Teaching Culture in the EFL Classroom

1. Teaching Culture
in the EFL
Practical Techniques
Classroom

2. Incorporating Culture in
the EFL Class.
• 1- When students travel to any country in the EnglishSpeaking world to learn English , they don’t only learn the
language but also they learn about the culture of the
people who speak it as a first language .
• 2- The cultural components in EFL class aim at raising
learners’ cultural awareness and engaging them
cognitively, behaviorally and affectively in culture
learning.

3. Cultural Aspect 1 :
Greeting
Greeting
• This activity you can
really do it with any level
and you can adapt it as
you see fit, but it's really
getting the students to
learn about greetings,
international greetings,
and then it leads into
American greetings and
how they can interact with
that.
Greeting
• http://www.youtube.com/watch

4. Cultural Aspect 2 :
Distance
• You can write some
tips from the clip’s
content here .
• http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?
v=7z32ZsruIPk

5. Cultural Aspect 3 :
Education
A typical school day
1- The students start arriving to the school’s playground from about 8:45
am. Most of the children walk from near by housing estates but some
travel to school by car.
2- The children wear a school uniform and carry their homework and
packed lunch in a school bag.
3- School begins at 8:55 am. The duty teacher blows a whistle and the
children line up in their class groups. They wait quietly for the teacher to
send them to their classrooms.
4- On arriving in their classrooms, the children empty their bags and put
their homework in the marking trays/boxes. They hang their bags and
coats on the pegs in the cloakrooms (each class has their own
cloakroom). The children then go back into their classrooms.

6. Cultural Aspect 4 : Money
British Currency
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=wnGIvhGqQ40
1 - The British currency is the pound sterling. The sign
for the pound is pound sign
2- GBP = Great British Pound sign
3- In England , they don’t use the Euro. Although a few
of the big shops will accept Euro, it is rarely used
across Britain.
4- Since decimalization in 1971 , the pound has been
divided into 100 pence.

7. Cultural Aspect 4 : Money
British Currency
• 5- The pound (pound sign) is made up of 100 pence
(p) exactly like the dollar is split into 100 cents.
The singular of pence is "penny". The symbol for the
penny is "p"; hence an amount such as 50p is often
pronounced "fifty pee" rather than "fifty pence".
4- Current coins are:
1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50
pence, 1 pound, and 2 pounds.
5- Current bank notes are:
• The 5 pound note, the 10 pound note, the 20 pound
note and the 50 pound note.

8. Cultural Aspect 5 :
Accents
Why is English spoken with different accents?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saDQ1xnUIa8
In Britain, every part of the country has its own way of speaking
English. People in Yorkshire sound very different to people in
Surrey; a Somerset accent is very different from any Scottish
accent and it's hard to believe that people from Birmingham are
speaking the same language as those from Cornwall. Most people
in Britain can guess where someone comes from by the way they
speak, either by their accent or by the words they use.
Identification of an accent can place the speaker in a general area of
Britain. Geordie, Scouse, and Cockney are well known dialects from
Tyneside, Liverpool and London respectively.
Today the 'home counties' accent is usually accepted as Standard
English. The home counties are the counties nearest to London .

9. Cultural Aspect 5 :
weather
•
•
•
•
•
1- It's true! British people often start a conversation with
strangers and friends by talking about the weather.
2- As weather is a neutral topic of conversation, it's usually
safe to use it to strike up a conversation – at the bus stop, in a
shop, or with a neighbor over the garden fence.
3- Although British people like to complain about bad weather,
they generally put a brave face on it.
4- If someone complains about too much rain, you might hear:
"Never mind – it's good for the garden.“
5- If someone complains that it's too hot, you could hear:
"At least my tomatoes will be happy."

10. Cultural Aspect 6:
Etiquette
•
•
• Acceptable
Behavior in
Which of the following social customs
England .
are similar or different to your country?
The English are said to be reserved in
• https://www.youtu
manners, dress and speech. We are famous
for our politeness, self-discipline and
be.com/watch?
especially for our sense of humour. Basic
v=rIN7BN3zeps
politeness (please, thank you, excuse me) is
expected.
• How to greet someone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMVJTs1UkBE
•
English people are quite reserved when
greeting one another. A greeting can be a
bright 'Hello' 'Hi' or 'Good morning', when you
arrive at work or at school.

11. Cultural Aspect 6:
Etiquette
Visiting people in their houses
When being entertained at someone's home it is nice
to take a gift for the host and hostess. A bunch of
flowers or chocolates are all acceptable.
DOs and DON'TS in Britain
In Britain...
Do stand in line:
In England people like to form orderly queues (standing in line)
and wait patiently for your turn e.g. boarding a bus. It is usual to
queue when required, and expected that you will take your correct
turn and not push in front. 'Queue jumping' is frowned upon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezwu9XP1MmA

12. Cultural Aspect 6:
Etiquette
Do say "Excuse Me":
If someone is blocking your way and you would like
them to move, say “ excuse me “ and they will move
out of your way.
Do say "Please" and "Thank you":
It is very good manners to say "please" and "thank you". It
is considered rude if you don't. You will notice in England
that we say 'thank you' a lot.
Do Shake Hands
Do Smile:
•A smiling face is a welcoming face.

13. Cultural Aspect 6:
Etiquette
In Britain...
Don’t
Do not greet people with a kiss:
We only kiss people who are close friends and relatives.
Avoid talking loudly in public
It is impolite to stare at anyone in public.
Do not ask a lady her age
It is considered impolite to ask a lady her age .
Avoid doing gestures such as backslapping and
hugging
This is only done among close friends.