Invented traditions: a lecture on how holidays are made and kept
A public lecture by a cultural historian on Hobsbawm and Ranger's idea of invented traditions, from Scottish tartans to the making of Thanksgiving; students listen for gist and detail, notice the lecturer's hedging and discuss how traditions in their own countries began.
C1Adults55 minLecture
About this lesson
A C1 listening lesson (lecture). Dialogues and stories to listen to, with transcripts, speed control and ready-made questions.
- Level
- C1
- Skill
- Listening
- Type
- Lecture
- Students
- Adults
- Time
- About 55 minutes
- Topic
- Thanksgiving
- Activities
- Key words, Speaking / writing task, Listening (read aloud), Multiple choice, True / False, Gap-fill, Matching
- Key words
- an invented tradition, continuity, standardize, take hold, an eyewitness account, a footnote, assemble, an inheritance
- Access
- Premium
By the end, students can
- Follow an extended lecture and identify the speaker's main argument and her examples
- Recognize and use hedging phrases for making careful claims
- Discuss the origins of traditions in their own countries