Visiting different cultures

Vocabulary:

It’s absolutely normal/ acceptable/ not acceptable/ quite common/ polite/ impolite

in public places, a sign, a symbol, a stereotype, a myth, gestures, language, behavior, etiquette,

to break the ice, to meet, to introduce, to shake hands, to apologize, to have a small talk / chat

to have a strong opinion about, to frown upon, to be against, to respect, to violate rules

to have no difficulty in adapting, to tend to, another way is..

generally, usually, apparently, almost always/never, as a rule,…

Questions:

(Unit 1)

1. Think about these aspects of culture where you come from:

Eating habits, greetings, personal space, showing emotions, sense of humour

2. What are generally the relationships between:

Older and younger people

Men and women

Employers and employees

3. Which aspects of culture do you think visitors can begin to understand quite quickly?

4. Which aspects will take longer to get used to?

5. What are the common stereotypes about Russia? What popular myths do you know about other nations?

(Unit 3)

6. What is the attitude to success in your culture?

7. Do you think people in different countries have the same or different attitudes to success?

(Unit 7)

8. What is the attitude to work and having a career in your country and abroad?

9. At what age do most people retire? Do people generally see retirement as positive or negative thing? Why?

10. Do people usually give priority to their family or work?

11. How are these people seen where you live (working mothers, househusbands, unemployed people)?

(Unit 11)

12. As a child what were you brought up to believe in?

13. What were you forced to do/ encouraged to do?

14. Are children encouraged to be independent? In what ways?

15. Do teenagers spend more time with their family or friends?

16. When do most people leave home?

17. What is the attitude to family in Asia and in the West?

18. On the whole, what is that makes your culture so special?

Unit 12

Jobs and careers

Vocabulary

to do smth for a living, to work long hours/part-time/full time/shifts, to have flexible hours,

long vacation, benefits/perks, the money is pretty good, a well paid job, salary, wages

Work: tiring, boring, satisfying, challenging, routine, interesting, feel anxious/ pleased

deal with people, work independently

work from home, start a career, training, to get into job/occupation, to talk smb out of it, apply for a job, special qualifications, skills, computer literacy, fluent English

Organizing a talk/ comparing and contrasting

To start with/ first of all, secondly, and finally, on the one/ other hand, another point is, another thing is that, in other words,

Questions:

1. What are the most popular professions in your country?

2. Where can you learn them?

3. Why do people choose risky jobs? (e.g. a stuntman)

4. What do you think would be the pros and cons of the job?

5. What sort of person would be good at it?

6. Which of the following activities would you most like to do? (technical mountaineering course/ web design course/ photography courses/ bungee jumping) Why?

7. At what age do people in your country start a career?

8. How can you earn money as a teenager?

9. How did you choose you future profession?

10. Has anyone tried to talk you out of it?

11. What skills do you need for you future job?

12. Have you ever had any working experience? Did you apply for the job?

13. What is more important to you – big salary or job satisfaction? Compare the two.

14. What is the future of jobs? Will people be able to work from home?

15. Is it a good idea to have several different careers during your life?

Unit 13

Rules and freedoms