Exploring other cultures!

1ºero MedioJunio 2012Inglés

UNIT 4 - Class Nº1

Objetivo de la clase:

Demostrar comprensión de ideas principales e información explícita en textos simples y diálogos (informativos, descriptivos y narrativos), relacionados con la cultura en otros países.

Exercise 1: You are going to listen to three people from different countries around the world. Write the correct nationality for each person according to what they say.

Excercise 2: If you were asked to tell about your country. What would you say? Share your thoughts with the class.

Example:

"Hello, my name is Catalina andI'm chilean. Here in Chile, we useto... our typical food is... the official language is... etc."

Exercise 3: Countries and nationalities. Complete the sentences according to the flags.

Exercise 4: Listen to the next conversation about famous places around the world. Match the flag with the correct place.

Exercise 5.1: Read the following article about Dragon Boat Festival in China.

Observed each year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, Dragon Boat Festival is widely celebrated in China. Local stories say that this festival is celebrated in the honor of Chu Yuan, a patriotic statesman,who drowned himself to protest against the tyrant emperor. He was a very popular man, so when people heard his drowning story, they all took their boats and started looking for him. Since then every year this festival is celebrated in the memory of Chu Yuan.

People make loud noise with drums in the hope that fish would get scared and would not touch Chu Yuan under water. On the Dragon Boat Festival, cooked rice is thrown in the river, which is considered as people's sacrifice for Chu Yuan. Soon they found that the rice they offered to Chu was eaten by the fish. So they started putting the cooked rice in envelops and then throw in the water. This ceremony is known as rice dumpling. Few families also make dumplings of rice, fresh meat, salted meat, or ham. The sweet dumplings are made of rice, bean paste, dates' paste, and honey.

Because of Chu Yuan's death, the fifth lunar month is considered to be unlucky in China. The day when the festival takes place is considered to be the best day for collecting herbs for making medicines. Besides, dragon boat races widely take place all over the country.

Exercise 5.2: Answer and share your opinion about the following questions related with the article.

1.- What do you think people try to represent with the dragon boats?

2.- Would you like to take part on this festival? Why?

3.- Is there in our country a similar celebration?

Exercise 6: In groups, choose one of these traditional celebrations in Chile. What can you tell about them?

The class is over! See you next time!