Celebrations
1.- Introduction to lesson
In today’s lesson, we are going to talk about celebrations. We are going to look at one particular festival called ‘Las Fallas’ which takes place in Valencia every year. We will then look at a number of phrasal verbs.
1.1.- Look at the pictures below and decide which celebrations are shown in each picture. If you don’t recognise the celebration, describe exactly what you see in each picture.
 |  |  | ||
 |  |  |
2.- Your turn…
Answer the following questions out loud giving as much detail as possible.
- Do you celebrate any of the festivals shown above? Are they common in your country?
- Are there any popular festivals in your country which aren’t shown above? Describe one in detail.
3.- Pre-Listening Speaking Task
Before listening to the description of a popular festival called "Las Fallas" which takes place each year in Valencia, I would like you to guess what the festival is about by using the following words which have been taken from the extract:
- March
- Valencia
- Fireworks
- Noise
- Party
- One week
- Alive
- Lifelike statues
- Fire
- Firecrackers
If you do not understand the meaning of some of the words, look them up in your dictionary.
4.- Vocabulary
Before you listen to the description of the popular festival, learn the following words:
- Fireworks: fuegos artificiales
- Preparations: preparativos
- Bonfire: hoguera
- Firecrackers: petardos
- Parade: desfile
- Procession: procesión
- Candelabra: candelabro
- Lifelike: verosímil
5.- Listening
5.1.- Listen to a journalist give a detailed description of the festival. Is it how you imagined?
Sonido
5.2.- Now listen again and answer the following questions:
| 1) | When does the festival take place? | |
| 2) | How long does it go for? | |
| 3) | What do we know about its history? | |
| 4) | How do people celebrate? | |
| 5) | How does the festival end? | |
Corregir
Ver Solución
Limpiar | ||
6.- Your turn…
Discuss.
Would you like to experience this festival? Why?
7.- Language Focus: Phrasal Verbs
There are two types of phrasal verbs that you hear in the listening: intransitive (verb with no object) and transitive (verb that takes an object) phrasal verbs.
7.1.- Look at the following phrasal verbs which have been taken from the tapescript and indicate if the phrasal verbs are transitive or intransitive.
| 1) | All arounds us, fireworks are going off and the streets are full of noisy people | |
| 2) | You´re going to see that Valencians really know how o put on a good party! | |
| 3) | It takes a whole year to organise, and everybody joins in the preparations | |
| 4) | It is at night when people really get down to some serious celebrating | |
Corregir
Ver Solución
Limpiar | ||
7.2.- Check your understanding
- What is a phrasal verb?
Look at the tapescript and underline all of the phrasal verbs.
(Para ver la solución hacer doble click en texto; un click vuelve a posición original)
8.- Phrasal Verbs: Meaning
Most phrasal verbs have a non phrasal meaning. For example:
- To go off = to explode
The following sentences have the same meaning:
- The bomb went off and luckily nobody was injured.
- The bomb exploded and luckily nobody was injured.
8.1.- Match each of the following phrasal verbs with its literal meaning. If you are uncertain, look at the tapescript and see the phrasal verb in context.
(Para ver la solución hacer doble click en texto; un click vuelve a posición original)
9.- Controlled Practice
Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrasal verb from the list below. Change the tense of the phrasal verb accordingly.
Go off / Join in / Burn down / Put something on / Dress something up
Keep something up / Get down to something
Look forward to something / Get over something
| 1) | The Valencians don´t really to celebrating until after midnight. That´s when the real fun begins. | |
| 2) | As the statue was looking a bit boring, they it in some funny looking was hurt. | |
| 3) | A few firecrackers in the middle of the street. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. | |
| 4) | Ince he had set the statue on fire, it in less than an hour. | |
| 5) | It usually takes a couple of days a week of partying. | |
| 6) | The whole of Valencia with making the statues for "Las Fallas" | |
| 7) | Every year they an amazing fireworks display. | |
| 8) | Every year thousands of girls and boys to marching into the city centre with their flowers. | |
| 9) | The Valencians the partying for a whole week. | |
Corregir
Ver Solución
Limpiar | ||
10.- Free Practice
Give a spoken definition of the following phrasal verbs. Give examples of the phrasal verbs in context.
- To join in
- To burn down
- To get over something
- To dress something up
