April Week One

Greetings!

Happy Easter, everybody! Keeping with the upcoming holiday, this week we discussed Easter, traditions, and religions.  In some groups you had questions about the many different religions from the United States.

For reading, first try a reading comprehension activity about Easter. Because the topic of religions in the U.S. came up in many different groups, you may be interested in an article called Who Are the Amish?.  Lastly, you could read about the world's strangest traditions.

Try listening to this activity explaining some of the origins of Easter traditions in English speaking countries (mp3and transcript).  More advanced listeners may enjoy This American Life episodes Heretics (mp3 and transcript) and Pray (mp3 and transcript)

Don't forget about writing.  You may want to explain one of the traditions from Spain in your own words (maybe something from your hometown's festivals) and your opinion of it. Are there any traditions that you couldn't live without?  Can you think of any traditions you think should be forbidden? Or you could write about a childhood family tradition of yours.

By the way, did you know you can read some articles from El País online in English?

Don't forget that there is no class next week and that classes resume on April 16th.  Enjoy your holidays and happy travels!

Kelly