Cultural differences

Fast readingPlease go through the dialogue quickly and

then answer several questions.

1. How many people are involved in this dialogue? Who are they?

2. Where did this dialogue take place?

3. Where do they come from?

Learn something about Brunei

Brunei

try to accumulate some more information about cultural differences.

Ma Li

Fast reading

Detailed readingPlease spot the topics that are mentioned in this

dialogue.1. Thanksgiving2. eye contact3. wedding in Brunei4. Wedding in Italy is different from one in the UK.5. body language6. Common people can’t wear yellow.7. People open the present as soon as he is given it.8. Chinese people greet each other by shaking

hands.9. Take off shoes before going inside a house.10. Use thumb to point

Detailed Reading

1. What does Thanksgiving celebrate?

It’s to do with celebrating the first

harvest after the settlers from Europe

went to live in the USA.

2. What is eaten at Thanksgiving?

The huge turkey.

3. In the West, when is the polite time to open a present? Why?

In the west , it is polite to open a present when someone gives you one. Because people want to see the person’s reaction.

4. What can you not drink at a wedding in Brunei?

Alcohol.

5. What should you do instead of

pointing with your first finger in

Brunei?

Pointing with our thumb.

6. What customs do Chinese cities and

Brunei have in common?

Taking shoes off before you go inside

someone’s house.

Detailed reading Italy Brunei USA

People celebrate Thanksgiving.

There are some differences in a

wedding reception.

The newly-weds are expected to

give presents to the guests.

Common people can’t wear yellow.

People there usually use thumb to point.

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Detailed reading

Suppose you have a good friend from Britain, you are going to give a present to him/her…and after two days he/she gives you one in return…

act out

Read the passage carefully and fill

the table.

People from

different

countries

Different

situations

Different

reactions

The

American/

the British

About

Thanks-

giving

The

American/

the British

About

PresentsThe American open it when receiving it and so do the Britishpeople

The American: talk much about Thanksgivingthe British: know nothing about it

The

British/

the Italian

About

the

wedding

The guests give

presents to the

newly-weds in the

UK while it is

opposite in Italy

People from

Brunei/

people in

some other

countries

Pointing

to othersPeople in Brunei

point with their

thumb while

others with their

first finger

People from

Brunei/the B

ritish

About

the

wedding

Men and

women sit in

different areas

in Brunei and

with no alcohol

in the wedding

similarities ?

1. People from UK and USA usually have the same attitudes towards receiving presents.

2. There are similarities between wedding traditions in the west.

open as soon as receive

throw confetti

3. People in both Brunei and China take off shoes before going inside a house.

Consolidation

This time you are supposed to retell the cultural differences you have got from the dialogue, you may start like this:

I am Ma Li/Waled/Peter, today in the chat room I learned a lot about cultural differences, in Brunei…and in the UK… in Italy…all these are so amazing.

Reading Strategy: understanding the use of examples

The text we read is a dialogue on cultural differences. So in this kind of text we should use examples to explain concepts and ideas. Sometimes we use examples to support arguments and sometimes used as interesting stories.

Read the dialogue carefully and try to find out the sentences explaining the concept of cultural differences between English speakers from different countries.

Our American teacher is always talking about Thanksgiving…The British teachers didn’t know what he was talking about…

Try to find out the sentences supporting

the argument that there are differences

as well as similarities between West

weddings.

In the UK, the guests are expected to give

presents to the newly-weds, but in Italy

…

Try to find out the example used as

an interesting story about cultural

misunderstanding.

The British teacher who opened the

present as soon as he was given it at

the end-of-the term ceremony…

Extension (more information

about cultural differences)

Extension (more information about cultural differences)

cultural differences

body language

eating

festivals

architecture style

USA USA

BruneiBrunei

Italy Italy

UK UK

Cultural Shock

Cultural Shock

Debate A world full of cultural differences or a world

full of cultural similarities, which are you for?

Homework

1. Please search for more cultural differences.

2. Review what we have leant today.

3. Finish the exercises in workbook.

on the 4th Thursday of November

turkey

Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate the first harvest after the first settlers from Europe went to live in the USA.

Differences in wedding reception in Brunei?

The man and the woman __________________.

No ________.

Play _______ for a long time, sometimes _______.

Detailed reading

sit in a different area

alcoholdrums

all night

Detailed reading ItalyUK

guest