1. Speaking Course
Festivals

2. Vocabulary festivals family reunion
value family life / Chinese festivals
tradition
relatives
fun / interesting / exciting / meaningful
boring / uninteresting / unexciting / meaningless
cheer up
look forward to doing sth

3. There’s no escaping it.
It’s an obligation to take care of /stay with family members.
Sb is mistaken to think that …

4. Chinese festivals
Chinese New Year Mid-Autumn Festival Dragon Boat Festival Ching Ming Festival Chung Yeung Festival

5. Chinese New Year
eat New Year food e.g. New Year cake, turnip cake, lotus seeds,
buy new clothes
clean up the house
visit relatives
see fireworks, street parade, dragon dance
get red packets

6. Mid-Autumn Festival eat moon cakes, star fruit see the moon
play with lanterns

7. Dragon Boat Festival
eat rice dumplings
see dragon boat races

8. Chung Yeung Festival
sweep the graves of ancestors

9. How teenagers spend time during festivals
see a film or have a house party
sing karaoke
hang around in the street
eat at a restaurant with friends

10. Group discussion
Your group wants to write an article for your school magazine
about how teenagers spend their time during festivals. Discuss
with your group what to include in your article. You may want to
talk about:
why teenagers would rather spend time with friends than with family during festivals
what effect spending festivals with friends has on family life
how teenagers should divide their time between friends and family during festivals

11. Why teenagers would rather spend time with friends during festivals?
It is more fun to spend time with friends / boring to stay with family
If teenagers do not join group activities and celebrate with friends, they will be laughed at/teased
Teenagers nowadays do not value family life as much as they ought to

12. Effects of spending festivals with friends on family life
Parents feel upset as they think festivals are times for a family to get together
Parents are worried their children will meet bad friends and develop bad habits
Parents are worried their children will go drinking or abuse drugs

13. How teenagers should divide their time between family and friends
Saving time to spend with family during particular Chinese festivals e.g. Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival are times for family reunions
Showing concern and respect to parents that they are following traditions e.g. graves sweeping and visiting relatives
Accompanying family to the beach or outlying islands or to the karaoke clubs

14. Individual response question
Which festival do you think is the most important for a family? Why?

15. Among all the festivals, I think Chinese New Year is the most important for a family. First of all, this is the time when families visit their relatives, enjoy meals together and exchange news. It’s time for family reunion. Before New Year Day, we might also spend time preparing gifts, food and red packets. For example, I go shopping for sweets and chocolates with my parents every year. On New Year’s Eve, we prepare red packets while talking about what we want to do in the coming year. I have to admit that for other festivals like Christmas and Easter, I usually spend time with my friends, but Chinese New Year is always a family festival for me and I feel great to start a new year with my family. Thank you.