Lesson 24: Yesterday Was Amazing!

Summary

Anna discovers a festival - the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall. What does she learn there about Basque culture?

Speaking

Learn to pronounce the new words for this lesson. You also learn about the words people use in English when they cannot remember a word, or they do not know a word.

Pronunciation

Use this video to learn about three ways to pronounce the past tense ending of regular verbs.
Anna: Yesterday was the most amazing day. I want to tell my friend back home about it. So, I am writing her a letter!

Anna: Dear Penelope,

Life in Washington, D.C. is interesting. I see something new every day -- like yesterday. Yesterday started like a usual work day.

Anna: I said, "Yesterday started like a usual work day."

Anna's voice: I was at work. And I wanted a break. So, I walked and walked … and walked. Then, I saw something! It was a festival -- a big festival!

Anna: It is the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Anna's voice: Yes. It was the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Every year the festival shows different cultures. This year one of the cultures was the Basque culture.

There was dancing and food and games!”

Anna: I am dancing a traditional Basque dance.

Anna's voice: At the festival, I danced a traditional Basque dance!

Anna: They are cooking traditional Basque food.

Anna's voice: They cooked a lot of traditional Basque food.

Anna: They are playing a game. It’s a kind of handball. What do they call it? They call it pilota!

Anna's voice: They played a game with their hands and a small ball. It’s a kind of handball. But this game is called pilota.

Anna: This is beautiful! This is traditional Basque art.

Anna: They are making a traditional Basque ship. This festival is a lot of fun!

Anna's voice: The whole day was a lot of fun!

Anna: Who said that? I want to write my friends and tell them about my day!

Anna: … So, I wanted to tell you about my day! Please, my friend, come visit Washington, D.C. soon. There is a lot to do! Until next time … Anna.

Writing

Tell about a party or festival in your town. Write to us by email or in the Comments section. Click on the image below to download the Activity Sheet and practice with a friend.

Activity Sheet Lesson 24

Learning Strategy

Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective.
The learning strategy for this lesson is Substitute. When we are speaking a second language, we often do not know a word. That is the time we can substitute a phrase or another word, and continue speaking.
In the video, you can hear Anna telling about the game. She does not remember the name at first.

They are playing a game. It’s a kind of handball. What do they call it? They call it pilota!

Anna uses a phrase, "It's a kind of handball," to tell about the game. She is substituting that phrase for the Basque name. Then she remembers the name, pilota.
How about you? Do you sometimes substitute a word or phrase for an English word you do not know? Write to tell us how you use this strategy in an email or in the Comments section. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more on how to teach this strategy.