/Treaty-Basics
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Sunday, November 01, 2009
CELL : Size and scale
Fascinating! Move the cursor! http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/
Saturday, October 24, 2009
URGENT !! CORRESPONDANTS!
Une amie collègue de français aux U.S. veut faire correspondre ses élèves avec les miens.
N'hésitez-pas! Envoyez-moi un mail à l'adresse arago2311@gmail.com avec comme sujet:
U.S. penpal.
Je me chargerai d'envoyer votre adresse mail à ma collègue qui la donnera à l'un ou l'une de ses élèves.
Merci d'avance. Mme Bilien
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
News about Gary McKinnon

ComputerWeeklydotcom's essential guide to Gary McKinnon's story with links to articles from the beginning. (2002)
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/08/28/231065/hacker-gary-mckinnon-essential-guide.htm
Gary McKinnon talks to Huw Edwards on BBC News in July 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4715612.stm
Indeed, the above link features McKinnon telling us why he is not such a good hacker since he was only doing what is called 'blank password scanning' which is not a proper computer hack.
Listen to him saying " I would be considered by a proper computer hacker, a professional, to be completely amateur."
Then listen to his answer to the broadcaster's question: "What's your case against extradition?"
And here is the latest news from TimesOnline :http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6878553.ece
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Obama Okayed 13,000 More Afghan Troops
But no we won't...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/13/politics/washingtonpost/main5381329.shtml?tag=stack
extract :
The request reportedly includes different options for adding troops for combat, training and support, with one option totaling about 40,000. The ability of the Army and Marine Corps to meet the request would depend on the type and number of troops McChrystal asked for, and when he wants them. A significant troop increase in Afghanistan early next year - similar to the 2007 increase in Iraq - would be difficult to sustain given the current size of the Army and Marine Corps and ongoing troop demands in Iraq, officials said.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
http://www.englishmaven.org/
Explore in the above link the blue column on the left . Some labels have few lessons. Others have lots.
I suggest you begin with the "Pronouncing -ed endings" lesson.
You can do the lessons for free BUT JUST ONCE.
This site is now referenced under the label "LESSONS" on the left column of this blog. I called it MAVEN there.
Enjoy and check out the other links as well as the other labels...
Obama Nobel Peace Prize

http://www.truthout.org/101009A
The above link is an interesting comment on the picture of those 4 famous people...
Or are they that well-known?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kissinger
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/woodrowwilson/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/theodoreroosevelt/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
Saturday, October 10, 2009
LISTEN TO GREG PATILLO !

HERE'S A PHOTO OF HIS GROUP: PROJECT TRIO
and the link to their website: http://www.whatisproject.org/index.html
I can't wait to see them in France!
We Will Not Pay To Use Facebook. We Are Gone If This Happens
WILL YOU PAY TO USE FACEBOOK ?
I don't use it much but if this happens, I'm gone!
Friday, October 09, 2009
A new oral comprehension site: Learn English Feel Good
http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/eslvideo/esl_movieclip9.html
It's now referenced under the label "Oral comprehension sites" on the left column of this blog. Enjoy and check out the other labels.
Friday, October 02, 2009
One of the most important video I've ever watched...
This is the French version but you'll easily find the English one on the web.
I hope we'll have the web for ever. But I'm not so sure about it.
http://video.google.fr/videoplay?docid=-647042342894016035#
TO ALL THOSE WHO VISIT MY BLOG
My blog was first created for my pupils. I'm a female John Doe... (any idea how you'd call her?) but I've got to admit that few of them visit it :-(
Many of you visitors come from around the world:
Britain, Germany, Poland, Croatia, Turkey, India, Philippines, Korea, Japan, U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and so on and so forth.
Indeed, thanks to sitemeter (the free version, thank you Sitemeter!), I'm able to see where my visitors come from and it's a thrill to see these web connections.
I'd love to hear from you all. Why don't you say hello right below in the comments. I promise to reply to every single comment. Or if you wish to send me a private message, please contact me at arago2311 at gmail.com.
I'm very much interested in teaching, UFOs, science and the 9/11 truth movement.
What about you?
Thanks in advance. Enjoy every single second of your life and your world. Our wonderful world. Peace. Elisabeth
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009

http://www.lecielestbleu.com/html/main_pateason.htm
Great creative crazy stuff you find on the web...
Friday, September 11, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
I MUST NOT COPY WHAT I SEE ON THE SIMPSONSBack to school in France. We call it "la rentrée". (No such noun in English).
Anyway, it's high time I posted something new for september. Well, I went on Banksy's site again and saw his new work and I thought you should have a look.
http://www.banksy.co.uk/menu.html
Because I consider Banksy's art to be extremely worth studying, we'll go back there together in the multimedia room.
http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/horizontal_1.htm
He's got nothing to sell, nothing to proselytize.
Nothing of that sort.
He is just creating a great work of art in progress, his acute lucidity is here for us to ponder on our urban world.
All those walls.
119 friendly admirative French earthly free hugs to Banksy and Welcome back to school, kids!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Rattrapés!
En TES: Hélène, Manu, Katiba, Pierrine, Laura et Yassine.
Que les autres se consolent, ils pourront repasser une année à Arago.
What a thrill ...
BRAVO to the baccalaureates!
Maintenant, j'attends avec impatience les résultats du rattrapage pour ceux qui doivent surmonter cette épreuve supplémentaire.Merci de me laiser un message pour me donner des news.
Et puis... HAVE A VERY NICE SUMMER ALL!
Thursday, July 02, 2009
JON couldn't believe his ears.
JON STEWART's denounces it all in his own humurous puzzled way. Once again, thanks to Jon for making us laugh and think.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| www.thedailyshow.com | ||||
| ||||
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
GAÏA

Earth, That's her name. Well, her English name.
How do you say Earth in different languages?
We earthlings sometimes call it ADAMA in hebrew, ARD in Arabic, BHUVAN in Sanskrit, BIN in Greek, CHIKYUU in Japanese, die ERDE in German,LUR in Basque,TERRA in Italian, Latin, Portuguese Spanish, DIQIU in Chinese, ZEM in Czech, , ZIMLIA in Russian, ZIEMIA in Polish, TERO in Esperanto,
We all love our planet, don't we?
Quite a boat, isn't it? She's called Earth
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Prisoners pay tribute to Michael Jackson
INMATES PERFORM "THRILLER"
1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines at practice!
After being told of Jackson's departure, 1,500 Filipino inmates hit the exercise yard, practicing for nine hours to pay tribute to Michael Jackson by recreating the 'Thriller' dance and some other Jackson hits.
Find a synonym of
1) "inmate" : ..........
2) "departure" : ............
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
SPIN
spin n. [spɪn] spins
1. A swift whirling motion (usually of a missile).
2. The act of rotating rapidly: “he gave the crank a spin”; Synonyms: twirl, twist, twisting, whirl.
spin v. [spɪn] spun ◊ spinning ◊ spins
1. To revolve quickly and repeatedly around one’s own axis; Synonyms: spin around, whirl, reel, gyrate.
2. To work natural fibers into a thread: “spin silk.”
3. To form a web by making a thread, as of spiders.
4. To prolong or extend: “spin out a visit”; Synonyms: spin out.
5. To make up a story, as in “spin a yarn.”
6. To stream in jets, of liquids: “The creek spun its course through the woods.”
PHRASES:
spin doctor n.
A spokesperson for a political party or candidate who tries to forestall negative publicity.
spin dryer (or drier) n.
A machine that uses centrifugal motion to dry the clothes that are put into it;
spin the bottle n.
A game in which a player spins a bottle and kisses the person that it points to when it stops spinning.
spin the plate n.
A game in which something round (as a plate) is spun on edge and the name of a player is called; the named player must catch the spinning object before it falls or pay a forfeit; Synonyms: spin the platter.
spin off v. [spɪn ɔːf]
To produce as a consequence or an unplanned result.
spin a yarn v.expr.
To tell a story, esp. a long or fabulous tale.
spin-dry v. [spɪn draɪ]
To dry by spinning and making use of centrifugal forces; as of clothes.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
For those who are taking the Baccalauréat...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The poor thinker dashes madly after an answer; the good thinker takes his time and looks at the problem….. - John Holt
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
ANTI BULLYING CAMPAIGN
A video about GMOs
and more particularly Genetically Modified Foods... and about Monsanto of course.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
About the sun, its sunspots and Northern Lights.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/29may_noaaprediction.htm?list53494
""The 1859 storm--known as the "Carrington Event" after astronomer Richard Carrington who witnessed the instigating solar flare--electrified transmission cables, set fires in telegraph offices, and produced Northern Lights so bright that people could read newspapers by their red and green glow. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a similar storm occurred today, it could cause $1 to 2 trillion in damages to society's high-tech infrastructure and require four to ten years for complete recovery. For comparison, Hurricane Katrina caused "only" $80 to 125 billion in damage.
The latest forecast revises an earlier prediction issued in 2007. At that time, a sharply divided panel believed solar minimum would come in March 2008 followed by either a strong solar maximum in 2011 or a weak solar maximum in 2012. Competing models gave different answers, and researchers were eager for the sun to reveal which was correct.
It turns out that none of our models were totally correct," says Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA's lead representative on the panel. "The sun is behaving in an unexpected and very interesting way."
Researchers have known about the solar cycle since the mid-1800s. Graphs of sunspot numbers resemble a roller coaster, going up and down with an approximately 11-year period.""
cf http://bilien.blogspot.com/2008/09/spotless-sun.html
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
ENJOY JON - Oral Comprehension exercise
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=228042&title=bronx-bombers
We could do the exercise below in the multimedia room .
Why not do it at home? Don't put your answers in the comments but bring them or mail them to me!
In the comments, tell me if you had fun watching it. If you did, you'll probably be willing to do the Test. ENJOY!
A... 1'14'' - 1'24 : Is that a .......................... or a .............................. I'm doing B... 1'45'' What does Jon say about the police car?
C... Then what does he suggest about the cuts in the New York City budget?
D... What did the 4 so-called "homegrown terrorists" allegedly plan to do?
E... 2'14'' Why does Jon look so surprised? And he says he's done what?!
F... 2'30'' What's the joke!
G... The public was at no time in any danger... Why?
H... What does Jon say about the suspected terrorists?
I... 3'22''What does he compare their cellphones to? And their Stinger missiles? And their beards?!!!
J... 3'45''Fox news says they have proof Obama is endangering America... Explain. And say what Gitmo is.
K... What is Jon's conclusion?
Saturday, May 16, 2009
The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard
"Do you have one of these?" (Annie Leonard shows her iPod). "I got a little obsessed with mine. In fact, I got a little obsessed with all my stuff. Have you ever wondered where all the stuff we buy comes from and where it goes when we throw it out? I couldn't stop wondering about that so I looked it up. And what the text books said is that our stuff simply moves along these stages: extraction to production to distribution to consumption to disposal. All together, it's called the materials economy.
Well, I looked into it a little bit more. In fact, I spent ten years traveling the world tracking where our stuff comes from and where it goes. And you know what I found out? That is not the whole story. There's a lot missing from this explanation. " ............................................
Watch that great video and learn!
Here is a New York Times article about this film:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/education/11stuff.html?_r=1
Monday, May 11, 2009
Friday, May 08, 2009
Monday, May 04, 2009
Chicken à la carte: A Must See
I heard on the radio yesterday that in rich countries, 30% of the food we bought was thrown away.
We're careless, so careless... Maybe we'll be more careful after watching Chicken à la carte.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Oral comprehension exercise
http://www.soundguideweb.com/soundguide/pages/ppfing1/ppc1.htm
Thank you soundguide : http://www.soundguideweb.com/soundguide/













