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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

DAY OF
THE DEAD
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1 Warm up

The Day of the Dead (also called All Saints’ Day) is celebrated in many countries on 2 November. The
celebrations in Mexico are very famous. What do you know about how they celebrate this festival in
Mexico?

These things are all used to celebrate the Day of the Dead in Mexico. Write the words in the correct
places on the mind map.

graves in a cemetery guitars old sculptures processions/parades

candles crosses fireworks flowers
lanterns models of skulls paper flags photographs of relatives
silver skeletons skeleton dolls skeleton face paint trumpets

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DAY OF THE DEAD

2 Watching for the main idea

You are going to watch a short video about the Day of the Dead and you will see all the items on your
mind map. Tick each one when you see it. You may see some items more than once! Do you have
any similar festivals in your country?

3 Watching for detail

First, just read these three parts of the transcript from the video – you can use the glossary to help
you understand the words in bold. Some words are missing but the first letters are given. Next, decide
if the missing word is a verb, noun or adjective. Imagine/remember which words would complete the
text. Finally watch and check your ideas.

PART 1 1
The day of the dead is a festival and in that sense it is very much a c and
(1:01-1:23)
I suppose that is something that appeals to European and North American people because
2
that’s not the way we understand d .
3 4
Death is for us, a s moment. We do remember our d but we
remember them in times of solemnity.

PART 2 5
It’s a multi-sensory e , I think both for the people who make the altar and for
(2:05-2:39)
6
the dead that v .
7
People go on journeys with the o and take them to their burial places and
8 9
they’re sort of e this idea of the boundary ‘between’ the l and
the dead.

PART 3
What we’re really talking about is what you see in a lot of cultures, which is material culture
(3:54-4:22)
10
or images and ideas being t through time, obviously evolving as they come
11
into c with other cultures, so Mexican culture is very much a mix of the
12 13
d pre-Hispanic Meso-American cultures that e before the
Spanish conquest and all the influence that came from Europe which wasn’t just from Spain.

GLOSSARY
appeals to: interests or attracts someone
solemnity: serious and sad feelings
multi-sensory: using several senses at the same time, eg seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting
altar: a small table used in religious ceremonies
burial: placing a dead body in a grave in the ground (verb - to bury)
boundary: a line that separates two different things or areas
evolving: changing over time

Pre-Hispanic Meso-American: referring to the peoples who were living in Mexico before the arrival of
the Spanish in the 16th century, eg the Aztecs
conquest: taking control of an area as a result of winning a war (verb - to conquer)

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DAY OF THE DEAD

4 Word families

You need to understand both grammar and meaning to use vocabulary correctly. Complete the word
family table. You do not need to write in the boxes with —, but you need to record two nouns in the
boxes with a *.

Verb Noun Adjective

celebration —

contact —

death / the dead (people)

different

exist —

experience —

explore * / *(people) —

* / the living (people)

offerings —

remember —

— sad

transfer —

visit * / (people) —

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DAY OF THE DEAD

5 Practice

Complete the crossword with words from today’s lesson.

Across
4. At the end of the video, one of the speakers said, " are really important in a world
where it’s so easy to forget."
6. If you are in Mexico on the Day of the Dead, you will some amazing sights and sounds.
7. Lots of people paint their faces to look like on the Day of the Dead.
9. Mexicans remember family members for a long time after they .
10. The Day of the Dead continues some very old cultural traditions that before the
Spanish arrived in Mexico.
11. to Mexico will enjoy seeing new things and eating new foods.
Down
1. No one is happy all the time; there is some in everybody’s life.
2. Mexicans go to the cemetery and decorate the of family members on 2 November.
3. In many parts of the world, people walk down the streets in big to celebrate important
holidays.
5. People set off at night during celebrations like the Day of the Dead and New Year’s
Eve.
6. In the 16th century, many European travelled to North and South America.
8. Mexican families flowers and food to the dead on 2 November.

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