B1CEFRVocabulary20 min

Vocabulary & Pronunciation: Carnival Parades and Costumes

Carnival parades and costumes

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How to use this lesson

For Teachers

Guide students through the word table first, then run the practice section in pairs for 15 minutes.

Check answers together using the automated keys and monitor individual shadowing pronunciation.

For Learners

Study the 10 carnival words and memory tips carefully in the table before starting exercises.

Complete all 16 practice questions and record your speech clearly in the shadowing tasks at the end.

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Carnival Parades and Costumes

Master 10 essential festival words for B1 learners in 20 minutes.

Word table Part 1: The Parade

Learn words used to describe moving street processions and music beats.

Word Meaning Common collocations Word forms Example sentence Memory tip
march Walk with stiff, regular steps in a procession. march in line, march down the street march (v, n) The dancers began to march down the main avenue. Think of the month March stepping forward into spring!
stilts Long wooden poles used to walk high above ground. wooden stilts, walk on stilts – The performer walked on stilts above the cheering crowd. Picture stiff wooden legs lifting you up high.
drumbeat The sound or regular pattern made by striking a drum. steady drumbeat, heavy drumbeat – The strong drumbeat made everyone want to dance. Drum + Beat = the heartbeat of the parade drum!
stomp Step down very heavily and noisily with your feet. stomp feet, stomp on the floor stomp (v) Dancers stomp their feet to create a loud rhythm. Stomp sounds like stamping your foot on the floor.

Part 2: The Costumes Theme 2

Explore terms for festival outfits, colors, and decorations.

Word Meaning Common collocations Word forms Example sentence Memory tip
bead A small round piece of glass or plastic with a hole. bead necklace, string of beads – She sewed a shiny glass bead onto her carnival mask. Think of small shiny beans strung together.
dye A substance used to change the color of cloth or hair. bright dye, dye fabric dye (n, v) They use red dye to color bright festival banners. Dye gives fresh new life and color to white cloth.
fancy Decorative, colorful, or special rather than plain. fancy costume, fancy dress – Children love wearing fancy clothes during festival week. Fancy is full of fantasy decorations!

Part 3: The Celebration Theme 3

Learn action words used during dancing, spinning, and showtime.

Word Meaning Common collocations Word forms Example sentence Memory tip
sway Move slowly and smoothly from side to side. sway to music, sway side to side – People sway side to side as the carnival song plays. Picture trees swaying in a soft breeze.
entertain Provide fun and enjoyment to an audience. entertain the crowd, live entertainment entertainment (n) Street artists entertain families with funny tricks. To entertain is to bring joy into people's day!
twirl Spin round and round quickly in a circle. twirl around, twirl a ribbon – The dancer will twirl around in her wide skirt. Twirl combines TWIST and WHIRL!

💬 Useful sentence pattern

"The street we walked along was full of people."

Use this to say where you walked and what you saw there. Try it: "The street we marched along was full of dancers."

Practice

16 items • Graded from easy to hard

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Task 1

Collocation Matrix

Match each action verb on the left to the noun or phrase it usually goes with on the right.

Action Verb
side to side
feet
a ribbon
in line
1. stomp
____side to side ____feet ____a ribbon ____in line
2. sway
____side to side ____feet ____a ribbon ____in line
3. march
____side to side ____feet ____a ribbon ____in line
4. twirl
____side to side ____feet ____a ribbon ____in line

Task 2: Fill the gap

Use one word from the word bank for each gap. Use each word once.

📌 Word Bank for Task 2: fancy drumbeat stilts bead

Question 5 (Gap-fill 1):

The dancers wore long necklaces with one big blue ____ in the middle.

Question 6 (Gap-fill 2):

The performers walked high above the crowd on tall wooden ____.

Question 7 (Gap-fill 3):

You can feel the heavy ____ of the parade music in your chest.

Question 8 (Gap-fill 4):

Everyone dressed up in colorful, ____ carnival clothes.

Task 3: Choose the best word

Select the word that correctly completes the context of the sentence.

Question 9: She used red ___ to turn her plain white costume shirt bright crimson for the parade.

____ a. bead ____ b. drumbeat ____ c. dye

Question 10: Street performers love to ___ children with magic tricks and puppet shows during festival week.

____ a. entertain ____ b. stomp ____ c. twirl

Question 11: Watch the dancer ___ round and round, so that her wide skirt flies out.

____ a. sway ____ b. twirl ____ c. march

Question 12: The crowd began to ___ their feet together to the loud parade beat.

____ a. sway ____ b. dye ____ c. stomp

Task 4: Word Formation

Fill in the gap using the correct form of the given base word.

Question 13 (Noun form of the verb for walking in step):

The soldiers did a long, slow ____ through the city center.

Question 14 (Form of "entertain"):

We went to the main square for some evening ____.

Question 15 (Form of "stomp"):

Yesterday the performers ____ their heavy boots on the wooden stage.

Question 16 (Form of "dye"):

Last night she ____ her costume cape bright purple before the show.

Shadowing

12 items • Listen, repeat, and record your voice

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Part 1: Key Collocations

1. loud drumbeat loud drumbeat

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____
2. fancy costume fancy costume

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____
3. bright dye bright dye

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____
4. wooden stilts wooden stilts

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 2: Short Sentences

5. "We march together down the main street." We march together down the main street.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____
6. "The crowd began to sway to the music." The crowd began to sway to the music.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____
7. "Dancers stomp their feet on the wooden stage." Dancers stomp their feet on the wooden stage.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____
8. "She sewed a shiny bead onto her mask." She sewed a shiny bead onto her mask.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 3: Practical Sentences

9. "Great entertainment brings joy to the whole city." Great entertainment brings joy to the whole city.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____
10. "Be careful, the dye is still wet." Be careful, the dye is still wet.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 4: Challenge Words Focus

11. stilts

Pronunciation: /stɪlts/ (Keep the 'lt' crisp)

stilts

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____
12. twirl

Pronunciation: /twɜːl/ (Blend 'tw' smoothly into 'url')

twirl

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

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