Happy Valentine's Day - ESL
Valentine's Day Vocabulary
admirer (noun): Someone who has a particular regard for someone or something; a person who is attracted to another person.
Tina already knows that David is her secret admirer.
arrow (noun): A thin stick with a sharp point at one end and feathers at the other to help guide it when shot from a bow. Cupid shoots arrows at people to make them fall in love.
I think Abeer has just been struck by one of cupid's arrows.
balloon (noun): A colored rubber sack inflated with helium (or air) and used as decoration.
The kids enjoyed trying to keep the balloons floating in the air without them touching the ground.
bouquet (noun): An attractively arranged bunch of flowers generally held together by a ribbon and given as a gift.
Alexi gave his wife a beautiful bouquet of roses for Valentine's day.
card (noun): A piece of thick paper or thin cardboard with a message which is sent for greetings or invitations.
María José received a Valentine's card from a secret admirer.
chocolate (noun): a (sweet) brown food made from ground cacao seeds.
I absolutely LOVE getting a bar of chocolate as a present.
couple (noun): two people who are married, engaged or closely associated in a relationship.
Diego and Frida were a couple that loved each other deeply.
Cupid (noun): A mythology child with wings that uses a bow and arrow to make people fall in love.
A person, or even a deity, who is shot by Cupid's arrow is filled with uncontrollable desire.
date (noun): a romantic meeting (or activity) between two people.
Every Friday they go on a date to keep the magic alive in their relationship.
dinner (noun): The main meal of the day, generally eaten in the evening.
They had dinner at their favorite restaurant to celebrate their anniversary.
engaged (adjective): have agreed to marry each other at a future date.
They have been engaged for five years and will finally get married next month.
February (noun): The second month of the year. (Remember to write the months of the year with a capital letter)
Valentine's Day is in February.
feeling (noun): An emotional state or reaction
He confessed his true feelings for her.
flower (noun): The often brightly colored part of a plant from which the seed or fruit develops.
He picked a flower from the garden to give to his wife.
fourteenth (adjective): The ordinal number: 14th
Valentine's day is on the fourteenth of February.
friend (noun): A person whom you know and have a bond of mutual affection (excluding family members or partners).
She spends every afternoon after school playing with her friends in the park.
friendship (noun): a relationship between friends; to state of being friends.
I really value our friendship.
gift (noun): A thing given willingly to someone without payment. Another word for gift is present.
I gave my neighbor a gift as a way of saying thank you for her help yesterday.
happy (adjective): The feeling of pleasure or contentment.
I know she is happy because she has a huge smile on her face.
heart (noun): The organ that pumps blood through the body. It is normally associated with love.
Hunter bought his partner a giant balloon in the shape of a heart.
hug (noun): Squeeze someone between your arms, typically to express affection.
She hadn't seen her son in a long time and gave him a big hug.
kiss (noun): To touch your lips against something (generally other lips) as a sign of affection or greeting.
The mother kissed her baby on the forehead.
love (noun/verb): an intense feeling of deep affection
You can tell that a person loves you by the way they treat you.
poem (noun): a piece of creative writing in verse which is often rhythmical.
He wrote a beautiful poem expressing his feelings for his partner.
restaurant (noun): a place where people pay to sit and eat meals that are prepared there.
Most restaurants are full on Valentine's Day so make a reservation in advance.
ribbon (noun): a long, narrow strip of fabric, usually used for tying or decorating something.
The gift had a red ribbon around it.
ring (noun): a small circular band worn on the finger, typically made of a metal and that sometimes contains precious stones.
He bought a beautiful engagement ring and was going to propose to his girlfriend that night.
romance (noun): a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.
No matter how long you have been together, romance is always important in a relationship.
romantic (adjective): conducive to or characterized by the expression of love.
They had a romantic candlelit dinner.
rose (noun): a sweet-smelling flower that grows on a bush and usually has thorns. The most common rose is red though they come in a variety of colors.
Our secretary received a bunch of roses for Valentine's Day.
secret (noun/adjective): not meant to be known or seen by others.
She has a secret but won't tell me what it is.
Listening Comprehension
Song for Valentine's Day
"My Valentine"
Paul McCartney
What if it rained? We didn't care She said that someday soon The sun was gonna shine And she was right This love of mine, My Valentine As days and nights Would pass me by I tell myself that I was waiting for a sign Then she appeared A love so fine, My Valentine And I will love her for life And I will never let a day go by Without remembering the reasons why She makes me certain That I can fly And so I do Without a care I know that someday soon The sun is gonna shine And she'll be there This love of mine, My Valentine What if it rained? We didn't care She said that someday soon The sun is gonna shine And she was right This love of mine, My Valentine
"You Raise Me Up"
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary; When troubles come and my heart burdened be; Then, I am still and wait here in the silence, Until you come and sit awhile with me. You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains; You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas; I am strong, when I am on your shoulders; You raise me up' To more than I can be. You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains; You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas; I am strong, when I am on your shoulders; You raise me up' To more than I can be. You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains; You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas; I am strong, when I am on your shoulders; You raise me up' To more than I can be.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up' To more than I can be. You raise me up' To more than I can be.
"Shallow"
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper (from "A Star Is Born" soundtrack)
[Bradley Cooper:] Tell me somethin' girl Are you happy in this modern world? Or do you need more? Is there somethin' else you're searchin' for? I'm falling In all the good times I find myself longin' for change And in the bad times I fear myself [Lady Gaga:] Tell me something boy Aren't you tired tryin' to fill that void? Or do you need more? Ain't it hard keeping it so hardcore? I'm falling In all the good times I find myself longing for change And in the bad times I fear myself I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in I'll never meet the ground Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us We're far from the shallow now [Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper:] In the sha-ha-sha-ha-low In the sha-ha-sha-la-la-la-low In the sha-ha-sha-ha-ha-low We're far from the shallow now [Lady Gaga:] Wooaaaah Woaaaaaaaaaaah I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in I'll never meet the ground Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us We're far from the shallow now [Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper:] In the sha-ha-sha-ha-low In the sha-ha-sha-la-la-la-low In the sha-ha-sha-ha-ha-low We're far from the shallow now
READING COMPREHENSION
When did Valentine's Day start?
The beginning of a romantic tradition
1 In many countries, people celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14th. It's an important event for those in love as well as for businesses. People send cards and give presents to those they love, or to people they like and want to date.
2 Valentine's Day was first a Western Christian festival where people ate a lot of food to celebrate Valentinus or `Valentine'. One story says that Valentine was a religious man in Rome in the third century. The leader at the time, Claudius II, decided not to allow marriages for young soldiers, because they fought better when they didn't think about their wives or families. Valentine didn't like this rule and let couples get married in secret. When Claudius discovered this, he wanted to kill Valentine.
3 Some stories say that Valentine was killed because he helped Christians to escape from Roman prisons. When he was in prison himself, he fell in love with a girl who was probably the guard's daughter. He sent her a letter before his death and signed it: "from your Valentine", a phrase that people still use today.
4 While some people believe that the day is to celebrate the death of Valentine or when he was buried, others think that the Christian church put it in the middle of February because of a festival called Lupercalia, to make it more Christian.
5 Lupercalia was an annual festival that took place on the 15th of February to celebrate the Roman God of Agriculture, to help women have children. People killed a dog and a goat during the festival, and put the blood on the goat's skin. Then they softly hit women and crop fields with the skin. This was to help the women become pregnant during the year and make crops grow better. All the young women in a city also put their names in an special jar, and the single men in the city chose a name. These couples often got married.
6 The day had no connection with romantic love until the 14th century, when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem to celebrate the first anniversary of when Richard II got engaged. The poem talked about the time of year when birds chose mates. In France and England people believed this happened in the middle of February, so it was also a good time to celebrate human love.
7 In the 18th century the day became very similar to our modern Valentine's day. People gave flowers and presents to their lovers, but wrote more handwritten cards and poems. In Europe, people still give Saint Valentine's Keys as a sign for a lover to unlock their hearts.
8 Now, card companies can make printed cards very easily and sell them for a small price, so handwritten cards are much less popular. In the U.S., around 190 million valentine cards are sent each year. In 2015 in the U.K., people spent ø1.9 billion on Valentine's Day cards and gifts.
9 Valentine's Day is different around the world. In South Korea, women give chocolate to men on February the 14th, and men give sweets to women that aren't chocolate on March the 14th. In Finland, Valentine's Day is called "Friends Day", which celebrates the love between friends. In Brazil the day is called "Boyfriends' and Girlfriends' Day" and is celebrated on the 12th of June.
