Cultural bridges

Task 1 Discuss questions with your partner

1. 
   Do you feel that people are usually polite? Provide some examples
   
2. 
   Are you sometimes confused about what to do in social situations? Give some examples.
   
3. 
   Look at the picture. What do you think is happening? How do you feel yourself in this situation?
   

Task 2 Read the statements and think about them. Give your points in the next column. Then work with your partner and ask his/her opinion about the statements. Write their opinions on the next column.

#	Social norms	Your point	Your partner’s point
1	At the dinner table, serve the adults first, then serve children
2	Eat slowly for good manners. Do not talk with food in your mouth
3	Do not speak in a language that others in your group do not understand
4	Do not interrupt while older people talking
5	A woman should start handshake with a man
6	Do not split in public places
7	Whispering in front of people is considered a bad manner
8	It is normal for people to come to parties late. Being late is OK in most cultures
9	The best idea is to be polite when someone is rude to you
10	Home is the best place to learn manners

Task 3 Read the information about politeness in different countries and think about Uzbek culture. How they are different from other cultures. Share your ideas with your partner.









Task 4 Read the following situation and choose the best answers to the questions. Sometimes more than one answer is possible.

Attending a party Donna was teaching English to a group of Japanese students at the language center in the US. It happened at the beginning of the course. She wanted to get to know her students better in an informal situation and invited her students to her house for a party. All students arrived at the party together at exactly 8:00 p.m. They seemed to enjoy the party: they danced, sang and ate most of the food. At about 10:00 p.m. one of the students said to the teacher , “I think, it is time for me to leave. Thank you very much for the party. Everything was delicious and we enjoyed them”. Then all the other students got up to go , and all left at the same time. Donna decided she would never invite them again. Why did all students leave together? They didn’t like late nights. There was no more food. They were doing what was normal for them. They had an invitation to another party. Why did Donna decide never to invite these students to her house again? She felt insulted, because they all left at once. They had eaten all the food. They stayed too late. They hadn’t brought her a present.

This activity is a variation on a technique described in Tomalin, B and Stempleski, S., Cultural awareness (Oxford University Press)