▶️ Are you afraid of black cats? Would you open an umbrella indoors? How do you feel about the number 13? Whether or not you believe in them, you’re probably familiar with a few of these superstitions. But where did they come from? Stuart Vyse shares the weird and specific origins of some of our favorite superstitions.

🔵 SOURCE: Vyse, S., 2017. Where do superstitions come from?. [Accessed 15 April 2022].
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quOdF1CAPXs

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Au menu 🍴

🔎 Pré-visionnage. Quelques petits exercices interactifs pour se mettre dans le bain:
——— 📘 Ex. 1 : associez chaque superstition à l’illustration correspondante.
——— 📘 Ex. 2 : ces superstitions portent-elles chance… ou malchance ?
——— ✍️ EE – Et vous ? Vous êtes plutôt superstitieux/superstitieuse ?
——— 🗒️ Vocabulaire passif : pour mieux comprendre la vidéo, quelques mots à connaître.
🎞️ Vidéo. C’est parti pour un peu plus de 5 minutes de visionnage !
🟠 Exercices niveau « intermédiaire » (B1): Après avoir regardé la vidéo, répondez à ces questions par groupes de 2.

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PRÉ-visionnage 🔍

📘 Exercice 1 : Associez chacune des superstitions suivantes (punaises oranges) à l’illustration qui lui correspond (punaises bleues).

📘 Exercice 2 : Les superstitions de l’exercice précédent portent-elles plutôt chance… ou malchance 👻 ? Déplacez-les dans la bonne colonne.

✍️ EE – Pratiquez votre expression écrite ! Rédigez un texte répondant aux questions suivantes :

1. In general, are you a lucky or unlucky person?
   
2. Would you say that you are superstitious? Why? Why not?
   
3. Are there some superstitions that you believe in? Which one(s)?
   
4. According to you, what is the most widespread (= common) superstition in your country?

🗒️ Vocabulaire passif. Avant de lancer la vidéo, voici quelques termes plus complexes utiles pour une bonne compréhension. Cherchez la signification de ces termes :

Words: to dine – to predate sb/sth – to cling to something – to whistle – the remnant – pagan
the stagehand – absentminded – the foxhole – the blessing – the sidewalk (US)

1. Listen, someone ………………………………………a Beatles song!
2. For their security, pedestrians have to walk on the ……………………………………… .
3. Soldiers used ……………………………………… as shelters from enemy attacks.
4. We normally ……………………………………… at nine.
5. He’s so ……………………………………… that he forgot his own birthday!
6. A ……………………………………… is a person who is employed in a theatre to move the equipment on the stage.
7. Marilyn’s father refused to give his ……………………………………… to her relationship with her boyfriend.
8. She ……………………………………… the hope that her husband will come back to her.
9. Dinosaurs ……………………………………… humans by about 65 million years.
10. A ……………………………………… is a person who is employed in a theatre to move the equipment on the stage.
11. The Easter egg has both ……………………………………… and Christian origins.
12. The museum is one of the last ……………………………………… of the 17th-century palace.

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Vidéo 🎞️

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EXERCICES 🟠

Niveau intermédaire (B1)

Questions :

1. What are the different superstitions mentioned in the video?
   
2. Where do superstitions come from? (4-5 different groups)
   
3. What is « Triskaidekaphobia »?
   
4. Why do people knock on wood? Where does it come from?
   
5. Some numbers are problematic. Which ones? Where? Why?
   
6. Are all superstitions coming from irrational stories? (2 examples)
   
7. If we know that superstitions are irrational, why do we cling to them?
   
8. In some situations, superstitions can have really positive consequences. Give an example.