- •Методический комментарий
- •Introduction
- •1. Write or say the word you think of first to go with each of the words below. Possible answers are given on the right.
- •2. Now, play the game the other way round. Write or say the nationality you associate with the things listed below.
- •Exercise 3. Where are they?
- •In which cities are the following landmarks?
- •He/she comes from… He/she is… He/she speaks…
- •1.1 National characters
- •Text 1*
- •III. Comprehension check
- •V. Writing
- •Text 2 notes on the british*
- •In the following extract Bill Bryson, an American writer, makes observations of the British people.
- •IV. Language focus
- •1. Match the word with its definition.
- •2. Pick out the words from the text describing the American and the British ways of life.
- •Italian neighbours*
- •II. Skim Extract 1 with Tim’s interview about his living in Italy and find answers to the questions:
- •Extract 2
- •Baby? I'd rather have a mobile phone
- •VIII. Writing
- •Text 4 westerners and the japanese
- •II. Read the first part of the text about Leadership and decide which of the following statements accurately reflect John Mole’s comments.
- •Leadership
- •Attitudes and Behaviour
- •IV. Language focus
- •1. Find English equivalents to:
- •2. Translate the following sentences into English.
- •V. Speaking
- •Text 5 the amish
- •II. Read the article carefully and do the tasks that follow.
- •III. Comprehension check
- •V. Writing
- •Vocabulary box
- •Achievement test 1 national characters
- •Information check (orally)
- •Vocabulary check (in writing)
- •1. Match the two columns.
- •2. Match the definitions below with the words from the box.
- •3. Translate the sentences into English.
- •1.2 Communicating interculturally
- •Importance of intercultural communication*
- •II. Read the text and find information on the following points.
- •IV. Speaking
- •V. Writing
- •Text 2 main concepts of intercultural communication*
- •Culture
- •Subculture
- •Culture Shock
- •Ethnocentric reactions
- •IV. Writing
- •Text 3 understanding culture*
- •II. Read the following text and check if your predictions were right.
- •Text 4 activity orientation
- •Text 5 time orientation
- •Text 6 predictions of communication problems*
- •In what way can we predict communication problems with people from foreign countries?
- •II. Read the text and check whether your predictions were right.
- •1. Control Issues
- •2. Intrapersonal Factors
- •3. Biological Factors
- •4. Interpersonal Factors
- •5. Space and Time Factors
- •6. Geopolitical Factors
- •IV. Language focus
- •V. Speaking
- •VI. Writing
- •Text 7 recognizing cultural differences
- •II. Read the following text and write down the main cultural factors to fill in the table below the text.
- •IV. Writing
- •Text 8 dealing with language barriers
- •Barriers to written communication
- •Barriers to oral communication
- •IV. Language focus
- •1. Fill in the gaps with the prepositions where necessary.
- •2. Find synonyms to the following words in the chart below and learn them.
- •V. Speaking
- •Text 9 suggestions for the cross-cultural sojourner*
- •1. Learn the Rules of the New Culture.
- •2. Assume Responsibility
- •3. Observe Carefully
- •4. Tolerate Differences
- •5. Develop Flexibility
- •IV. Speaking
- •V. Writing
- •Acting out
- •1. Role-play the conversation.
- •2. Role-play the conversation in a travel-bureau.
- •Project writing
- •Social Customs
- •Vocabulary box
- •Achievement test 2 communicating interculturally
- •Information check (orally)
- •Vocabulary check (in writing)
- •1. Define the meaning of the following words in English.
- •2. Match the two columns.
- •3. Translate the sentences into English.
- •1.3 English as a global language
- •Text 1 ways of learning*
- •Starter activities
- •How do you like to learn languages? Look at these extracts from advertisements for methods of learning languages. Choose the methods you would like. Explain and discuss your answers.
- •People learn languages in different ways. Here are some descriptions and explanations of different kinds of language learners. Match the descriptions (1-6) to the explanations (a-f).
- •The table below lists the ways of learning. Complete the column about “you” and discuss your answers.
- •Discussion
- •Text 2 why don’t we all speak the same language?
- •How Did the English Language Begin?
- •III. Comprehension check
- •Text 3 the english language*
- •The english language
- •The english language in north america
- •1. Say whether each of the following sentences is true or false. Correct the false sentences to make them true.
- •2. Give examples of different borrowings in the English language.
- •V. Speaking
- •Text 4 british and american english*
- •The main differences of American English in pronunciation are:
- •1) The pronunciation of r in all positions, e.G. Part, first, corner;
- •VI. Writing
- •Text 5 english as a world language*
- •In the countries listed in the table, English is used either as a first language or as a second. Identify the 7 countries in which it is used as a first language.
- •II. Read the text carefully the spread of english
- •Basic characteristics
- •III. Comprehension check
- •IV. Speaking
- •Text 6 a global language*
- •II. Read the text and check your guesses.
- •V. Writing
- •Imperial english*
- •In this article below Professor Anne Eisenberg writes about the importance of English in the scientific world. For which jobs or subjects is it important to know English in your country?
- •II. Reading
- •1. The statements below express the main idea of each of paragraph. Read the article and match the statements to the paragraphs.
- •2. Decide which sentences in each paragraph express the main ideas.
- •97 % Населения мира предпочитают английский язык для международного общения
- •Text 8 the language of business
- •II. Read the text and write questions for these answers.
- •Look at the expressions in the box using rule. Use your dictionary to check the meanings of any of the expressions that you don’t know.
- •Complete these sentences using the expressions from the box in Exercise 1. Change the verb tense if necessary.
- •Do You Speak Japanese?
- •Project writing
- •Essay writing
- •Vocabulary box
- •Acievement test 3 english as a global language
- •Information check (orally)
- •Vocabulary check (in writing)
- •1. Define the meaning of the following words in English.
- •2. Give synonyms to:
- •3. Match the professional areas with language needs.
- •3. Complete each sentence with the words from the box.
- •For reading, discussing and reporting
- •Text 2 the japanese sense of beauty
- •Text 3 you have to catch them young…
- •Text 4 when the locals are friendly Free accommodation with plenty of surprises ... Servas is a cheap - and enlightening - way to see the world, says Patricia Cleveland-Peck
- •Text 5 must one be so polite that it hurt?
- •Text 6 should americans be required to learn another language?
- •Discussion
- •Text 7 tips for communicating with people from other cultures
- •Text 8 developing intercultural competence
- •1. Privacy and its implications
- •2. "So much for complaining"
- •3. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do"
- •4. Meals
- •5. Attitude to time
- •6. Academic life
- •7. Facial expressions
- •8. Gestures
- •9. Clothes
- •10. Topics for small talk
- •11. Politeness Strategies
- •Text 9 the image of russia in western travel guides
1.1 National characters
It is clear that more and more contact is being made with other cultures and this trend will increase in the coming years. Now, we truly are members of a global village. However, cultural differences frequently complicate international relationships. Once in a strange country, be aware of the fact that stereotypes and generalizations are hurdles to intercultural communication. Do not assume that you know a country. Instead, learn the rules of a new culture, develop a respect for another’s traditions.
This chapter gives you some tips for communicating with people from different countries (Britain, Italy, Japan, etc.). It contains certain information to improve your cross-cultural competence.
Text 1*
(Intermediate – upper-intermediate)
I. Pre-reading task
Before reading try to answer the following questions.
-
What do you think is the stereotype of your nationality? Do you believe in stereotypes?
-
Which adjectives in the box do you think go with the nationalities below?
Hard-working easy-going punctual friendly reserved casual emotional progressive outgoing hospitable sociable formal enthusiastic quiet tolerant talkative sophisticated well-dressed fun-loving respectful humorous efficient romantic serious tradition-loving nationalistic lazy selfish |
American Japanese French German
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Choose some adjectives which you think go with your nationality.
II. Read this article and choose one of these titles for it
When in Rome ... Problems that business people face
Travelling abroad Good manners, good business
Doing business in Europe I didn't mean to be rude!
Nobody actually wants to cause offence but, as business becomes ever more international, it is increasingly easy to get it wrong. There may be a single European market but it does not mean that managers behave the same in Greece as they do in Denmark.
In many European countries handshaking is an automatic gesture. In France good manners require that on arriving at a business meeting a manager shakes hands with everyone present. This can be a demanding task and, in a crowded room, may require gymnastic ability if the farthest hand is to be reached.
Handshaking is almost as popular in other countries - including Germany, Belgium and Italy. But Northern Europeans, such as the British and Scandinavians, are not quite so fond of physical demonstrations of friendliness.
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Note: All the texts marked by the sign (*) are basic.
In Europe the most common challenge is not the content of the food, but the way you behave as you eat. Some things are just not done. In France it is not good manners to raise tricky questions of business over the main course. Business has its place: after the cheese course. Unless you are prepared to eat in silence you have to talk about something -something, that is, other than the business deal which you are continually chewing over in your head.
Italians give similar importance to the whole process of business entertaining. In fact, in Italy the biggest fear, as course after course appears, is that you entirely forget you are there on business.
If you have the energy, you can always do the polite thing when the meal finally ends, and offer to pay. Then, after a lively discussion, you must remember the next polite thing to do - let your host pick up the bill.
In Germany, as you walk sadly back to your hotel room, you may wonder why your apparently friendly hosts have not invited you out for the evening. Don't worry, it is probably nothing personal. Germans do not entertain business people with quite the same enthusiasm as some of their European counterparts.
The Germans are also notable for the amount of formality they bring to business. As an outsider, it is often difficult to know whether colleagues have been working together for 30 years or have just met in the lift. If you are used to calling people by their first names this can be a little strange. To the Germans, titles are important. Forgetting that someone should be called Herr Doktor or Frau Direktorin might cause serious offence. It is equally offensive to call them by a title they do not possess.
In Italy the question of title is further confused by the fact that everyone with a university degree can be called Dottore - and engineers, lawyers and architects may also expect to be called by their professional titles.
These cultural challenges exist side by side with the problems of doing business in a foreign language. Language, of course, is full of difficulties - disaster may be only a syllable away. But the more you know of the culture of the country you are dealing with, the less likely you are to get into difficulties. It is worth the effort. It might be rather hard to explain that the reason you lost the contract was not the product or the price, but the fact that you offended your hosts in a light-hearted comment over an aperitif. Good manners are admired: they can also make or break the deal. [8, 10]