british culture
DESCRIPTION
A fascinating conversation lesson plan to complement our Opinions series. It's not what we do, it's how we do it!. www.one2oneacademy.comTRANSCRIPT
Lesson Plan!British CultureA conversation based class designed to identify the cultural differences between the UK and other countries.
Objectives: !!!!
•To increase awareness of customs and traditions in the UK.
•To highlight grammatical errors whist talking.
•To increase vocabulary.
•To develop confidence.
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Insight!!!As teachers, we believe that to really under-stand a language, there is a need to under-stand some of the customs and traditions that effect it.!!This lesson plan is a fascinating insight into how these two factors effect every day life in the UK.!!There is an abundance of web site links as well as video links that will help you to identi-fy with this topic throughout the class.!!Comparative and superlative tenses are a main feature of this class and as you gain confidence to talk, grammatical structures, vocabulary building and of course confidence will also be other features.!!We hope that you enjoy the class and that you share your learning experience with oth-ers by leaving a comment or testimonial on any of our social media sites.!!Having never advertised our services, we depend on you to spread the word and share your learning experience with others.!!Thank you!!!The one2one team!
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48% of children born in the UK are born to unmarried couples.
• How does this statistic compare to your country.
• Do you have a theory as to why this statistic is so high?
• Do you think that this is due to economic circumstances? Why?
Articles: !
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-23265810
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/458443/Divorce-rate-is-set-to-soar-because-of-booming-economy
Life begins at 40? !!• Agree or disagree?
•Is divorce linked to financial security?
•What do you think will happen in the future in terms of the effect on society?
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British Culture!!!!Half of the families in the UK have 1 child, how does this compare to your country?!!!Link:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2298774/Half-families-child-Cost-childcare-feared-accelerating-decline-traditional-2-4-children-family.html!!• This article highlights the cost of childcare,
how expensive is childcare in your coun-try?!
• Are modern families placing more impor-tance towards establishing a career rather than having children?!
• How does this situation compare to when you were a child?!
• Do you think that this situation will change in the future? Why?!
Remember that when you express an opinion, it can be from the perspective of many or from your own perspective.!!Many!!Generally people think that…….!Most people believe that……….!Everyone thinks that……………!!Individual!!I think that………………………..!I feel that…………………………!I believe that…………………….
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British Culture
Link http://greeting-cards-uk.no1reviews.com
Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDC-QYdkWCY
Birthday cards are a tradition in Britain that dates back a hundred years, how does this compare to your country?
• Did you receive cards for different occasions when you were a child?
• Is this a pointless effort?
• Do people send text messages and is this form becoming more popular?
• Do you personally like the concept of giving physical cards? why?
• Do you think that technology has made this concept impersonal?
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Britain has always maintained it’s High Streets even with the development of shopping malls.
Link: Famous UK High Streets !http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ht-AM9Fi0I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeWEoVIZpC0
!Are high streets important in your country?
!
Shopping is a national past time in the UK.
•Do you think that Shopping Malls are destroying traditional shopping areas?
•Do you think that independent retailers are important to an economy? why?
Sunday is considered a normal trading day in the UK.
• Do people shop on a Sunday in your country?
• Can you only buy things in Sopping Malls or can you go shopping in the High street on a Sunday?
In the UK there are certain areas like Bond Street reserved for luxury products.
• Does this concept exist in your country?
LINK:http://www.bondstreet.co.uk
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In the UK an average person watches 25 hours of TV per week. This is considered as a past time, how does this compare to your country?!!!• Does every room have a TV in your coun-
try? !• Do you think that this is no longer a family
activity? Why?!• Do you watch TV on a portable device? Is
this becoming more popular?!• Reality TV is very important to British cul-
ture, how does this compare to your coun-try?!!
LINK:!!http://top7.com/top/3916/British-Reality-TV-Shows!!
Favourite UK television:!!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East-Enders!!http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m86d!!http://www.imdb.com/search/title?countries=gb&sort=moviemeter&title_type=tv_series!
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The
Rad
io
In the UK the Radio still remains very popular. The aver-age person spends just under 16 hours per week listen-ing to the Radio.!!How does this compare with your country?
Radio stations have become more popu-lar online with a growing number of peo-ple preferring to listen to it online.!!How does this compare to your country?!!LINK:!!http://www.mediauk.com/article/32695/the-most-popular-radio-stations-in-the-uk!!
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The UK is a nation of DIY enthusiasts, it’s also regarded as a popular past time. The term DIY means Do It Your-self.!!How does the concept of DIY compare to your country?!!!LINKS:!!!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/renovatinganddiy/10525875/Top-20-DIY-stores-in-Britain.html!!
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Retail Therapy
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/arti-cle-2005447/Retail-therapy-really-does-make-happier-say-psychologists.html!!When people in the UK feel depressed or upset, it’s quite common to spend money in order to feel better. Does this concept exist in your country?!!!What is your own personal opinion about this concept?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6NHrFjakB4!
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A video on British Culture !!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im2u_uuH-lko&index=2&list=PL95FCE619BF852492!
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There are many colloquial terms used to demonstrate affection, some of these include:!!Dear!Flower!Love!Mate!Guv!Son!!These may vary from region to re-gion in the UK.!!The word; “Duck” is thought to have originated from Anglo Saxon times and is shown as an affectionate term.!!This originated from the Latin name Ducis.
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1. Black cats are lucky.!2. A horse shoe is lucky but only if it’s placed in the
shape of a U and not reversed.!3. To catch a falling leaf is considered very lucky.!4. It’s unlock to spill salt.!5. It’s considered very unlucky to open an umbrella
indoors.!6. It’s unlucky to place new shoes on a table.!7. The number 13 is very unlucky.!!!What are some of the superstitions in your country?!!Are you superstitious?!!
Supe
rstit
ions
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Cricket, Football, Lawn Tennis, Golf and Rugby all originated from the UK.!!What sport originated from your country?!!
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A very famous game that is still played today is called Conkers.!!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conkers!!VIDEO:http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_j4BtYGufY!!!Have you ever heard of this game before?!!What is the most popular school playground game in your country?!
!
The seed of a horse chestnut tree is used to play a game.
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Hol
iday
Loc
atio
ns
People in the UK tend to take their holidays be-tween July and August. The seaside is their preferred destination.!!LINK: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Traveler-sChoice-Beaches-cTop-g186216!!!!!Bournmouth Beach still remains an all time favourite:!!!VIDEO LINK: !http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqsot-cATgY
1. What is the preferred destination to take a holiday within your country? Why?!
2. How often do people take a holiday in a year?!
3. Are beach holidays in your own country still popular versus the low fare airlines to other destinations?
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Spain accounts for the preferred Euro-pean destination with 80% of the British population taking either a weekend break or a longer vacation there. France is in second place.!!What are the favourite holiday destinations in your country?
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Cru
ise
In the UK more and more people are taking a cruise.!!• Have you ever been on a Cruise?!• What is your own personnel opinion about taking a
Cruise?!• Is this type of holiday popular in your country? Why?
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Pub means “ Public House”. One of the oldest pubs in the UK is called “Fighting Cocks” and it is located in an area called Hertfordshire. This Pub dates back to the eleventh century.!!!VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAIRWS-NIc0M!!!LINK: http://drinkedin.net/blog/248-britain-s-five-old-est-pubs.html!
Pubs open between 11am and 11pm. If I was in your country what is the latest time that I can purchase alcohol?!!!TASK:!!http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/word-street/british-pub
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In the UK 90% of houses are heated by Central Heating systems.!!How are houses in your country heated?.
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