Giáo trình Đất nước học
.
SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO HÒA BÌNH
TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG SƯ PHẠM
***
ĐỀ CƯƠNG BÀI GIẢNG
MÔN: ĐẤT NƯỚC HỌC
Ngành đào tạo: CĐSP Tiếng Anh
Họ và tên: Phạm Thị Minh Huyền
Đơn vị: Khoa Trung học Cơ sở
Năm học 2019- 2020
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Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The United Kingdom
Lesson 1: Introduction about the United Kingdom
A. Understanding the names
B. History
C. Things British
D. Physical Geography
E. Population
F. Language
Lesson 2: People, Beliefs and Religions
A. Stereotypes and Change
B. English versus British
C.Multiculturalism
D. Being Different
E. Religions
Lesson 3: The Government, Political life and Election.
A. The Cabinet
B. The Prime Minister
C. The Civil Service
D. Parliament
E. Election
Lesson 4: Education
A. Historical Background
B. Organization
C. Recent Development.
D. School Life
E. Public Exams
Lesson 5: Economy
A. Background Information
B. Economic Growth
C. Trade in the U.K.
D. Industry in Britain
E. Working in Britain
Lesson 6: Holidays
A. Christmas
B. Easter
C. Halloween
Lesson 7: Celebrations and Special Days
A. Birthdays
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B. Weddings
C. Special Days
Chapter 2: The United states of America
Lesson 8: Introduction about the U.SA.
A. Weather and Climate
B. Natural Resouces
C. Population
D. Ethnic Groups
E. Languages
F.Culture
Lesson 9: People, Beliefs and Religions
A. Cultural Diversity
B. Individual Freedom and Self- Reliance
C. Equality of Opportunity and Competition
D. Material Weath and Hard Work
E.Religions
Lesson 10: The Government, Political life and Election.
A. Power of the President
B. Political Party System
C. The Organization of the American Government
D. The Development of the Government
E. Election
Lesson 11: Education
A. Puplic Schools
B. Educational Ladder
C. The Money Value of Education
D. Extracurricular Activities
E. Racial Equality and Education
Lesson 12: Economy
A. Free Enterprise: theoretical and Historical Background
B. Roles of Government
C. High Living Standard
D. The Characteristics of American Business
Lesson 13: Holidays
A. Christmas
B. Easter
C. Halloween
Lesson 14: Celebrations and Special Days
A. Birthdays
B. Weddings
C. Special Days
References
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Introduction
This book is intended for the third-year students majoring in English,
Department of Secondary Education, Hoa Binh College of Education, who are
trained to be teachers of English with the hope that they can improve their
English language through various reading passages. There is a collection of
topics from different sources about two famous English Speaking Countries:
The United Kindom and The United States of America.
The aims of this book
1. To give some background information about the country as well people in
the the UK and the USA.
2. To raise student's awareness of political system in developed countries
3. To familiarize students with economic development in the UK and the USA
4. To help students have an idea about two famous Educational Systems in the
world
5. To give students some main information about the most three important
holidays in the UK and the USA including Christmas, Easter and Halloween.
6. To compare some special celebrations like birthdays and weddings between
Vietnamese culture and foreigners'.
From this, students have an opportunity to share their findings and discuss their
opinions with their partners. From then, they can develop their presentation
skill which is important for their future career. Hopefully that students will have
fun when taking part in this course and get an insight into the British and
American life in general.
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Chapter 1
The United Kingdom
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6
Lesson 1: Introduction about The United Kingdom
A. Lead-in
1. How many people (to the nearest million) live in Britain?
A. 23 million B. 48 million C. 58 million?
2. What percentage of the British population belong to ethnic minorities:
A. 1% B. 5.5% C. 15 %?
3. Is the birth rate in Britain…………live births per 1,000 people?
A.7.4 B. 12.9 C. 19 4.
What percentage of the population in Britain is under 16 years of age:
A. 10% B. 20% C. 30%?
5. Which of the following countries is the nearest continental neighbour to
Great Britain?
A. Denmark
B. Portugal
C. France
D. Greece?
6. Name the two most popular destinations in Europe for British tourists?
…………………………………………………………………………………
7. Which of the following is Britain's longest river?
A. The Thames B. The Severn
C. The Tyne?
8. What's the British National Anthem?
…………………………………………………………………………………
…
B. Reading Text
Understanding the names
Britain or the United Kingdom, lies off the north-west coast of mainland
Europe.
This is an abbreviation of ‘the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland’. It is the political name of the country which is made up of England,
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Several islands off the British coast are
also part of the United Kingdom (for example, the Isle of Wight, the Orkneys,
Hebrides and Shetlands, and the Islands and the Isles of Man are not. However,
all these islands do recognize the Queen.
London is the capital. Other big cities include Birmingham, Manchester,
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
Countries within a Country
The name United Kingdom refers to the union of what were once four separate
countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (though most of Ireland is now
independent).
History
How was the United Kingdom formed? This took centuries, and a lot of armed
struggle was involved. In the 15th century, a Welsh prince, Henry Tudor,
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became King Henry VII, united England and Walse under one Parliament in
1563. In Scotland a similar thing happened. The King of Scotland inherited the
crown of England and Wales in 1603, so he became King James I of England,
Walse and Scotland were united century later in 1707. Scotland was separated
from England. Wales and Ireland were under some English control but were
not fully part of the kingdom. The four countries were united by 1750.
In 1485
England was ruled by the King of England; Scotland was ruled by the King of
Scotland
Wales, a principality, ruled by the Prince of Wales (eldest son of the English
King). Wales had its own culture and language.
Ireland – small parts were controlled by the English Kings but in many places
the English control was weak.
In 1750
England was ruled by the King of England who was also the King of Scotland
One King ruled both countries. Wales, remained a principality but more clearly
under English control. English language and customs were more fashionable,
but the Welsh language and culture was still strong
The UK’s full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland. Great Britain comprises only of England, Scotland and Wales. Great
Britain is the largest island of the Britain Isles.
Great Britain
This is the name of the island which is made up of England, Scotland and Wales
and so, strictly speaking, it does not include Northern Ireland. The origin of the
world ‘Great’ is a reference to size, because in many European and Brittany in
France are the same. In fact, it was the French who first talked about Grande
Bretagne! In everyday speech the United Kingdom.
Great Britain: Great Britain is the official name given to the two kingdoms of
England and Scotland, and the principality of Wales. It is an island lying off
the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United
Kingdom.
England is part of an island called Great Britai, the largest island in Europe.
Great Britain is divided into small regions called countries. England – the
capital is London; Scotland – the capital is Edinburgh; Wales – the capital is
Cardiff; Northern Ireland – the capital is Belfast.
Great Britain (or Britain) is only used in references to England, Scotland and
Wales.
Great Britain is very often, but incorrectly, used as a synonym for the sovereign
state properly known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (UK).
Great Britain is a political term which describes the combination of England,
Scotland, and Wales, the three nations which together include all the land on
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the island. It is also a geographical term referring to the island on which the
greater parts of England, Wales and Scotland are situated.
Great Britain has area of 229.850 km2 (88.745 sq. m) and is the largest island
of the British Isles.
Is Great Britain the same as Britain?
Yes, sometimes people use the shorten name Britain instead of Great Britain.
England in Britain in the UK
'When people say England, they sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the
United Kingdom, sometimes the British Isles - but never England’. ‘How to be
an Alien' by George Mikes’.
"England" is sometimes, wrongly, used in reference to the whole United
Kingdom, the entire island of Great Britain (or simply Britain), or indeed the
British Isles. This is not only incorrect but can cause offence to people from
other parts of the UK. The diverse history of England, Scotland and Wales has
led to very different cultural traditions; The Scots and Welsh have right to feel
aggrieved whenever the term 'English' is used wrongly, to mean all three. Most
people in England call themselves “British” or “British” and “English” unless
specified otherwise. This of course is wrong. British people can be Scottish,
Welsh, Irish (living in Northern Ireland) or English. However, the Scots and
the Welsh are proud of their separate identities and tend to be more forward
about referring to themselves as Scottish or Welsh.
Interesting Facts
England used to be known as England land, meaning the land of the Angles,
people from continental Germany, who began to invade Britain in the late 5th
century, along with the Saxons and Jute.
The term Great Britain was first used during the reign of King James I of
England (James VI of Scotland) in 1603, to refer to the separate kingdoms of
England and Scotland, on the same landmass, that were ruled over by the same
monarch. Despite having the same monarch both kingdoms kept their own
parliaments.
The ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’ was formed in 1707 by the Act of
Union that created a single kingdom with a single Parliament. (Scotland has
always retained its own legal system).
A hundred years later the Act of Union of 1801 joined Ireland to ‘Great Britain’
and the name “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland” was first used.
(Since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been a part of the United Kingdom and
so the name changed).
Things British
This is the geographical name that refers to all the islands off the North West
coast of the European continent: Great Britain, the whole of Ireland (Northern
and Southern), the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. But it is important to
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remember that Southern Ireland – that is the Republic of Ireland (also called
‘Eire’) is completely independent.
So you can see that ‘the United Kingdom’ is the correct name to use if you are
referring to the country in a political, rather than in a geography way. ‘British’
refers to peple from the UK, Great Britain or the British Isles in general.
The Scottish and Welsh are proud and independent people. In the recent years
there have been attempts, particularly in Scotland where the Scottish
Nationalist Party was very strong for a while. However, in a referendum in
1979 the Welsh and Scottish people are happy to form part of the UK even
though they sometimes complain that they are dominated by England, and
particularly by London. The whole of Ireland was united with Great British
from 1801 up until 1922. In that year the independent Republic of Ireland was
formed in the South, while Northern Ireland was still dependent on Great
Britain.
The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three
crosses. The upright Red Cross is the cross of St George, the patron saint of
England. The white diagonal cross (with the arms going into the corners) is the
cross of St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the
cross of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. St David is the patron saint of
Wales.
Why and how does England dominate the UK?
Land mass and population: England is a country in the UK and occupies most
of the southern two thirds of Great Britain England contains about 84% of the
UK population. England is the largest country in the UK. The total area of
England is 130.410 sq km (50,352 sq mi), equivalent to 57 per cent of the area
of Great Britain.
Capital and Government: The capital, seat of government, and the largest city
in the United Kingdom is London. London is also is the capital of England. All
of Great Britain has been ruled by the UK government in London since 1707.
(In 1999 the first elections to the newly created Scottish Parliament and
National Assembly for Wales took place leaving England as the only part of
the Great Britain with no devolved assembly or parliament.)
Language: As it names suggest, the English language, today spoken by
hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language
from England, where it remains the principal tongue today. English is the
official language of the UK and the first language of the vast majority of the
population. Both Wales and Scotland land have their own languages but
English is spoken in both countries more.
Physical Geography and population
Britain has an area of about 242,000 sq km (93,000 sq miles). It is just under
1,000 km (600 miles) from the south coast of England to the extreme north of
Scotland, and just under 500 km (300 miles) across the widest part. Although
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Britain is quite small in terms of land area, it has a large population of nearly
59 million people, which ranks 18th in the world.
Britain has a generally mild and temperate climate. The weather, however,
tends to be very changeable as a result of the constant influence of different air
masses. The prevailing winds are south- westerly, which bring warm air in from
across the Atlantic. There are few extremes in temperature, which rarely goes
above 32°C or below - 10°C.
The climate of Britain is more or less the same as that of the north- western part
of the European mainland. The popular belief that it rains all the time in Britain
is simply not true. The image of a wet, foggy land was created two thousand
years ago by the invading Romans and has been perpetuated in modern times
by Hollywood.
In fact, London gets no more rain in a year than most other major European
cities, and less than some.
The amount of rain that falls on a town in Britain depends on where it is.
Generally speaking, the further west you go, the more rain you get. The mild
winters mean that snow is a regular feature of the higher areas only.
Occasionally, a whole winter goes by in lower- lying parts without any snow at
all. The winters are in general a bit colder in the east of the country than they
are in the west, while in summer, the south is slightly warmer and sunnier than
the north.
Why has Britain’s climate got such a bad reputation? Perhaps it is for the same
reason that British people always seem to be talking about the weather. This is
its changeability. There is a saying that Britain doesn’t have a climate, it only
has weather. It may not rain very much altogether, but you can never be sure of
a dry day; there can be cool (even cold) days in July and some quite warm days
in January.
The lack of extremes is the reason why, on the few occasions when it gets
genuinely hot or freezing cold, the country seems to be totally unprepared for
it. A bit of snow and a few days frost and the trains stop working and the roads
are blocked; if the thermometer goes above 27°C, people behave as if they were
in Sahara and the temperature makes front- page headlines. These things
happen so rarely that it is not worth organizing life to be ready for them.
What influences the weather? The main influence on our climate is our close
proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, our northern latitude, and the warming of the
waters around the land by the Gulf Stream (a warm current of the northern
Atlantic Ocean). Our island is small compared with the other land masses in
the northern hemisphere – hence Britain is more influenced by the ocean
compared with other European countries, and the Gulf Stream helps to keep
winters milder compared with other landlocked nations with a similar latitude.
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Languages
English is the official language, although the Welsh language has equal status
in Wales. Many other languages are spoken by the ethnic minority
communities, which make up around 3 million people.
English developed from Anglo-Saxon and is a Germanic language. However,
all the invading peoples, particularly the Norman French, influenced the
English language and you can find many words in English which are French in
origin. Nowadays all Welsh, Scottish and Irish people speak English (even if
they speak their own language as well), but all the four countries in the UK
have difficulty in understanding one another English accents. A southern
English accent is generally accepted to be the most easily understood, and is
the accent usually taught to foreigners.
English is the predominant language in Britain. Cornish, Gaelic (Irish), Gaelic
(Scottish), Manx and Welsh (Cymae) are also spoken. Although Celtic
languages persist in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the lingual Franca
throughout the United Kingdom is English. Of course, due to the cosmopolitan
nature of cities, such as London, several other international languages are also
spoken in the United Kingdom.
C. Comprehension Check
Task 1: Are the following sentences True (T) or False (F) and then read
the following passages to check your answer.
1. The U.K, which means the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland is used for political purposes.
2. Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
3. The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
4. British Isles consist of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man.
5. England is the common name used to refer to Great Britain or the United
Kingdom.
6. Southern Ireland is dependent on the United Kingdom.
7. Great Britain is the largest island of the British Isles.
8. England is part of an island called Great Britain, the largest island in
Europe.
9. Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland were not united until 1750.
10. Great Britain is not the official name given to the two kingdoms of
England and Scotland, and the principality of Wales.
Task 2: Read the text and work in groups to discuss the following questions
1. What is the difference between Great Britain, the British Isles, and the
United Kingdom?
………………………………………………………………………………
Why is England or the UK sometimes called Britain?
…………………………………………………………………………
2. What is the difference between the names? Why are they not the same
country?
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…………………………………………………………………………
3. Why does England dominate the UK?
…………………………………………………………………………
4. What is Great Britain? Which are the capital cities of Britain? Is Britain
the same as Great Britain?
…………………………………………………………………………
5. Which countries are in Great Britain?
…………………………………………………………………………
6. Where is the UK? How was the United Kingdom formed?
…………………………………………………………………………
7. What countries make up the UK?
…………………………………………………………………………
8. What is the official title (name) of the UK?
…………………………………………………………………………
9. Why is the whole of Ireland not part of the UK?
…………………………………………………………………………
Task 3: Decide the following sentences true (T) or false (F).
1. It often rains every day in England.
2. English weather is very changeable and it is difficult to predict it.
3. The weather in Britain is the same most of the time.
4. England has the hottest summer and the coldest winter in the European
continent.
5. The temperature in winter is rarely lower than 0°C and the temperature
in summer is rarely higher than 32°C.
6. August and September are normally the warmest months in England.
7. Around the coasts, February is normally the coldest month, but inland
there is little to choose between January and February as the coldest
month.
8. Rainfall in Britain is the heaviest in Autumn and Winter.
Task 4: Answer the questions below
1. What is the Climate like in Britain?
………………………………………………………………………
2. What are the driest months, hottest months, warmest months, wettest
months, coldest months?
…………………………………………………………………………
3. What is the highest/ lowest temperature?
…………………………………………………………………………
4. Which part of Britain has the coldest winters?
…………………………………………………………………………
5. Which is warmer in summer, northern or southern England?
…………………………………………………………………………
6. What influences the British weather?
…………………………………………………………………………
D. Follow-up
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Talk about the The UK and compare its main charaterisics with the ones in
Vietnam
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Lesson 2: People, Beliefs and religions in The United KIng
dom
A.Lead- in
What have you known about the British people? Try this quiz.
Decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F)
1. Strangers usually do not talk to each other on trains.
2. It is polite to queue for everything: buses, theatre tickets, in shops,
etc.
3. People say “thank you” when they give money to a shop assistant.
4. People open presents in front of people they receive them.
5. British people believe that Britain is a ‘land of tradition’.
6. The stereotyped image of the London ‘city gent’ includes the wearing
of a bowler hat.
B. Reading Text
Stereotypes and Change
Learning from the media and talking to older people, we pick up a lot of
stereotypes about other nations. In every country there are plenty of stereotypes
about residents, some maybe true but most of them are untrue and very
wrongful.
What are the first three things which come into your mind when you hear the
words 'England' or 'the English’? Mine are fish and chips, rolling hills and
sarcasm. On this page we have added what people around the world see as the
stereotypes of the English.
• ‘Men wearing bowler hats, a pin striped suit, a newspaper under the arm
and carrying a long unopen umbrella’
• Big Ben; Shakespeare, creamtea; pubs; beefeatures.
of Britain, Trooping the Colour
• England is a land of beer, sport (football; cricket) and bad weather;
(Contrary to popular belief, it DOES NOT rain every day in England!
Invincible green suburbs; maids bicyclng through the morning mist.)
Tom Eccles aged 13: ‘I'm working in a school in Catalonia and they all think
that it rains 24/7 in England, and that we eat bad food which is ironic because
the food over here is terrible!! Oh, and they all think that we must know David
Beckham because we are English!’ ‘Patriotic people, some think we are snobs
but we are just proud of our country and Queen. We are very polite and patient
although as in any country, there are the bad eggs. But on the whole we are a
very pleasant nation.’
• A lot of folks overseas think that the English are crazy about dogs and
love them more than their kids.
• I think that English people are quite reserved. I had to laugh when I went
by tube and saw everyone sitting and reading their newspapers.
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• My in-laws are from the Middle East - they think that we boil all our
food. If the truth be told I would rather eat curry than boiled cabbage!
• Saying 'splendid' and 'terribly' (to mean ‘very’, e.g. ‘terribly sorryto
bother you’ etc.) and old fashioned words/phrases like 'cheerio', 'spiffing'
etc, '' (We don't say these words!)
• People think the English are no good at learning foreign languages and
have the attitude that if they yell loud enough in English the "foreigners"
will evertually understand them... a lot
Superstitions in Britain
Good Luck
1. Lucky to meet a black cat. Black Cats are featured on many good luck
greetings cards and birthday cards in England.
2. Lucky to touch wood.
3. Lucky to find a clover plant with four leaves.
4. A horseshoe over the door brings good luck. But the horseshoe needs to
be the right way up. The luck runs out of the horseshoe if it is upside
down.
rabbits white rabbits," before uttering your first word of the day.
6. Catch falling leaves in Autumn and you will have good luck. Every leaf
means a lucky month next year.
Bad Luck
1. Unlucky to walk underneath a ladder.
2. Seven years bad luck to break a mirror.
3. Unlucky to see one magpie, lucky to see two, etc..
4. Unlucky to spill salt. If you do, you must throw it over your shoulder to
counteract the bad luck.
5. Unlucky to open an umbrella in doors.
day. Friday is considered to be an unlucky day because Jesus was
crucified on a Friday.
7. Unlucky to put new shoes on the table.
8. Unlucky to pass someone on the stairs.
Food Superstitions
1. When finished eating a boiled egg, push the spoon through the bottom of
the empty shell to let the devil out
2. In Yorkshire, housewives used to believe that bread would not rise if
there was a corpse (dead body) in the vicinity, and to cut off both ends
of the loaf would make the Devil fly over the house!
Animal Superstitions
1. Animals feature a lot in our superstitions as they do in superstitions
around the world. One ancient British superstition holds that if a child
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rides on a bear's back it will be protected from whooping-cough. (Bears
used to roam Britain but now they are not seen on our shores)
2. In some parts of the UK meeting two or three Ravens together is
considered really bad. One very English superstition concerns the tame
crown of England will be lost.
3. It is said to be bad luck if you see bats flying and hear their cries. In the
middle ages it was believed that witches were closely associated with
bats.
4. If a Sparrow enters a house it is an omen of death to one of the people
who live there. In some areas it is believed that to avoid bad luck, any
Sparrow caught must be immediately killed otherwise the person who
caught it will die.
5. In some areas black Rabbits are thought to host the souls of human
beings. White Rabbits are said to be really witches and some believe that
saying 'White Rabbit' on the first day of each month brings luck. A
common lucky charm is a Rabbit's foot, but not for the Rabbit.
6. It is thought very unlucky to have the feathers of a Peacock within the
home or handle anything made with them. This is possibly because of
the eye shape present upon these feathers i.e. the Evil-Eye associated
with wickedness.
English versus British
Many people think that 'English' is the same as 'British'. It is not!
People who are English are from the country of England. On the other hand,
are made up of different countries. All though everyone has a British citizenship
they have different nationalities.
referred to as 'English'. They do not live in England and they have their own
parliaments, so why should they take their identity from England? They have
their own identity.
There are often distinct differences between people living in each of the three
countries in Britain. This is because different groups of people tend to develop
their own customs and way of life.
National identity and citizenship are not always the same thing in Great Britain.
Most white people born in Great Britain, although British citizens, do not
regard themselves as British and prefer to state their national identity as
English, Scottish or Welsh.
People born in England are called English or British and can say that they live
in England, Britain and/or the UK. Most people in England tend to say they are
British rather than English.
Slang terms sometimes used for the English include "Sassenachs" (from the
Scots Gaelic), "Limeys" (in reference to the citrus fruits carried aboard English
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sailing vessels to prevent scurvy) and "Pom / Pommy" (used in Australian
English and New Zealand English).
People born in Scotland are called Scottish or British and can say that they live
in Scotland, Britain and/or the UK. Most people in Scotland will say they are
Scottish rather than British.
People born in Wales are called Welsh or British and can say that they live in
Wales, Britain and/or the UK. Most people in Wales will say they are Welsh
rather than British.
Multiculturalism
Changing Values and Norms of the British Family: The family in Britain is
changing. The once typical British family headed by two parents has undergone
substantial changes during the twentieth century. In particular there has been a
rise in the number of single-person households, which increased from 18 to 29
per cent of all households between 1971 and 2002. By the year 2020, it is
estimated that there will be more single people than married people. Fifty years
ago this would have been socially unacceptable in Britain.
In the past, people got married and stayed married. Divorce was very difficult,
expensive and took a long time. Today, people's views on marriage are
changing. Many couples, mostly in their twenties or thirties, live together
(cohabit) without getting married. Only about 60% of these couples will
eventually get married.
In the past, people married before they had children, but now about 40% of
children in Britain are born to unmarried (cohabiting) parents. In 2000, around
a quarter of unmarried people between the ages of 16 and 59 were cohabiting
in Great Britain. Cohabiting couples are also starting families without first
being married. Before 1960 this was very unusual, but in 2001 around 23 per
cent of births in the UK were to cohabiting couples. People are generally getting
married at a later age now and many women do not want to have children
immediately. They prefer to concentrate on their jobs and put off having a baby
until late thirties.
The number of single-parent families is increasing. This is mainly due to more
marriages ending in divorce, but some women are also choosing to have
children as lone parents without being married.
1. Social Class System in Britain
Multiculturalism and a changing economy are gradually eroding the British
class system, but some features of the system still remain.
• What is Class? Sociologists define social class as the grouping of people
by occupations. Doctors and lawyers and university teachers are given
more status than unskilled labourers. The different positions represent
different levels of power, influence and money. The British society is
often considered to be divided into three main groups of classes- the
Upper class, the Middle class, and the Lower or Working class. This is
known as the Class system..
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The Different Class Systems: There are three main class divisions
The Upper Class tends to consist of people with inherited wealth, and includes
some of the oldest families, with many of them being titled aristocrats. The
upper classes are defined by their title, but also by their education, and their
pastimes which includes the traditional sporting life involving hunting,
shooting and fishing, as well as a great deal of horse riding for both leisure and
as a competitve pursuit.
The Middle Classes are the majority of the population of Britain today. They
include industrialists, professionals, businesspeople and shop owners.
Working Class people are mostly agricultural, mine and factory workers.
• Status: You can tell class people belong to by the way they speak
(accent), their clothes, their interests, the way that they educate their
children, or even the type of food they seat.
Being Different
English spoken in Britain is called ‘British English’. British English is not the
same as American or Australian English. ‘Hi mate’ is not the correct and
appreciated way to approach someone in the street. Neither is ‘G’day’,
‘Howdy’ or ‘Hey Mister’. The British way to greet some one is ‘Good morning,
good afternoon or good evening’ and, if you want to ask something, ‘Excuse
me’. The use of language is extremely important to Britain’s class structure.
Some educated English people, regardless or their class origin, strive to free
themselves of regional or local accents in order to sound like educated English-
speaking people. Some people in England regard regional accents and slang as
substandard. On the other hand, many local people such as Cockneys in East
London and people in northern England, enjoy their particular way of speaking,
regarding it as warmer and friendlier than standard English. Scottish people
appreciate the Scottish accent so much they insist the BBC carry programs with
Scottish- accented speakers.
Religions
Religion has always played an important parti n life in Britan though prhaps
less today than in the past. The people are overwhelmingly Christian but this
religion is divided into tow branches
Romance Catholic and Protestant (Church of England) in the last half of the
20th century, there has been an increase in other faiths (Religions)
E’g. Islams, Hindus
C. Comprehension Check
Task 1: Read the text and work in groups to answer the following questions
1. What is family life like in Britain now?
2. Why has the British family size decreasing in the recent years?
3. What is a class?
4. What is status?
19
5. How many social classes are there in Britain now?
6. Who are upper classes? Who are middle classes? Who are working
classes?
Task 2: Choose the best answer for each question below
1. Who are the ancestors of the English?
A. The Germanic Angles and Saxons
B. The French
C. The German
D. The Vikings
2. Who are the ancestors of the Welsh?
A. The Germanic Angles and Saxons
B. The French
C. The German
D. The ancient Britons
3. What makes the Scottish, Welsh, English and Northern Irish different
from each other?
A. Their different ancestors
B. Their different enemy
C. Their different ways of living
D. Their different belief
4. Who are the ancestors of the British?
A. The The Germanic Angles and Saxons
B. The French
C. The Vikings
D. The Celts, the Germanic Angles and Saxons, the Vikings and the
Norman.
5. Who are the British today?
A. The mixed people of all invaders and immigrants
B. The French
C. The Germanic Angles and Saxons
D. The ancient Britons
Task 3: Discuss the following questions
1.
2.
Why the British are not the English?
Are most Welsh and Scottish people happy to form part of the U.K? Why
or why not?
3.
4.
Why has Britain become a multiracial country?
Does there exist a racial discrimination in Britain? What are the British
doing for this problem?
5.
6.
How does the multi- racial society (community) affect British culture?
What is the main religion of the British? Can you make the differences
between Roman Catholic and Protestant?
7. How many languages are there in Britain today?
20
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