- •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
Text 4 activity orientation
(Intermediate)
I. Pre-reading task
1. Look up the meaning of the following words.
be predisposed to hectic(adj)
inevitable (adj) vital, essential (adj)
seek to (v) resolve a problem (v)
pace of life scrutinize (v)
adversity (n) espouse (v)
adage (n) capture the essence (v)
2. Form nouns from the following parts of speech.
predispose to (v) tangible (adj)
seek to (v) strive for (v)
solve (v) contemplative (adj)
3. Before reading try to formulate your definition of “being, becoming and doing cultures”.
II. Read the text and find out if your definitions were correct.
An activity orientation defines how the people of a culture view human actions and the expression of self through activities.
To define their activity orientation, cultures usually point to the being-becoming-doing continuum. "Being" is an activity orientation that values non-action and an acceptance of the status quo. African-American and Greek cultures are usually regarded as "being" cultures. Another characterization of this orientation is a willingness to believe that all events are determined by fate and are therefore inevitable or fatalistic. Hindus from India often espouse this view.
A "becoming" orientation sees humans as evolving and changing; people with this orientation, including Native Americans and most South Americans, are predisposed to think of ways to change themselves as a means to change the world. "Doing" is the dominant characteristic of Euroamericans, who rarely question the assumption that it is important to get things done. Thus, Euroamericans ask, "What do you do?" when they first meet someone, and Monday morning conversations between co-workers often center on what each person "did" over the weekend. Similarly, young children are asked what they want to be when they grow up, and cultural heroes are those who do things. The "doing" culture is often the striving culture, in which people seek to change and control what is happening to them. The common adage "Where there's a will there's a way" captures the essence of this cultural pattern. When faced with adversity, for examples, Euroamericans encourage one another to fight on, to work hard and not to give up.
A culture's activity orientation also suggests the pace of life. The fast, hectic pace of Euroamericans, governed by clocks, appointments, and schedules, has become so commonly accepted that it is almost a cliché. The pace of life in cultures such as India, Kenya, Argentina, and among African-Americans is less hectic, more relaxed, and more comfortably paced. In African-American culture, for example, orientations to time are driven less by a need to "get things done" and conform to external demands than by a sense of participation in events that create their own rhythm.
Being on time has to do with participating in the fulfillment of an activity that is vital to the sustenance of a basic rhythm, rather than with appearing on the scene at, say "twelve o'clock sharp". The key is not to be "on time" but "in time".
How a person measures her or his success is also related to the activity orientation. In cultures with a "doing" orientation, activity is evaluated by scrutinizing a tangible product or by evaluating some observable action directed at others. In other words, activity should have a purpose or a goal. In the "being" and "becoming" cultures, activity is not necessarily connected to external products or actions; the contemplative monk or the great thinker are examples of those who are most valued. Thus the process of striving toward the goal is sometimes far more important than accomplishing it.
In "doing" cultures, work is seen as a separate activity from play and an end in itself. In the "being" and "becoming" cultures, work is a means to an end, and there is no clear-cut separation between work and play. The social life for these individuals spills over into their work life. When members of a "being" culture work in the environment of a "doing" culture, there are often misinterpretations of behaviour. A Latin American employee described her conversation with a Euroamerican co-worker when the latter expressed anger that she spent so much "work" time on the telephone with family and friends. For the Latin American, it was important to keep in contact with her friends and family; for the Euroamerican, only work was done at work, and one's social and personal relationships were totally separated from the working environment. In a "doing" culture, employees who spend too much time chatting with their fellow employees may be reprimanded by a supervisor. In the "being" and "becoming" cultures, those in charge fully expect their workers to mix working and socializing. Along with the activity orientation of "doing" comes a problem-solution orientation. The preferred way of dealing with a difficulty is to see it as a challenge to be met or a problem to be solved. The world is viewed as something that ought to be changed in order to solve problems rather than as something that ought to be accepted as it is, with whatever characteristics it has.
In every culture, these preferences for particular orientations to activities shape the interpersonal communication patterns that will occur. In "doing" cultures interpersonal communication is characterized by concerns about what people do and how they solve problems. There are expectations that people should be involved in activities, that work comes before play, and that people should sacrifice in other parts of their lives in order to achieve their work responsibilities. In "being" cultures interpersonal communication is characterized by being together rather than by accomplishing specific tasks, and there is generally greater balance between work and play. [15]
III. Post-reading tasks
1. Answer the questions.
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What types of culture and according to what principles does the activity orientation theory define?
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How does this classification influence the international communication patterns?
2. Find in the text information to describe each type of culture.
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“being culture»…
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“becoming culture»…
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“doing culture”….
IV. Speaking
What group does your culture belong to? Give arguments to support your point of view.