A class forum

A class forum

Learn how to write a post on a class forum.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

Reading text

Add your comment below:

So cool to read about everyone's home tradition they miss the most! I'm from England but I've been living in the States for five years and the thing I miss the most is Bonfire Night on November 5th.

The best thing about Bonfire Night is the fireworks, oh, and the bonfires! … and the history behind it. Basically, Guy Fawkes and his friends tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I. They nearly did it too – they hired a room under the House of Parliament and filled it with explosives. But someone told the royal palace. The authorities found Guy Fawkes in the room guarding the explosives, and he was sentenced to torture and death.

So it's a tradition that celebrates the fact that the king survived. It also means people don't forget what happens if you plot against your country. There's a kind of poem about it that starts 'Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot.' That's why we build a 'guy' – a life-size model of Guy Fawkes – and burn it on the bonfire. Pretty dark and horrible when you think about it!

Tips

  1. It's nice to start by saying something that shows you have read other people's posts.
  2. In a class forum you can be quite informal.
  3. In informal writing you can sometimes miss out the beginning of a phrase:
    So cool to read about everyone's home tradition ...
  4. Remember, in a forum you are part of a long conversation with a lot of other people so they might ask you questions.

Discussion

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Submitted by Tayyab on Mon, 01/02/2021 - 05:48

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Hi I am Tayyab. I am here to learn my writing skills and hopefully Mr.Kirk will guide me to correct and improve my skills. This story is very interesting and reminds me the different traditions in my own country. If we see around the globe there will be lot of traditions and few of them are shared in forum.

Submitted by Júlia Verônica… on Sun, 31/01/2021 - 19:07

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Hey everyone, it’s really nice to read about your traditions. I love to know more about other cultures. Here in Brazil, especially in the Northeast, we celebrate Saints John in a very typical way. We build bonfires in the streets and roast corn, we cook several corn foods like canjica and pamonha; also sweet rice with cinnamon. We wear colorful plaid shirts and straw hats, girls paint freckles on theirs faces, and boys paint mustaches. People form quadrilhas which is a traditional dance in which couples dance our northeast folk songs: forró pé de serra and xaxado. Kids are there on the streets playing with bombs and firecrackers.

Submitted by Hebaoraby on Tue, 26/01/2021 - 20:47

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I'm so honored to participate in this platform to learn English language. Firstly I don't know How I can write about traditional festival in my country or in my view. I should write a basic story or formal essay? Thanks

Hello Hebaoraby,

We're happy that you're here. What kind of text you should write depends on who's going to read it and what your purpose is in writing it. The example above is quite informal since it's in an online discussion forum. If you're going to write a text to put in a comment on this page, I'd say something informal would be more appropriate than a formal text.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Htet Su Naing on Thu, 21/01/2021 - 19:02

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I'm from Myanmar. There are many seasonable festivals in my country. Among them, my most favorite one is Myanmar Thingyan Water Festival. We hold it for 4 days from April 12th to 16th. On the first day of Thingyan, we make Traditional Burmese foods at home and share with our neighbors. Some donates foods on the road and anyone can eat there. Some makes good deeds by doing religious matters at home or monasteries. Others visit famous place all over the city with family or friends and play with water for all 4 days. The flowers called Pa Dauk that blooms only during Thingyan are very beautiful and fragrant. Myanmar New Year is on April 17th. To welcome the new year, we go to famous pagodas (e.g. Shwedagon Pagoda) and worship Buddha. Then we do good deeds by releasing the animals on sale safely and feed them foods. I'm very happy to celebrate this traditional festival and always hope to arrive Thingyan holidays very soon. If you enjoy my comment, I would like to invite you to join Thingyan festival once.

Submitted by Saad786 on Thu, 21/01/2021 - 15:38

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The most common and liked tradition of my country is Basant on any day between 25th January and 10th February every year. People fly kites and compete with each other.

Submitted by Yeetsing on Mon, 18/01/2021 - 19:43

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It's so great to see different festivals and traditions of countries. In my country, my favourite festival is the Spring Festival. It is the new year according to lunar calendar. At the new year's eve, family members will gather around and have rich dinner, where the most common food is dumplings. People will light fireworks to drive away the unlucky things in the last year and stick ''Fu'' ( a character means blessings) and couplets inside the house to wish lucky in the next year. Moreover, the best part I love about Spring Festival is that kids can get red envelops which contains money from elders. The experiences in Spring Festival is the most happy and sweet memories of my hometown.

Submitted by Claudia94 on Sun, 17/01/2021 - 23:34

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I am so glad to read and learn about other customs!, I am from El Salvador in Central America and the tradition that i admire the must is when that when you visit a family specially in rural areas or low income places; they recived you with their open hands even if there is not much to offert; a warm cup of coffe and a "tortilla" (a tipical flatbread made of corn) is always there for you.

Submitted by Jesús_Rivera on Fri, 15/01/2021 - 01:08

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Hello! I´m Jesus and I just started to learn english. I have a cuestion, do you remember all of post with all details?? becase I always forgot some information. Hahahaha Only happens to me?