All Hallows’ E’en is the old name for Halloween, a tradition increasingly celebrated in European countries. It provides a great opportunity to organize an interesting language lesson. Don’t have an idea for Halloween? Prepare lit pumpkins, summon ghosts, invite vampires, or… check out 10 ideas and materials to make your Halloween English lesson even more engaging!
What will you find in this article?
- What is Halloween?
- How to use Halloween in learning English?
- 10 ideas for an engaging Halloween English lesson
- Generate Halloween materials on your own!
- Summary – English lesson for Halloween
What is Halloween?
Halloween originates from the Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated in the areas of modern-day Ireland and the United Kingdom about 2000 years ago. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st to November 1st, the boundary between the living and the dead blurred, allowing spirits to return to earth.
On this night, bonfires were lit, and people dressed in costumes to ward off evil spirits. Over time, this custom evolved and reached the United States in the 19th century, where it transformed into the currently popular holiday full of fun, dressing up, and activities like trick-or-treating.
How to use Halloween in teaching English?
Halloween can be a great excuse to conduct an engaging English lesson. Combining elements related to learning the history of this holiday with language learning will surely spark enthusiasm and curiosity among students!
While preparing the lesson, you can introduce:
- New vocabulary: for example, adjectives and nouns such as spooky, haunted house, or ghost. It’s also a great opportunity to learn expressions related to emotions.
- Writing skill exercise: an assignment where students write short horror stories can enhance their creativity and vocabulary, for example, by introducing character and setting descriptions.
- Listening exercises: listening to stories or audio clips related to Halloween can help students understand natural dialogues and pronunciation.
- Word games and role-play: assuming different roles, such as a vampire or a witch, during themed conversations can help students gain more confidence and ease in communication.
- Learning about Anglo-Saxon culture: Halloween is deeply rooted in English-speaking cultures, so such a lesson enriches students with cultural context, which helps them better understand the language and its use.
10 ideas for an engaging Halloween English lesson
Let’s move on to Halloween ideas that you can use during your own lessons. Below, you will also find ready-to-download materials!
Board games
They always work well in classes because they focus on speaking and stimulate imagination. A good idea is alternating questions, where the instructor asks a question, the student answers, and then the teacher takes a turn to answer. The element of competition will be an additional factor that boosts student engagement.
Listening activities
After practicing speaking, it’s time to develop listening comprehension skills. This is an ideal opportunity to let your imagination run wild and discuss with students, for example about plans for Halloween.
Below are three audio files for you to use:
Crosswords
They are a great way to learn and review vocabulary. You can successfully use them to introduce new expressions. In some, you need to correctly match the clues to the pictures, and other times guess the clues.
Set 1
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Set 2
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Set 3
Stickers
Who doesn’t love stickers? You can use them for decoration or give them as a reward during lessons. We are sure they will be a fantastic addition! Remember to print them on adhesive paper.
Associations
Here’s a fun activity for the beginning or end of a class to test knowledge. Write on the board or on a piece of paper (individually or in groups) in large letters, HALLOWEEN.
Create a mind map by listing associations with this custom or words that start exclusively with the letters from our word. If needed, you can encourage the use of dictionaries.
Lesson topics related to Halloween
If you’re considering which topic to discuss in a language class to make students eager and interested in conversation, here are some suggestions:
- Do You Believe In…? For instance, Do you believe in ghosts/spirits?
- Witches, Magic For example, Do you believe in magic powers?
- Characters Associated with Halloween Such as Dracula, Frankenstein, a witch, Harry Potter
An additional attraction could be defining forbidden words that cannot be used during the conversation. A fun idea is to motivate students with candies or stickers—for each forbidden word a student says, they give up one piece.
You can initiate the conversation by asking preliminary questions:
- A foreigner from a distant country asks what’s happening and why everyone is dressed up today. Describe what Halloween is.
- Describe a few ideas on what can be done on Halloween.
- Help a friend decorate an apartment for a Halloween party. What advice would you give?
Certificates
It’s worthwhile to appreciate your students’ efforts, so as a reward after the class, give them certificates. Choose a template and easily edit the students’ data. Create your certificate.
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Halloween videos
Images capture our attention more than text, which is why it’s worth using even short videos in a language lesson.
From the videos below, students will learn about the origins of Halloween, the Celtic festival of Samhain, and how the tradition came to America.
Reading passages
Utilize the texts below with ready-made questions and worksheets to develop reading and comprehension skills. As a standard practice, list unfamiliar words.
Set 1
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Set 2
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Set 3
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Generate Halloween materials on your own!
You can independently generate worksheets, tests, board games, crosswords, bingo, and other materials on the Tools for Educators website. This site offers tools that allow you to create unique Halloween-themed materials tailored to your students—by choosing the right illustrations, vocabulary categories, and task styles.
With the help of these generators, you can prepare engaging lessons that are consistent with the holiday theme while also expanding students’ vocabulary knowledge related to Halloween.
Summary – English Lesson on Halloween
An English lesson on Halloween can be even more engaging if you enrich it with interesting educational materials. Take advantage of the suggested materials or get inspired to create your own!
It’s worth informing students and parents about the intention to conduct such a lesson and emphasizing its main goal, which is to bring closer the customs and culture of other countries. Let’s be aware that some may approach such a lesson skeptically.
Do you have other ideas for a Halloween-themed language lesson? Or maybe you want to share your experiences with others?
If you want to learn more about fascinating language facts, click here to explore everything about the European Day of Languages!