A1 Level – Elementary
1. What is your favorite season?
2. What foods do we eat in autumn?
3. Do you like celebrating with your family?
4. What colors are in nature during harvest time?
5. Do you like picking fruit or vegetables?
6. What special clothes do people wear for festivals?
7. Does your country have a festival in the autumn?
8. What is a common harvest meal?
9. What is your favorite thing about the autumn weather?
10. Do you prefer big celebrations or small gatherings?
11. Have you ever visited a farm?
12. What does “abundance” mean?
13. Do children celebrate harvest festivals?
14. Do you like to cook with seasonal ingredients?
15. What is the most important crop in your region?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What are the main differences between harvest festivals around the world?
2. Describe how a community prepares for its main harvest celebration.
3. What is the historical origin of the harvest festival in your culture?
4. Do you think modern people still understand the importance of farming?
5. What special dances or songs are performed during harvest time?
6. How do harvest festivals mark the end of one season and the start of another?
7. Have you ever participated in a traditional harvest activity?
8. What is the role of prayer or thanks-giving during these celebrations?
9. How does the economy of a town rely on a successful harvest?
10. What kind of decorations are used to celebrate the harvest?
11. What modern issues, like climate change, affect the annual harvest?
12. Is it important to teach children about where their food comes from?
13. Describe the taste and smell of a typical harvest meal.
14. How does a poor harvest affect the mood of a community?
15. What are common themes in harvest-related storytelling or folklore?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. Discuss the religious or spiritual significance often attached to harvest festivals.
2. How can harvest festivals be adapted to include urban communities that are not directly involved in farming?
3. What are the pros and cons of commercializing traditional harvest celebrations?
4. Compare the way modern supermarkets celebrate the harvest versus traditional methods.
5. How does the date of a harvest festival differ depending on a country’s climate zone?
6. What are the social benefits of an annual festival that brings a whole community together?
7. Discuss the tradition of sharing food with the less fortunate during the harvest season.
8. How do harvest festivals celebrate specific crops (e.g., rice, grapes, corn)?
9. What lessons can be learned from the historical practice of food preservation during harvest?
10. Should schools organize events to celebrate the agricultural cycle?
11. Describe a unique or unusual tradition associated with a specific harvest festival.
12. How does migration affect the transmission of harvest traditions to a new country?
13. What historical artifacts or tools are associated with harvest labor and celebrated today?
14. To what extent does the success of a harvest reflect a deeper relationship with nature?
15. What role does traditional music play in the atmosphere of a harvest festival?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. Analyze the evolution of harvest festivals from purely agrarian events to cultural celebrations.
2. Evaluate the economic impact of local harvest festivals on small businesses and tourism.
3. Discuss the concept of ‘food sovereignty’ in the context of celebrating local abundance.
4. To what extent do harvest rituals provide emotional closure for a year of agricultural labor?
5. How should modern technology (e.g., drones, automated tractors) be represented in traditional festivals?
6. Debate the claim: “Contemporary society has lost its respect for the cyclical rhythm of nature.”
7. What are the political implications, if any, of celebrating a shared harvest in a diverse society?
8. Examine the gender roles historically associated with planting versus harvesting.
9. How do harvest festivals serve as a vehicle for maintaining endangered cultural languages or practices?
10. Discuss the ethical considerations of excessive food waste often associated with large festivals.
11. What psychological benefits are gained from the ritualistic preparation of seasonal festival food?
12. How does the global exchange of food crops complicate the local celebration of harvest?
13. Assess the challenges faced by organizers in maintaining the authentic spirit of a festival while ensuring safety.
14. Compare the celebration of natural resource harvests (e.g., fishing or forestry) with crop harvests.
15. In what ways do modern environmental movements connect with the ancient reverence found in harvest traditions?
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Analyze the social contract implicit in the communal sharing of a successful harvest.
2. To what degree should the state subsidize agricultural celebrations to preserve cultural identity?
3. Discuss the philosophical shift from viewing food as a gift of nature to a market commodity.
4. Evaluate the impact of globalization on local harvest traditions, leading to either assimilation or resistance.
5. How do various harvest festivals reflect different cultural approaches to gratitude and humility?
6. Examine the historical significance of harvest festivals as markers for political or social uprisings.
7. What is the symbolic meaning of temporary, decorative structures often erected for festivals?
8. Discuss the role of public memory and oral history in sustaining harvest traditions across generations.
9. How can harvest festivals be leveraged as platforms for educating the public about sustainable farming practices?
10. Analyze the interplay between mythological figures (gods, spirits) and the agricultural cycle celebrated in these festivals.
11. What ethical challenges arise when promoting agritourism centered around the harvest season?
12. Debate whether a technologically advanced society still requires ritualistic celebrations of seasonal change.
13. How do artistic expressions (poetry, visual art) capture the emotional weight of the harvest period?
14. Discuss the concept of ‘cyclical time’ inherent in harvest festivals versus ‘linear time’ in modern work life.
15. To what extent does the celebration of a harvest challenge or reinforce existing social hierarchies?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. Deconstruct the anthropological significance of ritual sacrifice or offering present in many harvest traditions.
2. Formulate a critique on the representation of agricultural labor in contemporary media related to harvest celebrations.
3. Analyze the intersection of climate justice and the future viability of predictable, traditional harvest festivals.
4. Discuss the philosophical implications of celebrating ‘abundance’ in a world marked by global food scarcity.
5. Critically evaluate the concept of ‘terroir’ and its role in distinguishing authentic festival food traditions.
6. Propose a sustainable economic model for small farming communities that relies heavily on annual festival income.
7. Examine the psychological function of collective effervescence during large, community-based harvest celebrations.
8. How does the semiotics of color and decoration in harvest festivals convey specific cultural values?
9. Discuss the ethical boundaries of cultural appropriation when performing or adopting harvest rituals from other societies.
10. Analyze the role of historical memory in justifying the continued celebration of practices no longer relevant to food production.
11. Articulate the inherent tension between the desire for traditional purity and the need for modern inclusivity in festivals.
12. Debate whether the global trend toward year-round food availability has diluted the cultural significance of the harvest season.
13. Assess the long-term impact of tourism-driven changes on the authenticity and local engagement in harvest festivals.
14. Discuss the philosophical definition of ‘gratitude’ as it applies to the relationship between humans and the earth’s bounty.
15. How might future inter-species relationships be symbolized or celebrated in a post-human harvest festival?
