Speaking Club Pre-intermediate – Advanced (90 mins)
Culture Clashes
1. Warm Up (10 mins): greet the students and ask them about their day. Ask around the
class who has been abroad? Where have they been to? Have they noticed any cultural
differences? Do they know any differences from movies or books?
Ask students to name nationalities derived from these countries:
Vietman – Vietnamese, Poland – Polish, Greece – Greek, Italy – Italian, The USA –
American, Germany – German, Korea – Korean, China – Chinese, etc
Say whether you have experienced any challenges or misunderstandings in cross-cultural
interactions related to the points below.
BODY LANGUAGE, DRESS CODE, PERSONAL SPACE, POLITENESS
2. Agree or Disagree (10-15 mins)
Read different opinions, say which one you agree with the most and explain why.
• To succeed in a global business world, it’s crucial to understand and identify typical
behaviours and norms in different cultures in order to avoid misunderstandings.
• Assuming people’s beliefs and behaviours just because of where they come from can lead
to stereotyping and oversimplification, which can hinder effective business communication.
• Culture shapes how we perceive the world and how we behave, even if we are not aware
of it. So, it’s not enough to be aware of someone’s cultural background; you also need to
know yours in order to enhance cross-cultural business communication.
• Culture doesn’t have as much of an impact on business dynamics in comparison to each
individual’s life experiences or biological factors.
3. Watch the video about greetings in different countries (10 mins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekHpCUwXX_M
Which example have you remembers? Have you seen them before?
4.Traditional Clothes around the world (15 mins)
Look at the pictures on the screen ( file attached) what are different nationalities wearing as
their traditional clothes? What do Ukrainian people wear and why?
Students describe the most interesting clothes and then play a memory game by asking
questions
What do Japanese women wear? What do Scottish men wear, etc
5 Good and Bad manners (10-15 mins)
Read these sentences one by one and ask students to comment if they think this manners are
acceptable or unacceptable in the UK.
In the UK ...
1. ... do stand in a queue when you wait for a bus or to pay for something in a shop.
2. ... don't spit on the street.
3. ... do burp loudly after a meal.
4. ... don't apologise if you bump into somebody on the street.
5. ... do say 'please' and 'thank you' at every opportunity.
6. ... don't cover your mouth when you yawn or sneeze.
7. ... don't greet people with two kisses.
8. ... don't pick your nose in public.
Then ask students to work in groups and make a list of good and bad manners people have in
Ukraine, share with the class.
6. Online Etiquette (15 mins) With all the online social networks and our society becoming
more and more technologically dependent, manners for our cyber world are even more
important and are constantly evolving.
We should mind our manners when
Emailing people, Texting people, during zoom conferences, online meetings etc
Watch the video and do the tasks, after watching the video discuss if you agree with the tips
https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-video-lessons/vocabulary-practice/general-
vocabulary-practice/computers-and-technology/netiquette-explained-how-to-be-polite-on-
the-internet/198766
7. Very strange traditions around the world (15 mins)
Cut the cards separately, students take 1 card, read it, then walk around the share their
tradition with other students. Then discuss each tradition together and choose the strangest
one.
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in Austria, Czech Republic, and Romania, the hideous beast Krampus, accompanies Saint
Nicholas and punishes naughty children on the streets during Christmas.
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in Japan, there is a rule that when a company is firing an employee, it has to pay a huge
compensation package to them, so they become helpless and have to beg.
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In Germany relatives of both the bride and groom gather together at one place before the
wedding and break things such as vases and dining sets. However, there is no breaking of
glasses.
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in South Korea, red pen is used to write the names of dead people.
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In Brazil people brush their teeth at work. Do not be surprised if you come across a random
Brazilian who brushes their teeth multiple times at work. Even the restaurants have
mouthwashes for their customers.
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In Mexico the birthday girl or boy will have their hands tied behind their back and when
they go to take the first bite of cake, they will have their face pushed right into it whilst the
rest of the party guests shout “Mordida! Mordida! Mordida!”, the Spanish word for ‘take a
bite’. It’s particularly important to note here that Mexican cakes are pretty creamy, which
can make quite a mess.
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8 Culture Jeopardy (15 mins) divide students in two teams, each team picks a category and
the difficulty of question, if answered correctly they get the points.
https://jeopardylabs.com/play/cultures104
Grade the students and end the class, give EDC money (2 max per person)
