I'm not superstitious. It's bad luck to be superstitious

 

El tema de las supersticiones se presta a muchas actividades dentro del aula, sin perder de vista que se trata de un mero pasatiempo cultural y en ningún caso se fomenta la creencia en las mismas, ya que son sólo eso, supersticiones.

Desde un punto de vista lingüístico se puede trabajar con este tema de fondo cuando se estudian las oraciones condicionales, los alumnos deben terminar las frases que empiezan por: “si se rompe un espejo,...”,”si un gato negro se cruza en tu camino,…”, “si caminas debajo de una escalera,…” o “si te encuentras un trébol de cuatro hojas,…”, etc. y  por su variedad, son un recurso estupendo para aprender vocabulario.

Otra manera de trabajar con este tema es abordando el origen de algunas de ellas, explicando como forman parte de la cultura y tradiciones de un país, destacando como algunas de ellas son comunes en casi todo el mundo y otras tienen variaciones dependiendo del lugar.

Estos son algunos de los contenidos que se trabajan junto con los videos  y preguntas que acompañan a la actividad. Espero que os guste. Para los alumnos suele ser un tema interesante, sobre todo si coincide con Halloween o es Friday  13th …

Good luck

•  Lucky to meet a black cat.
  

  

  
  
• Lucky to touch wood. We knock on wood to make something come true.
• Lucky to find a clover plant with four leaves.
• A horseshoe over the door brings good luck. But the horseshoe needs to be the right way up.
• On the first day of the month it is lucky to say "white rabbits, white rabbits white rabbits," before uttering your first word of the day.
• Putting money in the pocket of new clothes brings good luck.

Bad luck

•  Unlucky to walk underneath a ladder.
• Seven years bad luck to break a mirror. The superstition is supposed to have originated in ancient times, when mirrors were considered to be tools of the gods. People may also have been frightened that a person’s reflection shatters when a mirror is broken. One theory is that they thought breaking a mirror was like breaking your soul.
• Unlucky to see one magpie, lucky to see two, etc... In the UK, magpies aren’t just known for being noisy – and having a taste for shiny things – as this well-known 18th century rhyme explain. One for sorrow, two for joy ...

 

Some people say that you can reduce the ‘bad luck’ from seeing one magpie by saying a special rhyme, touching wood , blowing the magpie a kiss or saluting it.

• Unlucky to spill salt. If you do, you must throw it over your shoulder to counteract the bad luck.
• Unlucky to open an umbrella indoors.
• The number thirteen is unlucky. Friday the thirteenth is a very unlucky day. Friday is considered to be an unlucky day because Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
• Unlucky to pass someone on the stairs.
  

  

  
  

Animal superstitions

• In some parts of the UK meeting two or three Ravens together is considered really bad. One very English superstition concerns the tame Ravens at the Tower of London. It is believed if they leave then the crown of England will be lost.

• It is said to be bad luck if you see bats flying and hear their cries. In the middle ages it was believed that witches were closely associated with bats.
• It is thought very unlucky to have the feathers of a Peacock within the home or handle anything made with them. This is possibly because of the eye shape present upon these feathers is called the Evil-Eye associated with wickedness.
  

  

  
  

  Videos:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOWfK12oCNI

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXcfIa06Dm8

  Questions:

• Which British superstitions are similar to those in your country? Which ones  are different?
• Do you believe that they can influence our lives and still live on in the age of science?