Cultural differences

Unit 3 Reading

Can you think of any other Can you think of any other customs that are differ customs that are different in different parts of the ent in different parts of the world?world?

Fast Reading

1. Which country is Waled from? Waled is from Brunei.2. Where does Peter come from? Peter comes from the UK.3. Does everyone in Brunei wear yellow? No. Yellow is the royal colour for the

Sultan and his family.

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.

People from different countries

Different situations

Different reactions

The American/ the British Thanks-giving

The British/ the Italian Presents

People from Brunei/people in some other countries

About the wedding

People from Brunei/ the British

Pointing to others

People from Brunei/ the British

About the wedding

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 Presents

The American open it when receiving it while the British not

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 others

People in Brunei point with their thumb while others with their first finger

People from Brunei/the British

About the wedding

Men and women sit in different areain Brunei and with no alcohol in the wedding

Reading Strategy: understanding the use of examplesThe 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.

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…

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…

Fill in the blanks Mali has to do her homework

on1______ differences. So she goes online to chat with others and find some 2_____ she needs.

She gets to know English and American people have 3__________ differences in culture even though they both speak English. For example, The British may be 4_____ when Americans talk about thanksgiving and the huge 5____ they eat.

culturalinformation

unbelieveablepuzzled

turkey

There are different 6______ in the West and the East Whey they get presents. Westerners like to open them as soon as they get them. Though there are 7_______ between wedding 8_____ ___in the west, there are also differences between different western countries. In Italy, guests except to get presents from the 9________ while the guests are expect to give presents to them in the UK.

reactions

similaritiestraditions

newly-weds

In Brunei, a male guests has to sit with the 10 bridegroom and the other men and a 11female guest has to be with the bridge and the other women in a different area. What’s more, if you go to Brunei, you should point with your 12 thumb instead of your index finger. You shouldn’t wear 13 yellow either.

Appropriate 14 behavior is always welcome. So remember when in Rome, do as the 15 Romans do.

Homework

1. Write a short passage about differences between the southerners and the northerners in China.

2. Finish the workbook exercises.

Thanks