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GEOGRAPHIC,
HISTORIC
AND
CULTURAL
BACKGROUND
OF
THE
ENGLISH
1. - Introduction
2. Geographic, historic and cultural background of the English speaking
countries.
2.1. - English as a Lingua Franca.
2.1. - United Kingdom of Great Britain.
2.1.1. - Geographic background.
2.1.2. - Historic background.
2.1.3. - Cultural background.
2.2. - United States of America.
2.2.1. - Geographic background.
2.2.2. - Historic background.
2.2.3. - Cultural background.
2.3. - Canada.
2.4. - Australia.
2.5. - Republic of Ireland.
2.6. - New Zealand.
2.7. - Caribbean.
2.8. - South Africa.
4. - Conclusion.
5. - Bibliography.
1. - INTRODUCCION
Nowadays, there are nearly 500 million native speakers of English spread
all over the world which gives us a good idea of how important the language
is. Indeed, geographically English is the most widespread language in the
world and it is second in terms of number of speakers after Mandarin
Chinese.
For economic and trading reasons, English is used every day by millions of
non- native speakers in order to buy and sell products, and not only this,
Politics is spoken in English. In this sense, we can state that English has
become a lingua franca since many people use it in order to communicate
with other people who do not speak their own language.
For example, English is an official language in the following countries:
India, Pakistan.
The majority of English speaking countries are those that during or prior to
the 19 th century were part of the Great Britain Colonial Empire.
At the moment, English is used in business and trading, and it is one of the
official languages of UN. In many Western countries, English is spoken by
nearly half the population, especially in the Scandinavian countries and
Holland, because the importance of their own languages is very small by
comparison to English.
We are living in a new international context known as the knowledge
society in which speaking foreign languages is a widely accepted need all
2
over the world. There are different reasons to support this statement:
learning a tool to access knowledge, development of open minded attitudes,
development of learning skills, enjoyment, opportunities to find a better
job, etc. All these reasons are enough to follow the European Union
recommendation to speak two foreign languages: a language used as an
international means of communication, English, and one of the languages of
a nearby country, for example Portuguese, French, Italian or Arabic in our
case. As a matter of fact, some European countries, for example Finland,
bilingual education is a reality. In Spain it is one of the new educational
goals proposed by different political parties. In Andalusia, the Plurilingual
Plan is becoming a reality.
According to the Andalusian Educational Act, (Act 17/2007, 10 th of
December) a communicative approach should be implemented in the
teaching learning processes that take place in the Andalusian educational
centres, and in order to do it, not only the foreign language but the culture
it transmits have to be approached in the EFL classroom. Language is
considered the natural means of communication among human beings. It is
through the knowledge of a language that we can learn about other cultures
and countries. Language and culture are closely related as the first is the
reflection of the second one, and culture could not exist without the
language that represents it.
language (J. Harmer, 2001, p.1). English has become one of them, the most
important one, due to different factors: historical, economic, etc...
CAPITAL
LANGUAGE(S)
S.PATRO
Y
England
Scotland
N
St. George
and St.
London
Edinburg
English
English
Wales
N.
h
Cardiff
Belfast
Scottish
Andrew
English and Welsh St. David
English and Irish
St. Patrick
Ireland
FLOWER
Tudor rose
Thistle
Leek/Daffodil
Shamrock/Fla
x
The United Kingdom is divided into three main geographical areas: The
Highlands (Scotland and the North of England), the Midlands (valleys and
plains) and the Lowlands (the south of the territory).
It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English
Channel, the Celtic Sea, and the Irish Sea, as well as by the Republic of
Ireland to the south of Ireland. It is a quite flat country with no high
mountains (the Pennines and the Cambrian Mountains). The most important
rivers are the Thames, Humber, Tees, Severn and Wye. As far as economy
is concerned, mineral resources such as iron, coal and oil, have been very
influential in British history. Based on market exchange rates, the UK is
the second largest economy in Europe, after Germany, and the fifth in the
world. Chemical and pharmaceutical industries are also as well as the
financial services and tourism from the service sector.
The main industrial a commercial areas are the great conurbations, where
about one third of the countrys population lives. The administrative and
financial centre and most important port is Greater London, which also has
various manufacturing industries. London is Europes foremost financial
city. Metal goods, vehicles, aircraft synthetic fibres and electronic
equipment are made in the West Midlands conurbation, which with the
addition of Coventry roughly corresponds to the former metropolitan
county of West Midlands. The industrial Black Country and the city of
Birmingham are in the West Midlands. Greater Manchester has cotton and
synthetic textiles, coal and chemical industries. Leeds, Bradford and the
neighbouring metropolitan districts are Britains main centre of woollen,
worsted and other textile production.
After the Danish invasion, the most significant event was the Norman
Conquest in 1066, which gave birth to a new civilization, including a new
language with a lot of Latin influence. William I introduced Norman style
political and military feudalism. The Normans were of German origin and
brought the Gothic art to the island, which was going to have such an
important role in the English history of Art.
5
In the 19th century it was the biggest empire in the world. Due to the
Industrial Revolution, England became the biggest exporter of cloth,
machine and other products.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, many of the old British colonies
achieved their independence. The UK took part in the First and the Second
World Wars and its predominant role was darkened by other economical
empires. In the mean-while, it has established a leading and close union with
Europe. The end of the 20th century saw major changes to its governance
with the establishment of devolved national administrations for N. Ireland,
Scotland, and Wales.
In the elections of May, 1.997, Labour won 418 seats in the House of
Commons and Tony Blair became Prime Minister, the same year Princess
Diane, the former wife of Prince Charles was killed in a car accident in
Paris.
Following the devastating September 2.001 terrorist attack in the USA,
the British government became the most visible international supporter of
the Bush administration in its war on terrorism. The British forces joined
the Americans in launching attack against Afghanistan after the Taliban
government refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden.
The Blair government was, and is, a strong supporter of the USAs position
in the invasion of Iraq, that began in March 2.003.
British people have a strong civil sense and participate in public issues since
childhood. There are thousands of registered volunteer organizations,
which depend on their individuals time, money and skill.
there has been extraordinary theatre actors born in the UK. On the other
hand, philosophers and musicians have also taken a part in the history of
the British culture.
In Britain children go to school from age five to 16. they spend six years in
Primary School and then they go to Secondary School. In Britain, like the
USA, there are State Schools which are free and Private Schools which are
paying.
Core Subjects.
Foundation Subjects.
Basic Curriculum.
Students who study for two years, from 14 to 16 obtain the General
Certificate of Secondary Education, consisting of five core exams
and with the option to sit further exams.
Sport is another shared value by the British. Britain was the first country
to organise sport as a national activity in the 19 th century. Football, tennis,
golf or cricket are some of the games exported by the British. The most
popular sport in the UK is soccer, usually referred to as just football.
The most well known festivals celebrated in Great Britain are these:
Christmas
The Senate and the House of Representatives together form the Congress,
which is the law- making body, and no federal taxes can be collected or
money spent without the approval of both Houses. The President signs the
laws. If he refuses, his veto can be overridden by a two thirds majority in
both Houses.
The head of State and government is Barack Hussein Obama. born August
4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the
first African American to hold the office. Obama was the junior United
States Senator from Illinois from 2005 until he resigned following his
2008 election to the presidency. He was inagurated as President on
January 20, 2009
The capital city is Washington D.C. and the monetary unit is the dollar.
10
that live in the USA. The population of the US has always been
characterized by its ethnic and racial diversity.
The USA is formed by 50 states and the capital city is Washington. It is a
federal constitutional republic. Throughout its history, the USA has had only
two major parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. On the other hand, the
chief of the executive is the President of the USA, elected to a four year term.
B. Obama was elected as the 44th president in 2008, the first Afro-American to
be in the White House.
the USA that some artistic movements took place since the Naturalism of the
Hudson River School in the mid of the 19 th century to the abstract
expressionism. In addition, the new technologies basically created and developed
in the US, their web portals, the web engines, the e-mailing, Blogs and etcetera
are promoting a further proximity among humans all over the world.
Since the late nineteenth century, baseball has been regarded as the
national sport. American football, basketball and ice-hockey are the
country's three other leading professional team sports. Boxing and
horse racing were once the most watched individual sports, but they have
been eclipsed by golf and auto racing, particularly NASCAR. Soccer is
played widely at the youth and amateur levels and is growing in popularity as
a professional spectator sport. Tennis and many outdoor sports are popular
as well.
13
Aged 14- 16. Four years of High School of which two are spend in
Junior High School, and known as grades 9- 10.
Aged 16- 18, the last two are spent in Senior High School, known as
grades 11- 12.
3.3. - Canada.
Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America. It was a
British colony until 1931 that it received the independence. Today is a
federal democracy with bicameral parliament: The Senate and the House of
Commons. The constitutional head is the sovereign of the United Kingdom.
In the latter part of the 20th century an increased immigration from
Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia, added to the culture of native
Indians and Inuit, has made Canada more broadly multicultural. French and
English are spoken in different areas with an important bilingual population.
3.4. - Australia
Australia is the sixth largest country on Earth, but with a small population.
The official language is English. Australia is the largest wool producer and a
major supplier of cereals, dairy products, sugar, fruit and cotton. It has
many mineral resources and an important forest industry. Until the World
War II almost all immigrants came to Australia from the British Isles. The
aborigines represent a minority of the population.
14
3.7. - Caribbean.
The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most
of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located
southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. These islands were called the West
Indies because when Christopher Columbus landed here in 1492 believed
that he had reached the Indies (in Asia). After contact, war and disease
led to a decline in the Native American population.
3.8. - South-Africa.
Officially Republic of South Africa, it is the southernmost country on the
African Continent. English and Afrikaans are the official languages, though
the most predominant is English. The population is heterogeneous, there
are white, black, half-caste (black and Afrikaners) and Asiatic people.
Although it has the most unknown and worse economic situation, is one of
the richest in cultures, tradition and nature.
The student must realise that he/ she himself/herself is a cultural being.
Once the student recognizes that people are a product of their own culture
he will be better prepared to accept the behaviour of people from other
cultures without value judgements.
Along with the acceptance of people comes the acceptance of the language.
What, we, the teachers, need to achieve is a perspective of how language
and culture are related and knowing how to communicate this in the English
classroom.
The general aim in Primary Education, as far as socio- cultural contents, is
concerned is to get our pupils to show an understanding attitude towards
and respect for the English language, its speakers and their culture.
flashcards,
word
cards,
picture
cards,
realia,
flipcharts,
videos or DVDs,
17
Besides, the Royal Decree 1513 and the Order of 10 th of August, we can
show students the sociocultural aspects by means of the fourth block of
contents. It is called: Intercultural understanding and sociocultural
features. These contents are developed taking into account:
Promoting tolerance.
All these of contents are related to the eight basic competences that Real
Decree 1513 establishes (y las nombrais). In order to improve our students
skills we, as English teachers, develop activities as these:
Pen pals.
Role- play.
Classroom decorations.
Films.
Celebrations.
Books.
Recipes.
Postcards.
Magazines.
Folklore.
Historical aspects.
5. CONCLUSION.
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8. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
19