- •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
7. Facial expressions
Facial expressions are known to differ from culture to culture. The lack of smiles on the Russian faces does not mean that we are a savage or gloomy nation: we are just a different culture. The Japanese with their mysterious Japanese smile are at the opposite extreme. The Japanese smile when they are angry, sad or disappointed because the exposure of anger or sadness is considered to be impolite. The smile serves to hide embarrassment, dismay, failure and grief, though it also signals joy and happiness. The Japanese also smile when they do not understand people talking to them, and it is hard for a European to find any explanation of this phenomenon. On the contrary, the Russian attitude to people smiling too much is slightly pejorative: they are not considered very serious or reliable, or they are thought of as insincere. This common belief forms a habit of smiling rarely. In the orientation course students are warned that whenever they talk to people in the UK or have an eye-contact with a stranger, the smile is an evidence of their friendliness and politeness.
8. Gestures
The English are known for their distaste of gesticulation. As for shaking hands, it is less frequent in the United States than in Europe. Besides harmless gesticulation that may look amusing to representatives of other cultures, there are potentially offensive gestures one must be careful about. In the English speaking world such gestures are: pointing one's finger at one's temple to indicate that someone is crazy and the V-sign, palms in, which is sexually offensive, unlike the V-sign, palms out, meaning "victory". On the other hand, the well-known American OK sign seems very abusive to Latin Americans.
Travelling to Europe, our students meet people of various origins and mother cultures. They must be aware of the fact that some gestures, though quite neutral from the European point of view may look offensive in a multinational environment. Gestures not recommended in contacts with East Asians are: touching someone on the head, hugging, pointing or pushing with a foot, passing something over another person's head. If one is talking to Arab people it is better to refrain from winking, touching a person of the opposite sex, handing something, especially food, with one's left hand and showing the sole of one's foot.
9. Clothes
Every culture imposes certain restrictions on the clothes people wear in public. The students coming to a foreign country have to be careful not to offend anybody with an inappropriate dress. On the other hand, the hosts' ethnocentricity in the questions of dress should be reasonable enough not to limit the guest's freedom. It is not meant to change anybody's habits or tastes, but to expand the awareness of the possible conflict and develop the skill of compromise.
10. Topics for small talk
For having successful formal contacts with representatives of the Anglo-Saxon culture it is instructive to see what topics are considered acceptable in formal communication. The safest topics recommended for small talk in the textbooks on Business English are as follows: travelling, weather, accommodation, hobbies, television, food and drinks, education and shopping, as well as topical events covering the front pages of newspapers: earthquakes, plane crashes, museum robberies, but not politics. If you want to talk about art or culture you are recommended to find out cautiously if your interlocutor shares your interests. Instead of monopolising a conversation you are recommended to show more interest in your interlocutor's country, travelling, family, hobbies, etc. than in the matters of your own life. As for the unsafe topics, Americans say that it is dangerous to talk about two things: religion and politics. In the British courses of Business English, the list of unsafe subjects also includes the Royal family, race relations, salary/income, health, pets and Northern Ireland. If one is invited to a party it is not quite polite "to talk shop" unless one's work is a matter of common interest for all the people present.
University life is in many ways different from business, but the lists of safe and unsafe topics can still be taken into account in formal and semiformal academic contacts. In Russia, many of the unsafe topics mentioned above are the most popular subjects discussed by educated people when they get together on various occasions. It is only natural that they transfer their conversational habits into communication with their foreign partners and colleagues. For example, the question "How much do you earn?" addressed to a visitor from abroad, although very popular with Russian students, sounds awful and must be excluded from formal and semiformal communication. The same refers to the delicate subject of race relations: the more careful one is in dealing with these topics, the better.