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Reading and speaking

British Culture and Traditions

Warming-up.

  1. What British holidays do you know?
  2. You have to write a short article about British people and their traditions for a Belarusian newspaper. What information would you include in your article?

 

Read the following text. Use the information of the text below to talk about British holidays and festivals.

Make sure you understand the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:

to be decorated

to wrap

a patron

ancient

the anniversary

huge fireworks

British Festivals

·                   Christmas

Christmas seems to be the most important English festival of the year. On the Sunday before Christmas many churches hold a carol service. Houses tend to be decorated; in the corner of the living room the English have usually their Christmas tree. One of the most important traditions connected with Christmas is giving presents. Gifts are wrapped up; children leave a long sock at the end of their bed on Christmas Eve, hoping that Father Christmas will bring them some presents. On Christmas Day (25th December) an English family has also special food.

·                   New Year’s Eve

At midnight on 31st December people celebrate the coming of the new year by singing songs (Auld Lang Syne, which means “in memory of past time”) and by dancing.

·                   St Valentine’s Day

St Valentine’s Day is on 14th February and many people send a card, flowers or chocolates to the one they love.

·                   Easter

At Easter time the English celebrate the idea of new birth by giving each other chocolate Easter eggs which are opened and eaten on Easter Sunday. On Good Friday bakers sell hot cross-buns. Easter Monday is a holiday and many people travel to the seaside.

·                   St George’s Day

23rd April is the England’s national day.  St. George is a patron of England. His emblem, a red cross on a white background, is the flag of England. For most people this is just an ordinary day and they do not celebrate it.

·                   Harvest Festival

Thanksgiving ceremonies and celebrations for a successful harvest are very famous and ancient. People celebrate it by singing, praying and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food. It is usually in September.

·                   Halloween

On 31st October the English celebrate Halloween, which means “holly evening”. It is one of the oldest celebrations of the world. It is connected with witches and ghosts, people dress up in strange costumes. Children knock on doors and ask for a treat. Pumpkin lantern is one of the famous traditions of this festival. Halloween is followed by All Saints Day (1st November) and All Souls Day (2nd November).

·                   Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night)

Every year on 5th November, the anniversary of the Gunpowder plot, Guy Fawkes is remembered. Throughout England, towns and villages light huge fireworks, burn an effigy (made of straw and old clothes) and celebrate the fact the Parliament and James I were not blown sky by Guy Fawkes.

Questions to discuss:

  1. Would you like to visit Britain? Why (not)?
  2. What festivals would you like to visit there?
  3. Which of the described holidays do you find the most interesting?
  4. What are the state symbols of Great Britain?
  5. What would you ask a British teenager about national holidays in Britain?
  6. Give your friend a piece of advice on what sights to see in London.
  7. Why is English considered to be the language of international communication?
  8. Which of these do you do: attend English classes at school, learn English with a tutor (private teacher) or study English yourself (on your own)?
  9. What materials do you use for learning English?
  10. How can knowledge about British festivals and traditions help you in studying the language?
  11. Since when (how long) have you been learning English?
  12. How do you practice speaking English?
  13. What do you use to improve your listening ability?
  14. In what ways do you expand your English vocabulary?
  15. Do you try to use what you have learned already in what you are learning now?
  16. Do you also make up your own samples of conversation sentences and examples of vocabulary usage in sentences?
  17. Do you sometimes communicate in English with native English speakers? In what ways?
  18. What is the most difficult thing about learning English?
  19. What typical mistakes do you make?
  20. What area of English are you best at (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking, reading or writing)?

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