Carnivals Do you know its history?
Learn English with carnivals
Currently, English is one of the most spoken languages in the world. Learning English is a necessity for both children and adults, since it is a universal language that opens doors for us at a work and academic level. For this reason, many people look for fun and entertaining ways to learn this language. An interesting way to do it is through carnivals, a popular festival that is celebrated in many countries around the world.
Studying English is important for both children and adults, as it helps us connect with other cultures and opens doors to new opportunities. Learning English can be fun and entertaining if we know how to do it. What better way to learn English than by celebrating a popular festival?
What are carnivals?
Carnivals are popular celebrations that take place before the start of Christian Lent. These festivities usually take place during the month of February or March depending on the country where it is held and usually last between two or three consecutive days. Carnivals have their roots in ancient pagan rituals related to fertility and annual rebirth, but over time they adopted Christian elements to become what we know today as "carnival".
History
The history of carnivals goes back to pre-Christian times when Celtic cultures celebrated festivities to honor the god Cernunus (Celtic god related to fertility). These festivals were considered sacred because they marked the beginning of the new agricultural year and were celebrated with dance, music, and costumes. With the passage of time, these festivities were adopted by the Christians who imprinted religious elements on them, thus beginning the modern tradition of carnivals as they know it today.
The exact origins of the origin of the Carnival are uncertain since there are many theories about its origin; however, there are some traditions that trace its history back to the Roman Empire. The first written records about this tradition date from the mid-13th century when there was already great interest in popular festivals in Italy, France and England; however, it was Spain that popularized this tradition thanks to its large parades called “Entierros” or “Entierro De La Sardina” (a reference to the sardine fish commonly used during processions). This custom was later taken to Latin America where it took on its own character until it became what is now known as the Latin American Carnival or the Brazilian Carnival, this being one of the most famous in the world.
How can we learn English through Carnivals?
Learning English with carnivals is a fun, intuitive, creative, interactive, motivating and productive process. Using costumes to represent words or phrases in English allows you to interact with other participants without feeling pressure or embarrassment. The games are excellent for practicing English in a group and letting our imagination run wild.
Learning English can be fun if we know how to find interesting activities to practice our language skills; luckily there are lots of fun and innovative ways to improve your level without getting too bored or tired: Carnivals are perfectly suitable! Below we will explain how we can learn English thanks to this popular event. Remember that you can take advantage of your stay with your homestay Ireland to practice everything we offer you:
- Costumes: Costumes are a fundamental part of any celebration, they can be hilarious if we know how to choose our attire well and they will allow us to practice our vocabulary. For example, we can find words like soccer player uniform, cowgirl dress, clown, etc. We can also find useful phrases like "looking for my friends". If we have favorite popular characters as singers, we can also practice our language skills by singing their songs and learning the lyrics to be able to sing them correctly with our friends and friends.
- Party with friends and family: One of the best ways to practice English during carnivals is to enjoy a party with friends and family. For example, we can speak English with each person for five minutes and rotate to speak several rounds with each member of the party. We can talk about all kinds of topics, even for each round, we can put a different topic to practice English. As you would say in French, it is an ideal activity for learners of Anglais en famille.
- Parades. We can organize parades among the attendees and the others will have to guess and name the elements of each costume but… in English. We must previously write a list of all the elements that make up our costume and we will leave the cards accessible to all players so that they can check the words for each move. One or two of the assistants can play the role of the jury. We can also put a table with the scores and may the best man win!
Learn English words related to carnival
This holiday can also be a great time to learn English. For example, if you are spending an English summer in Tamarit or a British summer in Girona, or perhaps with the members of your Ireland homestay, you can use the costumes to practice keywords for these dates related to carnivals such as: "Masquerade", "Mask", "Disguise", "Carnival", "Comparsa", "Parade", "Samba", "Dance", "Sing", "Party".
Other words in English related to carnivals that you should know are: Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday), parade (parade), costume (disguise), festival (party), float (allegorical car), party (party), music (music ) and dance (to dance).
If you are going to stay in a colony in English and want to practice your vocabulary in an English summer in Tamarit or in a British summer in Girona, learning English through carnival is an excellent way to take advantage of the experience and learn new concepts at the same time. . Learn English through carnivals and become familiar with new words that will help you enrich your language.
Learning English through carnivals is a great way to immerse yourself in the culture of English-speaking countries. Having fun while learning is the best way to succeed in learning English. So, take the opportunity to learn new vocabulary.