Customs & traditions

What 'customs & traditions' covers: Customs and traditions is part of the theme Experiences. You need vocabulary to talk about festivals, celebrations, traditional food and regional customs across the English-speaking world — and to give your opinion about them.

The words below are common English B vocabulary. Treat the list as a glossary: learn each term with its meaning and a synonym, then reuse them in the reading and writing sections.

custom

an accepted way of doing something in a particular group or place

tradition

a belief or practice passed down over many years

festival / celebration

a special event held to mark an occasion, often yearly

to celebrate

to mark a special day or event with enjoyable activities

parade / procession

a public march of people through the streets, often in costume

traditional costume / dress

the special clothing worn for a region's festivals

traditional recipe / dish

a food prepared the same way for generations

to gather / to get together

to come together in one place, often as a family

roots

the place and culture a person or family comes from

heritage

the customs, history and culture a group passes on

to pass on (from generation to generation)

to hand a custom down from older to younger people

to keep a tradition alive

to keep practising a custom so it does not disappear

to take part / to join in

to become actively involved in an event

Why this matters: This vocabulary turns up in every skill — a reading text on a festival, a listening interview about a celebration, a Paper 1 blog about a tradition, or your oral. Reusing precise topic words is how you score Criterion A (Language).

Have something to say: Examiners reward developed ideas, not just vocabulary. Around customs and traditions, the common debates are: keeping old traditions alive vs modern life, festivals as tourism vs community, and how regional identity and food connect the generations. Take a position and back it up.

Link your ideas: Connectors lift your answer from a list into an argument: moreover (to add), however (to contrast), therefore (to conclude), although (to concede). Use at least two or three in any written answer.

Read like Paper 2: Here is a short blog post — the kind of text Paper 2 (Reading) gives you. Read it once just for the general idea; don't worry about every word. Then we'll work through one exam question together.

My first grape-harvest festival: In my village, the most anticipated moment of the year is the grape-harvest festival, when the grapes are picked. It used to seem like something only for the older people, but last year I took part for the first time.

The whole family gets together: my grandmother makes a traditional recipe from the region and my cousins play music through the streets. What I liked most was the parade in traditional costumes and the dancing in the square. At first I felt embarrassed, but in the end I ended up dancing with everyone. Now I understand that these customs are not things of the past: they bring us together as a community and remind us where we come from.

grape harvest

the season when grapes are picked from the vines

to take part

to become involved in an activity or event

to feel embarrassed

to feel awkward or self-conscious in front of others

to end up (doing something)

to finally do something after some hesitation

things of the past

ideas or customs that no longer matter today

Reading technique: For an "according to the text" question, find the exact line that proves your answer — don't rely on memory or general knowledge.

The task: Your school is holding a world cultures week. Write a blog post for other students: describe a festival or custom from your region and give advice for keeping a tradition alive.

Use an informal, friendly register. Write 250–400 words.

Why it scores: This answer hits all three Paper 1 criteria — here's what earns each one:

How listening is tested: Paper 2 also tests listening: you hear short clips, each played twice, and you never see the words. Read the questions first, listen for the key idea, then answer.

Here we'll use a transcript so you can practise the technique on the page. Read the questions, then find the answer in the speaker's words.

Transcript — Marisol's favourite festival: Hi, my name is Marisol and I'm from a small town. My favourite festival is the spring fair, a very old tradition in my region. For a week, people come out into the streets in traditional costume, and there are parades and music everywhere. What I like most is that the whole family gets together: my mother makes a typical dish and we dance together until very late. For me, the most important thing is that this custom is passed on from generation to generation.

Listening technique: Read the questions before the clip plays. Each question usually points to one short part of the recording — listen for the words around it, not the whole thing.