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Halloween. Speaking exercise

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

In this lesson we will be talking about Halloween in English, and looking at some phrasal verbs and idioms related to the topic.


 

"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win".
— Stephen King


 

The customs of Halloween go back almost 2,000 years, and originate from several cultures: the early Celts of Great Britain and northern France, the Romans and the early Christians all had traditions that shape the way we celebrate Halloween nowadays. 

Typically in the Anglo-Saxon world (but increasingly in other countries too) the days and weeks leading up to Halloween represent the time to make your jack-o-lantern, buy sweets for the trick-or-treaters, get your costume ready for the fancy dress party, and watch scary movies. 

Before we get started with today’s class, here is a list of vocabulary that will help you talk about Halloween with your native English-speaking teacher in your conversation classes via Skype.

 


 

Trick or treat

Trick or treat

English vocabulary related to Halloween

  • All Saints’ Day 
  • Celtic 
  • Decorate
  • Costume
  • Fancy dress
  • Ghosts
  • Jack-o-lantern
  • Mask
  • Neighbourhood
  • Pranks
  • Pumpkin
  • Scary
  • Scream
  • Trick-or-treat 
     

 

Grammar to use in your online English conversation class

Here are 5 idiomatic expressions and 5 phrasal verbs related to Halloween:

 

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS

1. To be scared to death (of something) = to be very scared

  • A lot of people are scared to death of spiders.

 

2. Dead = Very (informal)

  • It was a dead good holiday.
  • Last summer was dead hot.

 

3. Bedlam = madness craziness 

  • When the family come to visit with all their children, the house is absolute bedlam!
  • It was bedlam in the office last week — three of my colleagues were on holiday and two were sick!

 

4. To be as white as a ghost = To be very white

  • Are you OK? You’re as white as a ghost!
  • She wasn’t injured after the car accident, but she was as white as a ghost. She must have been in shock!

 

5. Not a cat in hell’s chance = no chance at all

  • We hadn’t a cat in hell’s chance of finding her earring on the enormous beach.
  • That band was terrible! They haven’t got a cat in hell’s chance of winning the competition.

 

PHRASAL VERBS

1. Turn into = become

  • At midnight, Cinderella’s coach turned into a pumpkin.
  • The princess kissed the frog and it turned into a prince.

 

2. Dress up = put a costume on to make yourself look like someone / something else

  • This year I’m going to dress up as Frankenstein
  • You have to dress up for a ‘fancy dress party’.

 

3. Look forward to = to wait for something with happiness and excitement 

  • Children look forward to Halloween for weeks.
  • I am looking forward to freaking out my neighbours with my new scary mask.

 

4. To freak out = to experience strong emotions and become excited, disturbed, angry or upset.

  • He freaked out when he saw his brother dressed up as a ghost and holding a knife!
  • People dressed up as clowns really freak me out!

 

5. Wind (someone) up = say something that isn’t true in order to make a joke on someone.

  • The boys wound their little brother up by telling them that monsters were real.
  • You can’t be serious… Are you winding me up?

 


 

Useful verb forms:

  • wind - wound - wound

 


 

Common mistakes:

     X I dressed up like a witch
     √  I dressed up AS a witch

     X Phantom
     √ Ghost

     X The thirty-one October
     √ The thirty-FIRST OF October / October the thirty-FIRST

 

Common pronunciation problems:

  • Halloween       /ˌhæl əˈwi:n/  (stress on the last syllable!)
  • Catholic          /‘kæθlɪk/        (2 syllables)

 


 

Don't be afraid of speaking in English

Don't be afraid of speaking in English

Questions we will discuss in your online English conversation class:

  • When is Halloween? 
  • Do you look forward to Halloween?
  • How do people celebrate Halloween in your country?
  • Is it celebrated differently nowadays to when you were younger?
  • Do you have a similar festival at another time of the year in your country?
  • What are the origins of Halloween?
  • Whys it such a commercial holiday these days?
  • What do you think about other countries copying the traditions of other cultures? 

  • What do people usually dress up as for Halloween?
  • What’s a jack-o-lantern?
  • How do you make a jack-o-lantern?
  • What traditions do you have in your country for the day after Halloween (All Saints’ Day)?
  • When was the last time you were scared to death?
  • Have you ever wound someone up on purpose?
  • Have you ever freaked someone out on purpose?

 


 

Practice reading and listening before speaking with your native English-speaking teacher:

This short article explains the difference between Halloween and the Latin American celebration Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos):

“The Latin American celebration Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated during the same time frame as Halloween. Both events are centered on traditions rooted in acknowledging the deceased. Although mostly different, a few characteristics of both holidays make them similar -- helping to explain why confusion between the two exist.” Read more…

 


 

And this very interesting short video talks about the real story behind the tricks, treats and costumes of Halloween: 

 

 


 

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Speaking practice:

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See our other English conversation lessons, to improve your grammar and vocabulary, and practice your reading and listening skills.

 

And don't forget to book your online English conversation classes with one of our native English-speaking teachers to put into practice what you’ve learned in this lesson.

 

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Practicar inglés avanzado con Greg Pioli

Gregory Stephen Pioli

Owner of OLA Online Language Academy

★Degree in French (University of Kent at Canterbury)
★DELE Superior (Spanish) (Instituto Cervantes, Leeds)
★TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) (i-to-i.com)

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