Halloween Traditions

This video explores the historical roots of the modern American Halloween festival .

This is quite interesting if you want to know more about the American culture and its European influences. What we see today on Halloween seems far removed from the suggested origins of the festival, so it may take discussion or explanation to link the two.

The speaker in the video talks quite quickly so if you need to slow it down remember to adjust the playback speed, by clicking the button at the top right of the screen. There are subtitles throughout, as well as vocabulary items displyed in the top left corner of the screen. In other words there's a lot going on at once, so pausing may be necessary, regardless of your students' level of English.

Some of the vocabulary is beyond the pre-intermediate EFL level. Taking everything into account I would suggest this as a listening task for intermediate learners interested in English based culture. The video could then lead to a discussion of Halloween or other current festivals from the students' own perspectives. If they discuss the historical roots of these festivals, use of tenses could become the target for feedback.