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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

Matching_MjMwNjQ=

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.

Task 1

TrueOrFalse_MjMwNjU=.xml

Task 2

MultipleChoice_MjMwNjY=.xml

Task 3

GapFillTyping_MjMwNjc=.xml

Discussion

What tradition do you like best from your country?

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B1 Intermediate
Average: 4.4 (46 votes)

Submitted by Mau on Fri, 24/01/2020 - 14:47

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It's so nice to hear about the diversity of traditions you have in your countries. I'm from Bolivia and today, like every 24th January, we celebrate Alasitas, the Abundance Festival. A month long fair begins in La Paz, where you can buy miniature versions of whatever you desire to achieve this year. For instance, you might want to buy a house, so you could get a tiny house, a big building or a car. There are even little university degree tittles and marriage certificates. After their purchase, people pray to Ekeko, the god of abundance, with the hope he will bring fortune and abundance to your life. It might sound quite bizarre but there's a very colourful environment.

Submitted by Maksim on Thu, 23/01/2020 - 19:46

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Hi! I'm from Russia, and I'm not a religious person, but I'd like to tell you about the orthodox holiday Epiphany. There is an interesting but sometimes extreme tradition to dive into the ice water late at night.

Submitted by mariy on Thu, 23/01/2020 - 18:35

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Hi everyone It is fascinating to read about diversity of traditions around the world. I'm from Iran and I've been living in Poland. one of the biggest celebrations in Iran is called "Yalda". Yalda means birth and comes from Zoroastrianism era. we celebrate the longest night of the year. Yalda night begins from the last evening of autumn until passed midnight. In this night we get to gather with our families and friends and eat fruits, nuts, drink and read poetry (Hafez). we pass the whole night with laughter and joy. The most important fruits of this night are pomegranate and watermelon, The red color in these fruits symbolizes cycle and glow of life. As I mentioned, during this night people also read Hafez poetry and each member of the family makes a wish and randomly opens the book and asks the eldest member of the family to read it aloud. Totally we spend amazing time in that night with our family.

Submitted by Mozart Aung on Fri, 17/01/2020 - 17:26

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I'm from Myanmar and I really enjoy participating in every occasion of our country. But the moment that I most excited is celebrating our water festival (we called Thingyan here). We pour water each other, we donate foods and do good deeds in those days. It takes 4 days long and we got public holidays at that time.

Submitted by Diego Pacanchique on Tue, 14/01/2020 - 23:42

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Hi everyone, I read almost three comments about the traditional celebration and all are funny. I am from Colombia where we have many festivals such as el Carnaval de Barranquilla, el Carnaval de negros y Blancos, la feria de Cali, etc. Those festivals represent Colombia traditions because there are different dances, types of music and many happines.

Submitted by Alfonso Castellano on Sat, 11/01/2020 - 23:10

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Hello everyone, The number of traditions around the world is impressive. Even just within a single country you can find a lot of different traditions. Some of them are typical and unique to the place, while others have a common origin but have been adapted to the place's culture. For instance, in Lima, the capital city of Peru, the country where I was born, it is very common to drink hot chocolate during Christmas. That is something that makes sense in countries from the north hemisphere that have a very cold winter during that time of the year. But not much in a country where the temperatures between December and January can fluctuate between 20°C and 26°C. Definitely that is an imported tradition. However, it is a very rooted tradition nowadays. So every year when Christmas is coming I get very excited because I know I that there will be lots of hot chocolate to indulge with. After all, who doesn't like a delicious cup of hot chocolate regardless of the season?

Submitted by indsun23 on Wed, 08/01/2020 - 13:29

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Wow! there are so many comments from different people from different part of the world. I born in India and amazing thing is I am still living here, just a joke! India is vast country and abode of many different culture and ethnic groups and each groups perform their rituals. There is one big celebration takes places during the month of Oct every year and called "Dussehra", it is celebration of "Good win over bad". People makes effigy of "Ravana" and his brother "Kumbhakarana" and his son "Meghnatha". There is a long story in short, Ravana was a bad figure and abducted wife of Lord Rama, who was great warrior and consider to be God and worshiped many parts of the world. Lord Rama along with his brother Laxmana and other kinds fought with Ravana and his army and defeat him. People celebrate this win every year and burn the effigies and distributes sweets. I am sure, almost all the countries in the world celebrate similar festivals. Wishing everyone to enjoy life.

Submitted by Myra11 on Sat, 28/12/2019 - 10:21

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So interesting to read about everyone's home tradition they enjoy the most. I'm form Tunisia and many of our traditions have changed to fit in better in a society led by western thinking. Fortunately, some of our heritage, like Aid Al Fitr, remains. Basciallay, it's a religious celebration. It's the day after the end of the holy month of Ramadan. We have fasted for a whole month, and we literally cannot wait to get back to eating as much as we want and whenever we want. Let's be honest here, Aid al Fitr is the perfect occasion, food is all around us. So we spend those two days of Aid eating Tunisian pastries and succulent foods. Also, relatives visit each other and spend some time together. It's also an occasion for kids to get spoiled. It's like Christmas for them. They get gifts and money (called mahba) from relatives. Besides food and family, we like to pamper ourselves and buy new clothes in order to look fantastic for the two days of celebration.