1. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION
Lecture 1
Geography: the Physical Background (Part 1)
[1] Culture-Oriented Studies of the UK as a Special Subject
[2] The UK: Some General Facts. Size and Position
[3] Territory and Structure
[4] Surrounding Seas and Coastline
[1] Culture-Oriented Studies of the UK as a Special Subject
It is common knowledge that if a foreign learner wants to speak and understand the target language well, he or she must know the grammatical structure of the language, practical rules of arranging words into sentences. He or she must have good knowledge of word-formation rules which help to guess and retain in memory the meaning of new words and to build up and extend one's vocabulary. Hence the importance of grammar, lexicology and word-formation as they help the learner to stimulate a systematic approach to the facts of vocabulary and develop the habits of generalizing the linguistic phenomena. But good knowledge of the system of word-formation and the structure of the language is not enough. To make the student's education thorough and complete, it is essential to provide background information on the English-speaking world, Great Britain, in particular, to acquaint the student with the physical features of the country, with habits and ways in political and cultural life of the English-speaking community. It is important to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date description of the versatile facets of the geography, history, culture, and economy, social and political life of the UK, to give a profound and critical evaluation of the life of the British state.
The requirements are met by two closely related special linguistic disciplines, which in Russian are called «Страноведение» and «Лингвострановедение». Their tentative translations in English are Area Studies (e.g. UK Studies, USA Studies, Bashkortostan Studies, etc.) and Cross-Culture Linguistics, or Culture-Oriented Linguistics combined with Regional Geography. Thus we can speak of a combined and complex discipline - Culture-Oriented Linguistics coupled with Area Studies - UK Regional Geography and Culture-Oriented Language Studies, in our case. The discipline helps to achieve the aims listed above.
Culture-Oriented Linguistics coupled with Area Studies forms part of the curriculum in colleges and universities in this country. Its importance in training a would-be teacher of English is of quite special character.
UK Studies, or to be more exact, UK Culture-and-Language-Oriented Studies, draws on the material of many branches of knowledge, such as Geography, History, Demography, Economics, Sociology, Literature and some others.
As a discipline of its own right, Culture-Oriented Regional Studies evolved in the late 1960s. The chief aim of the discipline is to supply the students with the necessary information on the geography of the country under study, the peculiarities of its historical development, the political and cultural life of the country and so on. This is all done to help the students to acquire the necessary background knowledge, i.e. the knowledge common to all native speakers - in the case of Culture Oriented Studies of the UK - the people who live in Britain and for whom British English is their native tongue. This will enable the students to adequately comprehend texts in the original that deal with English way of life, to better understand the language and the culture of the nation, their Customs and traditions, to competently communicate with native speakers and avoid pragmatic and communicative errors .11 id failures.
Culture-Oriented Studies of the UK is a very special discipline for the student to acquire the so called cultural literacy, i.e. background knowledge of what every Englishman needs to know.
Being read in English, the course of lectures also aims ;il helping the students to further improve and perfect their general knowledge of the target language.
The importance of the UK Studies in training would-be teachers of English is self-evident and needs no or little Confirmation.
The course consists of a number of lectures embracing the following topics:
— General physical geography: Size and position. Surface features. Surrounding seas and coastline. Vegetation. Wildlife. Climate. Minerals.
• Historical background: Brief survey of English history (Roman Britain; Anglo-Saxon England; England in the Middle Ages; Tudor England and Stuart England; The English Revolution. British colonial Empire, etc.)
• Population: Numbers. Distribution. Ethnic composition. Major cities.
• National economy: Location of industries. Major economic regions. Fisheries and agriculture.
• Education: Schools and universities.
• Government: The Queen. Parliament. The Cabinet. Political parties.
• Mass media: The press, radio, TV.
• Culture and Arts: Cinema. Theatre. Painting. Literature etc.
[2] The UK: Some General Facts. Size and Position
Great Britain, officially known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (or the UK, for short), is the political unity of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. Officially, the supreme legislative authority in the UK is the Queen and the two Houses of Parliament ~ the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons.
Britain is one of the oldest capitalist countries in the world, characterized by a considerable industrial, financial and war potential. Though small (it ranks only 75th in size among the world's biggest states), Great Britain is still one of the leading industrial countries. The UK is perhaps best seen as a middle-sized, middle-ranking industrial country.
The UK is situated on the British Isles, which lie to the west of and quite close to the economically developed continental Europe, in the centre of trade routes to America. Due to its insular position, Great Britain has not suffered so much from the two world wars as other European countries.
The state is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as you already know. Great Britain is the name of the largest island of the British Isles. It comprises England, Wales and Scotland. In everyday speech Great Britain is used to mean the UK.
The total area of the UK is 244.100 square kilometres, which makes about 0.18% of the globe's territory. As we see, on a global scale, Great Britain covers a small area -approximately that of Oregon, in the US, or the African nation of Guinea. The UK is twice smaller than France or Spain.
The total population of the UK is just a little over 60 million. The capital of the UK is London. London was originally established by the Romans, as Londinium in the 1st century AD, and became the capital of England only in the 11th century. It is the largest city in Europe and one of the largest in l lie world. London has a population of about 7 million
The national ensign(flag) is Union Jack, instituted in 1801. It is formed by union of crosses of St George St Andrew, and St. Patrick (patron saints of England, Scotland and Ireland).
St. George's cross is +-shaped, red on white ground St Andrew's cross is white and is X-shaped. The cross of St Patrick is red and X-shaped, too. The flag consists of red and White crossing stripes on a blue field symbolizing the union of England, Scotland and Ireland. The national flag is called Union Jack" because it was the name of a flag on a bowsprit of a ship in times when Britain was a sea power (“mistress of the seas") and the word came into use to call the union flag of I he UK.
[3] Territory and Structure
The British Isles is a system of over 5.000 islands lying to the west of the continent of Europe, the two largest being Great Britain and Ireland. The latter comprises Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the Irish Republic, an independent state. Great Britain is the largest island in Europe and the 7th largest in the world.
Off the southern coast of England is the diamond-shaped Isle of Wight which possesses many holiday resorts. It is a popular place for English families to go to on holiday and for people who enjoy sailing.
Off the extreme south-west is a tiny group of the Isles of Scilly. There are about 140 small islands in the group, but
only five of them are inhabited. They are said to have only two seasons - spring and summer - because the climate is mild.
Off the north-west coast of Wales is Anglesey, which is connected to the rest of Wales by the Mania Bridge.
In the Irish Sea is the Me of Man. It is under British control but has its own parliament. Man is famous for the Manx tailless cat and the motor-cycle races called the TT (Tourist Trophy) races.
Western Scotland is fringed by numerous islands known as the Hebrides. They are divided into Inner and Outer Hebrides. The Hebrides can be best described as a broken archipelago of some 500 islands, with eighty inhabited islands.
To the far north of Scotland are the groups of Orkneys and Shetlands. The inhabitants of the Orkneys are called Orcadians; those of the Shetlands are Shetlanders. The Shetland Isles are in the far north and make a compact archipelago of a hundred islands and islets. Only twenty-four of them are inhabited. Farming and fishing are the main industries, but the islands are also the base for the North Sea oil industry.
All the mentioned islands, except the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, form administrative counties or parts of counties of England, Wales and Scotland respectively. But the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands {Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney and Sark) are not part of England, Wales or Northern Ireland. They are largely self-governing crown dependencies with parliaments of their own.
[4] Surrounding Seas and Coastline
Great Britain is separated from the European continent by the North Sea, the Strait of Dover (= Pas de Calais) and the English Channel (= La Manche).
The Strait of Dover is the narrowest part of the ( Channel. It is 21 miles (32 km) wide. On a clear day the French coast is seen from the Downs in Kent. Recently the C hannel Tunnel, which links England and France, has been constructed under the English Channel. The idea for such a tunnel was first suggested in the early 19th century. In 1964 the British and French governments announced that a tunnel would be built. Work finally began in 1987. The 57-kilometre rail tunnel, the longest in the world, was opened in 1993. The Eurostar trains use the Channel Tunnel.
On the western coast, Great Britain is washed by the it/antic Ocean and the Irish Sea. The Irish Sea together with the North Channel and St. George's Channel separates Great Britain from Ireland.
The British Isles appear to stand on a raised part of the sea bed, usually called the continental shelf, which thousands years ago used to be dried land and which constituted part of mainland Europe. This shelf forms the sea floor around Britain. As the islands lie on the continental shelf, the seas around Britain are shallow (about 300ft or 90m). The seas provide exceptionally good fishing grounds. The Dogger Bank in the North Sea is one of the richest fishing grounds in the world. It has provided excellent fishing for centuries. Other good waters for fishing are those of the Irish Sea and those of the western roast of Scotland.
The coastline is much broken and provides a number of line bays and excellent natural harbours.
Most of the south coast of Great Britain consists of high cliffs. The finest cliff scenery of England is to be found in Devon and Cornwall. The fine cliffed coastline attracts many tourists and the tourist industry is steadily growing.
The north-west coastline of Scotland is occupied by numerous sea lochs, or fiords. Some of them are exceptionally deep. The fiords cut deep into the land and make the coast rugged and irregular. The eastern coast is less lofty and more regular them the western coast.
The eastern coast of England is for the most part low-lying. Some parts of the south and south-east coastline have beaches of sand and shingles. Beaches of sand are also found in Lancashire.
Lecture 2
Geography: Physical Background (Part 2)
[1 [ Surface Features [2] Rivers and Lakes
[1] Surface Features
In geographical descriptions, Britain is usually divided into two major regions, Highland Britain and Lowland Britain. Highland Britain includes most of Scotland, the Lake District, the Pennines (the central upland), the Peak District in North-Central England, almost the whole of Wales and the counties of Devon and Cornwall in the south-western part of England. Thus Highland Britain comprises all those mountain parts and uplands of Great Britain which lie above 1000 feet (305 m).
The Scottish Highlands lie west of a line from Aberdeen to the mouth of the Clyde. The mountains are separated into two parts by Glen More, which is a long crack in the earth's crust. The famous Loch Ness, a large and very deep lake in which a monster is supposed to live, is found there.
To the south of Glen More are the Grampian Mountains with Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK (4706 ft, or 1343 m). They form a natural barrier between the Highlands and the Lowlands of Scotland.
There is another upland area in Scotland, the Southern Uplands (also known as the Scottish Borders). Between the Highlands and the Southern Uplands lie the Central Lowlands of Scotland (or, simply, the Lowlands).
The most important mountain range in England is the Pennine Range, or the Pennines, a broad central upland, nicknamed "the Backbone of England". The Pennines is a chain of hills that runs down to the Midlands, separating the Lancashire Plain from the Yorkshire Moors. It forms a Watershed separating the westward- and eastward-bound rivers of Northern England. The highest point here is Cross Fell {893m).
To the west, lie the Cumbrian Mountains. The region Is called Cumberland. It contains the famous Lake District will) the largest lake in England - Windermere and many rocks with sharp-pointed summits called the pikes. The highest peak in Cumberland is Scafell Pike (3210 ft, or 978m). It happens to be l lie highest mountain peak in England.
Mountain ranges in Wales are called the Cambrian Mountains. The highest mountain is Snowdon (1085m) in the Snowdonia National Park, in N. Wales. There is a railway to I he summit of Snowdon. The Welsh call Snowdonia the 4'ogles' Nestling Place'.
The highest point in Northern Ireland is Slieve Donard (2789 ft, or 852m).
The soil in many parts of Highland Britain is thin and poor. There are large stretches of moorland, open country that is covered with rough grass or low bushes and not farmed because of its bad soil.
Lowland Britain comprises southern and eastern England and most of the east of the island of Great Britain. However, one should not think that there are no hills and mountains there at all. In many parts of Lowland Britain there are groups of rather high hills called the downs. These are special kind of hills consisting of chalk and covered with grass. The two great ridges of downs called the South Downs and the North Downs face each other and meet on Salisbury Plain, which isn't really a plain, but a grass-covered chalky upland. So Lowland Britain is a rich plain with chalk and limestone hills. Lowland England is subdivided into the Midlands plains
and scarplands of eastern England. In the central part of Lowland Britain rise two groups of hills called the Cotswolds and the Chilterns. The Chilterns begin near Oxford and stretch in the direction of Cambridge. The Cotswolds are known for the fine limestone of which most towns and villages of southeast are built.
As different as it can be is the scenery of the eastern section of the Lowland Britain, which is usually called East England. The most fertile soil is found in the low-lying fenland of Lincolnshire in East Anglia. It can be cultivated thanks to the land drainage system. Ever since Roman times the fens have been drained and ploughed into fields. In the 17th century a big portion of the fens was drained and the places were turned into pasture and farmland. But now the huge wetlands that dominated eastern England are to be reborn under a project that aims to flood farmland and turn it back into swamp. Environmentalists seek to re-establish the "Great Fen" in East Anglia. Farmers in Cambridgeshire are being offered cash to sell their farms and let nature take its course in a bid to recreate the landscape of reeds, marsh and lakes that stretched from Lincoln to Norfolk. It is done to restore threatened species. Natural fen grasses will reappear on the land, to be followed by reed beds and rare birds and animals.
Where the fens meet the sea, there are about thirty shallow inland lakes called the Broads. The Broads appeared as a result of human activity: the people of the early Middle Ages cut the peat they used as fuel. They cut out millions of cubic feet of the stuff, and then, about the 18th century, the land began to sink and the places of former diggings were filled with water.
The Broads are often called the great "playgrounds of Southern England". Lots of people come there to enjoy boating. Every summer thousands of enthusiasts navigate up and down the shallow channels connecting the Broads, study bird life through binoculars (this popular hobby is called bird-watching), and sail down to the open sea.
[2] Rivers and lakes
There are many rivers in Britain but they are too short to be of any value for transport. The most valuable parts of the rivers are the estuaries, which make excellent ports.
The chief rivers are the Thames, the Severn, the Great Ouse, the Trent, the Wye, flowing in England, and the Clyde, theTweed, the Toy, the Spey, the Forth flowing in Scotland; the Clwyd, the Tywi, the Usk in Wales.
The longest river in England is the Severn (210 mi, or 555 km) but the busiest is the Thames (332 km).
The Severn flows from the Welsh mountains to the Bristol Channel.
The Thames flows eastwards to the North Sea. Much of London's wealth has always been generated by the Thames. The Thames has often been a mixed blessing to the city of London. It made London vulnerable to the conquerors -Saxons, Danes and Vikings - but during the Great Fire of London in 1666, it gave Londoners their only escape route. To protect London from high tides and flooding a barrier across the river, the Thames Barrier, was built at Woolwich. The floodgates lie on the riverbed in normal weather, but can be raised to shut off dangerously high waters.
The longest river in Scotland is the Tay (about 120 mi long, or 170 km) but the busiest is the Clyde. The Scottish livers are swifter than the rivers in England. There are numerous rapids and waterfalls. The swiftest flowing river in the British Isles is the Spey which flows across the southern Highlands of Scotland.
Northern Ireland's greatest river is the Bann with a total length of about 150 km. The major rivers in Northern Ireland are the Erne, Foyle and Bann.
It is difficult to find countryside in England in which there is no river flowing somewhere. Many of the rivers are joined by canals so that it is quite possible to travel by water from one end of England to the other. But since the beginning of the 19 century the waterways, including numerous canals, have steadily declined in importance, and many have fallen into disuse.
There are thousands of lakes of various kinds and sizes in the UK. One of the largest groups of lakes is found in Cumbria (North-West England). The area is variously termed the Lake District, the Lake Country, Lakeland and the Lakes. The Lake District is one of the loveliest (and the wettest) parts of England. It is a national park.
The largest lakes are Windermere, Coniston Water, Derwent Water and Ullswater. Windermere also happens to be the largest lake in England (10.5 mi, or 16 km long and 1 mi, or 1.6 km wide). The deepest of the lakes in this part of Britain is Wastwater. Windermere is a popular tourist centre with many hotels and facilities for yachting, boating and fishing, and during the summer there is a regular boat service from one end to the other.
This mountainous district is exposed to the winds from the west and is known for its heavy rainfalls and snowfalls. Because of its high rainfall the region has become a source of fresh water for the industrial area of south-east Lancashire.
The Lake District is one of the most popular holiday-districts in Great Britain. Nowhere in England is there such a variety of magnificent scenery. The beginning of the popularity of the area goes back to the 19th с when it became closely identified with such sensitive and brilliant writers of poetry and prose as Thomas Gray, William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge and Robert Southey. The distinguished trio of poets W. Wordsworth, S. Coleridge, and R. Southey made their homes there. "Lake Poets" is the name that was given to them.
I hey drew inspiration for much of their poetry from the scenery there.
William Wordsworth (J 770-1850) spent 60 years out of his 80 years in the Lake District. He was acknowledged head and founder of the Lake School of poets.
There are about thirty shallow inland lakes called the Broads in East Anglia. Many lakes are also found in the Snowdon country, Wales. Lake Bala in its eastern part is the largest lake in Wales.
Lakes occupy more than 2 % of the total territory of Scotland making it a country not only of rocks but also of lakes. Scotland's largest lake is Loch Lomond, NW of Glasgow. Loch Lomond is situated in the borderline between the Highlands and the Lowlands. Loch Lomond is in fact Britain's biggest and most beautiful inland water but the largest lake in the British Isles is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland West of Belfast. Some other big lakes in Scotland are Loch Ness, Loch Maree, Loch Shin, Loch Tay, Loch Rannoch, etc.
But the most popular and perhaps one of the most famous places on earth is Loch Ness, because of the monster which may live in the deep waters. The creature is familiarly known to millions as Nessie. In spite of various "sightings" the large prehistoric creature is not yet scientifically proved to exist. The first report of the monster in Loch Ness was in 565 A.D). Loch Ness is a long, narrow lake in the highland area of Scotland extending for 23 miles (36 km). In places, it is over /00 feet (213 m) in depth. The greatest depth is about 230 m. The average width of the lake is about 2 km. Loch Ness forms part of the Caledonian Canal.
The best known and one of the most picturesque lochs in the Southern Uplands is the wild and lonely Loch Skene.
Lecture 3
Geography: the Physical Background (Part 3)
111 ( Limate I '| Vegetation Ml Wildlife Ml Minerals
Climate
(Great Britain lies in middle latitudes: the latitude of 50°
North cuts the southernmost part of Britain, the latitude of 60°
North cuts across the northernmost part. Lying in middle
latitudes, Britain has a mild and temperate climate which is
largely determined by the eastern Atlantic. In the classification
of climates Britain falls generally into the cool, temperate,
humid type. The prevailing winds blow from a south-westerly
direction. They bring a plentiful rainfall and keep the winter
climate mild and moist. Winters are not as severe as they can be
on theContinent but summers are not as warm as they
generally are on the other side of the Channel. The winter is
warmer the winter in Paris or Milan though they have all
sorts of weather in winter. Sometimes it rains and sometimes it
snows.But snow never lies on the ground. It melts quickly. The
rivers, lakes are seldom covered with ice and the coasts are
never troubled by it.
The average London temperature is + 4° С in January and +18 in July.
The British climate is rather rainy. Rain is fairly well distributed throughout the year. Britain's rainfall depends to a great extent on topography and exposure to the Atlantic. In the mountanious areas there is more rain than in the plains of south
and east. So the Western part is wetter than the Eastern. It is still wetter in Scotland, the Lake District and North Wales. The wettest and coldest are the islands round Scotland.
The driest and warmest part of Great Britain is in the south-east of England.
The wettest months are from October to January and the driest period is from March to June. October is the wettest month. February is the coldest month for most parts of the British Isles. March is the windiest month. Pouring rains lasting a short time, which are called showers, is a typical feature of April in England. For Englishmen, they are even pleasant. There is a popular saying April showers bring May flowers. Being abroad, the English poet Robert Browning nostalgically wrote, "Oh, to be in England when April is there..."
In the whole of Britain, rain and sunshine follow each other in quick succession. The rapidity with which the weather changes from day to day and even during the day is one of the most striking things about the British Isles. A warm sunny day may be followed by one with cool or cold dry winds. The rapid changes of weather and temperature in Britain are a source of bitter jokes to its inhabitants, young and old. They stimulate their physical and mental activity. People in Britain talk a lot about the weather - they are famous for it - and watch the forecasts faithfully. They are supposed to be obsessed with it. Didn't Dr Johnson, the famous lexicographer, critic and poet, say way back in 1758: "When two Englishmen meet their first talk is of the weather?"
As the Hungarian humorist George Mikes, author of How To Be An Alien, remarked, learn to parrot a few bland English phrases about the weather and you have 'a fair chance of passing as a remarkably witty man of sharp intellect, keen observation and extremely pleasant manners'.
Fogs often prevail in many parts of the country. The thick fog which they so often have in autumn and in winter is the worst thing about the climate, the worst weather hazard in England. Sometimes the fog lasts for several days. In the past, the fog in London was sometimes so thick that cars ran into one another. 'Real London fog' was described as a mixture of dense log and smoke of the factories and homes. Englishmen call it smog. The fog is one of the worst typical features of London and Londoners cannot imagine their capital without it, as we cannot picture winter in St. Petersburg without snow.
If we look at historical records, it is clear that Britain's climate has changed profoundly over the centuries without any man-made meddling.
Between the 15 th century and the end of the 19th,
Northern Europe suffered what became known as the "Little Lee
Age", when winters were unusually harsh. The most famous
features of the Little Ice Age were the "Frost Fairs" held on
(theRiver Thames. During the winter of 1683, for instance,
temperatures in London plummeted to minus 20C and lower.
Birds fell off their perches like ice-lollies, and famine stalked
the land as crops failed. There is plenty of evidence that before
the Little Ice Age, Britain was actually warmer than it is today.
The Romans were, after all, able to cultivate grapes as far north
as East Anglia with ease. When the Vikings colonized Iceland
1,000 years ago, they found a warmer and more fertile island
than exists today.
There are apprehensions of global warming and long-range forecasts made at the moment are causing much confusion. Some climatologists assert that that by 2100, snow and ice in southern England will be a thing of the past: the winters will be much warmer than now, and the summers hotter ind drier. In other words, they promise the British a future of Mediterranean summers, vineyards in Yorkshire and green Christmases for all eternity. Others fear that the very existence of the Gulf Stream is threatened. If the Greenland meltwater were to shut off the Gulf Stream entirely, the British could be in
for some very nasty weather indeed. It could even usher in a new Ice Age.
However, the truth is that no one really knows what the weather is going to do in the future.