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LETTER tram the EDITeR
This is the right season to go up north, even the Far North. Flrst, we visit Canada. Though no longer an uncharted land, the second-Iargest country in tfle world still has myster- ies ln store for European readers;
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The Life of Pi is one of them. We ask where the border is between-
Canada and its southern nelghbour.And we look at Canada's effervescent 1iterature, which renders the spirit of a multi-faceted population so weil. Then, we go to the far north of Europe to visit a secondary school ln Helsinki.
We stay entirely in North America for our second topic: Sports. ln the U.S., Ameri.can football games are an Integral part of the Thanksgiving holiday, so we pause for some American games and investigate their influence on U.S. culture: football, basketball, base- bail and, in Canada, ice hockey.
As we go to press, the health-care debate in America is in full swing, and in this issue we have tried to make the imbroglio a little clearer to Europeans, who take health-care coverage for granted. Pupils will also be curious to understand how it ail works, and in par- ticular how such American values as self-reliance and liberty may be manipulated.
The topic provides a good opportunity to tackle health in vocational classes
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accident prevention, educa- tion on hygiene and healthy diets and also to try - in vain - to understand exactly what "supper" means in British English.Teachers will also find teaching materials and aids that are off the beaten track: school debates, dlag- nosing dyslexia, advising teachers' advisers, using mime and silence to elicit language.
Of course, we once again provide worksheets aimed at training collège pupils' comprehension - aurai or written - with communicative tasks based on ex- changes rooted in English culture - in this issue, with folk tales and sports bulletins.
We hope yeu enjoy working with us- we would be happy to have your comments (and your entries for the contest, p.50)!
