In this lesson your student is the expert: they practice speaking by sharing the festivals they grew up celebrating. You ask, listen, and learn about Taiwan through their stories.
⏱ About 60 minutes🎯 All levels (questions are leveled)📋 No prep — tap 🔊 to hear any phrase
Before you start tutor prep
Take two minutes before the call to get ready. This lesson runs almost entirely on your student's own knowledge, so your main job is to be a warm, curious listener.
Open this page full-screen so you can teach straight from it.
Test your microphone and the 🔊 buttons — tap one to make sure you hear clean audio.
Have a simple way to share new words (the chat box in Google Meet works well).
Smile and turn your camera on. A friendly face helps a shy student open up.
Remember: you may not know these festivals well, and that's perfect. Your "I didn't know that!" reactions are the best fuel for the lesson.
Mindset: Today the student is the expert and you are the curious guest. Stay genuinely interested, let small mistakes go, and ask follow-up questions instead of correcting. Aim for the student to talk about 70% of the time — your job is to keep them going, not to fill the silence.
1 · Warm-up 5 min
Start gently. Let the student settle in and warm up their English with a few easy questions.
What's your favorite festival? Why do you like it?
When is it — what time of year?
Who do you usually celebrate with?
Do you eat any special food on that day?
Tip: If the student gives one-word answers, gently echo them back as a full sentence — "Oh, so your favorite is Lunar New Year?" — and then ask a soft "Why?" to draw out more.
2 · Key words & phrases 8 min
Read each word aloud together, then tap 🔊 to check the pronunciation. Ask the student which festival each word belongs to — they'll teach you as you go.
festivalTaiwan has many traditional festivals.
Lunar New YearLunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year.
red envelopeChildren receive a red envelope with money inside.
reunion dinnerThe whole family comes home for the reunion dinner.
firecrackersWe set off firecrackers to welcome the new year.
Dragon Boat FestivalDragon Boat Festival is in early summer.
rice dumpling (zongzi)We wrap rice dumplings in bamboo leaves.
dragon boat racePeople row hard to win the dragon boat race.
Mid-Autumn FestivalWe look at the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
mooncakeA mooncake is round and sweet.
lanternChildren carry a bright lantern at night.
full moonThe full moon is big and round that night.
"Happy New Year!"We say "Happy New Year!" to our family.
"We celebrate ___"We celebrate it with our family at home.
Tip: Don't drill every word. Pick the ones your student finds tricky, say them together two or three times, and move on. Let the student tell you what each food or custom really means to them.
3 · Read & talk 8 min
Read this together. You take part A (the curious tutor) and the student takes part B (the expert explaining). Then swap, or let the student answer about a different festival in their own words.
A:
I keep hearing about Lunar New Year. Can you tell me about it?
B:
Sure! It's the most important festival in Taiwan. The whole family comes home.
A:
That sounds warm. What do you do together?
B:
We have a big reunion dinner. The grown-ups give children red envelopes with money.
A:
Red envelopes? I love that. Is it noisy too?
B:
Yes! We set off firecrackers, and everyone says "Happy New Year!"
A:
What's your favorite part?
B:
I like seeing my cousins. We only get together once a year.
A:
Thank you for teaching me. Now I understand why it's so special.
Tip: After reading, close the script and ask the student to retell the festival from memory in their own words. Don't worry about perfect grammar — reward them for keeping the story going.
4 · Let's talk 12 min
Pick the level that fits your student. Start one step easier than you think — you can always move up. Let their answers lead you to follow-up questions.
BEGINNER
Which festival do you like best: Lunar New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, or Mid-Autumn Festival?
What food do you eat at that festival?
Who do you celebrate with?
INTERMEDIATE
What does your family do to get ready for Lunar New Year?
Have you ever watched a dragon boat race? What was it like?
What do you usually do on Mid-Autumn Festival night?
ADVANCED
How has the way your family celebrates changed since you were a child?
Which festival do you think best shows Taiwanese culture, and why?
If a friend visited Taiwan, which festival would you want them to experience?
Tip: When the student finishes an answer, resist jumping to the next question. Ask "Why?" or "Can you tell me more?" — one good follow-up gets twice the speaking practice.
5 · Going deeper 10 min
These questions push for longer, richer answers: comparing festivals, describing food in detail, and explaining a tradition to someone who has never seen it.
BEGINNER
Which is sweeter: a mooncake or a rice dumpling?
Tell me one thing you see at Mid-Autumn Festival.
INTERMEDIATE
Describe a rice dumpling to me. What is inside it, and how does it taste?
Compare Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival. How are they different?
ADVANCED
Imagine I'm a tourist who knows nothing about Taiwan. Explain why families give red envelopes.
Why do you think food is such an important part of Taiwanese festivals?
Tip: Describing food is great speaking practice — feed them useful words as they reach for them ("sticky," "salty," "filling," "wrapped in leaves"), then have them repeat the whole sentence.
6 · Activity 10 min
Teach your tutor how to celebrate a festival. The student becomes the teacher and walks you through one festival, step by step, as if you'll celebrate it next year.
Let the student choose one festival: Lunar New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, or Mid-Autumn Festival.
Ask them to give you three or four steps — what to buy, cook, say, or do.
Play along as the eager beginner: ask "What do I do first?" and "Then what?"
At the end, repeat the steps back to them so they can check if you got it right.
First, you need to buy ___.
Then we make ___ together.
On the day, we ___ with our family.
Don't forget to say ___!
Tip: The frames are a safety net, not a script. If the student is confident, let them explain freely. If they get stuck, point to a frame and let them fill the blank.
7 · Wrap-up 5 min
Close the lesson warmly and leave the student feeling proud of what they shared.
Ask the student to name one festival and one tradition they taught you today.
Give specific praise: "You explained the reunion dinner so clearly — I really understood it."
Let the student pick what they'd like to talk about next time (food? school? their hometown?).
Say a warm goodbye and thank them for being your guide to Taiwan.
Tip: End on a high note. The last thing the student remembers should be your genuine thanks and a smile — that's what makes them excited to come back.
🧭 Tutor notes
A quick guide to what each level usually looks like for this topic, plus an idea for next time.
BEGINNER
Short answers, single words, and lots of names of food. Accept it — point and name things, repeat key words together.
Next time: revisit the same festivals with picture prompts to build confidence.
INTERMEDIATE
Full sentences with some hesitation; can describe and compare with a little help.
Next time: move to "Night Markets & Street Food" or "My Hometown" for more story-telling.
ADVANCED
Comfortable explaining customs to an outsider and giving opinions with reasons.
Next time: try a discussion on how festivals are changing in modern Taiwan.
Most important: This lesson works when the student feels like the expert and you feel like a delighted guest. If they leave the call proud of what they taught you about Taiwan, you've done your job — fluency grows fastest when speaking feels safe and rewarding.
