TEMA 5 Maestros Ingles Asturias

TEMA 5 Oposiciones al cuerpo de maestros: especialidad Lengua Extranjera (Inglés). Comunidad Autónoma: ASTURIAS Geographical, Historical and Cultural Overview of the English Speaking Countries. Didactic Applications Applications of the most Relevant Geographical, Geographical, Historical and and Cultural Aspects .

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I am going to start by exposing the general guideline of the topic of my choice that I will later explain into more detail. 1.Introduction. a. English in the world. b. Relation to legislation. 2. Geographical, Historical and Cultural Overview of the English Speaking Countries. 2.1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 2.2 The United States of America. 2.3 Australia. 2.4 New Zealand. 2.5 Canada. 3. Didactic Applications of the Most Relevant Geographical, Historical and Cultural Aspects. 4. Conclusion. 5. Epilogue: Legal References, Bibliography, Websites. 6 Appendix.

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1.INTRODUCTION. a. English in the world. English is considered nowadays lingua franca. It is the language in which nations carry out their economics, political, technological, academic and cultural transactions. At present day, English is the official foreign language to be learnt at the Primary Education stage in the Spanish curriculum. It is the dominant official language in over 60 countries, it is present in every continent and is the “official” language for trade and business, especially due, as David Crystal mentions in his work “English as a global language” (1997), to the expansion of the British colonial power in the past and the emergence of the United States of America as the leading economic power of the 20 th century. Recent studies suggest that English is spoken as a first language by 402 million people approximately, and is used by more than 1.000 million non-native speakers. It is estimated that this number will continue growing at least up to 2018, when it is thought to will be learnt by 2.000 million people as a second language as the British Council suggests. b. Relation to legislation. According to the current educative law, LOMCE, we should teach not only language, but also culture, in order to be respectful and tolerant. The Decree 82/2014 in his objective “d” also talks about the importance of teaching culture when teaching a language. The reason for this is to understand our own culture and language in a better way, because as Johan Wolfgand Van Goethe said: “those who know no foreign language, know nothing of their mother tongue”.


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Besides England and USA, English is also the mother tongue in Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It is an official language in India and all the countries that once belonged to the Commonwealth as well. I will now draw a geographical, historical and cultural outline of the five most outstanding English-speaking countries: The UK, The USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, as it would be endless to talk about all the English speaking countries. 2. GEOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL OVERVIEW OF THE ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES. 2.1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is a member of the


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Commonwealth and the European Union. Its capital is London and its currency the sterling pound. The UK is a constitutional monarchy , with two legislative houses: The house of Lords, and the house of Commons. The chief of state is the sovereign (nowadays Elisabeth I), and the head of the government is the Prime Minister (nowadays David Cameron who has recently resigned in the summer of 2016 after the UK voted to leave the European Union) The UK has a varied geography, going from the mountainous Wales to the hilly Northern Ireland. As regards the people, the population in the UK has undergone several changes and from the 50´s on has increased a lot due to the inflow of people from Commonwealth countries, specially form India and Pakistan. Referring to language , the official one is English , although there are lots of different varieties and dialects (Ex. Yorkshire, Northumbrian...etc), in addition to other languages such us Welsh (spoken in Wales), and Gaelic (Spoken in Scotland). From a religious point of view , the UK is mainly ANGLICAN , and most people belong to the church of England, although they coexist with Catholics, Muslims, Protestants, Jews and other religions. Education is compulsory from the age of 5, and the Educational system is quite similar to the Spanish one, with Nursery-schools from 3 to 5 years old, Primary from 5 to 11, and Secondary from 11 to 16. There are public schools, that are very exclusive and expensive, and totally private. And then, on the other hand, there are STATE schools. In opposition to what happens in Spain, there are not semiprivate schools. Children must wear a school uniform both in the public and state schools. They give lots of importance to music, creativity and learning through discovery. This way lessons are very experimental, and want the children to find out


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things by themselves. There are national exams, called SATS, that test the students’ level in Maths, English and Science, and the results are published in national newspapers for the whole country to know the school standards. As regards culture , the cultural life in the UK is the English one, though Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland share that culture with their own traditions more related to the Celtic culture than to the English one. It is a very traditional country talking about celebrations and ceremonies (like for example a wedding, a funeral or a Christmas meal). In reference to sports , the national sports are football, rugby and cricket. They are very supportive with their teams. Manchester United or Liverpool are two famous football teams. It is also very important the pub culture, a place where friends can have a drink and chat. After 1945, some important changes took place in the UK, especially due to the emergence of Liverpool and London in the 60s as centres of world popular culture in terms of music (the Beatles or the Rolling Stones for example), fashion, and the hippy movement (with Carnaby Street as a good example) Focusing in history , it is important to point out that England has suffered a great number of invasions. Stonehenge remains are an excellent representation of the earliest inhabitants of Britain, the Celtic people. Then, the Romans invaded Britain in 55BC, imposing their way of life, language and political organization, until the invasions of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in the 5 th century. In the 8 th century Britain was invaded again, this time by the Vikings who built walled settlements called burghs, nowadays usually spelt “borough”, which is one of the commonest endings to place names, like for example “Edinburgh”. Later on, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Normans whose leader was William the Conqueror, introduced their Feudal system, in which the absolute power


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of the kings was increased, until King John was forced to sign the Carta Magna ,an important symbol of political freedom. The beginnings of the Parliament are found in the reign of Henry III, (John´s son). Afterwards, the Hundred Years´ War fought between England and France had a devastating effect on the English economy, and led to the peasant´s revolt. After the War of the Roses (15 th century) where the house of Lancaster and the house of York fought for the English throne, the Tudors became the ruling family of the country. As a symbol of the unity between the houses of York and Lancaster, we have the Tudor Rose. The most outstanding Tudor was Henry VIII , who established the Church of England with the act of supremacy (1534) by means of which England would not obey the Roman Pope anymore. Henry VIII daughter´s, Elisabeth I, was also very important, because she restored the unity of the country. Her reign is considered by historians as the Golden Age, with writers like Shakespeare and Spenser, and also because of the prosperity of the whole nation. The Stuarts’ James I and Charles II, convinced of the divine right of kings, ignored the parliament, and finally a Civil War took place in England (1642), until Charles II restored the monarchy in 1660. Next, in 1707, England and Scotland were united by means of the Act of Union. In this period, the Enlightment , many important changes in British history took place like the loss of American colonies or the Industrial Revolution. In 1914, Britain entered the First World War , as an ally of France and Russia, and then in 1939 the UK entered the Second World War. After the war, the Irish State became the Irish Republic and left the Commonwealth. In the 1973 the UK joined the European Union , though they do not have converged into the unique currency, the euro. This current year, 2016, after the Brexit Referendum , the British population has voted to get out of the European Union, still with lots of controversy.


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In 2001, following the September the 11 attacks on USA, Tony Blair offered a strong support to the campaign against international terrorism. Unfortunately, in July 2005 , there was a terrorist attack against London Public transport. Nowadays, Britain is ruled by the Conservative Party, with David Cameron as Prime Minister, and Queen Elizabeth II, as the chief of the State.

2.2 The United States of America


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The United States of America is a federal republic formed by 50 states, with two legislative houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Its capital is Washington DC and its currency the American dollar. Talking about geography , it is the world´s third biggest country in the world by land area, after Russia and Canada. USA´s geography is very varied, with very well-known places like the Great Plains, the Colorado river, the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains , the Great Lakes, the Niagara Falls, the Mississippi river or the Yosemite park among many others. As regards the people, most of the population was WASP (white Anglo-Saxon protestant) until 1860. Between this date and 1920, about 30 million immigrants arrived in the USA. Black people arrived in America as slaves. This is very important taking into account that nowadays the president of the United States of America, Barack Obama is a black man, which shows us how this country developed through the years. The most rapidly growing ethnic group is the Hispanics, who are even changing the language, using a mixture between Spanish and English that is called Spanglish. There are also about 2 million oriental Americans, mainly in California. Besides this, it is important to mention the existence of Indian tribes, especially in the west of the country, being the Navajo the most numerous one. In religious terms , about 55% of the population is protestant, about 30% Catholics and there are some Jews and Eastern Orthodox too. Talking about education , it is compulsory from the age of 5, and the same as the British educational system it is quite similar to the Spanish one. There are very few private schools, and most are state ones. Lots of money is invested in education. The American education system gives lots of importance to sports and learning through discovery. They follow what Albert Einstein quote “imagination is more important than knowledge”.


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With respect to culture, the USA has developed several distinctive types of music: jazz, blues, country and rock and roll. The USA has given birth to some of the most outstanding writers such us Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway or Arthur Miller. Talking about sports, the national sports are American football, baseball and basketball. They love practising sports and gathering together. It is very usual for Americans to go to barbeques and they are very traditional as regards some celebrations such us Christmas, Thanksgiving´s Day, President´s Day or the Independence Day among others. Let´s move now to American history. The Spaniards reached Florida in 1513 , though the British were the most successful, establishing their first settlement, Jamestown, in 1607. The country was under the British rule, until the 13 colonies in North America declared their independence on July 4 th 1776 , with George Washington as the first president of the United States of America. The issue of slavery , was creating problems between the industrialising north and the south plantations, until president Abraham Lincoln in 1860 advocated the prohibition of slavery, resulting in a Civil War. After the Civil War (1861-1865), the Americans developed a sense of union for the first time in their history. They had been fighting for many years and now they had to reunify and create a renewed identity. This is why they decided to recover the old symbols that had been a part of the American nation, such us the eagle, the Liberty Bell or the flag, and create new ones like the Statue of liberty as an icon of the United States of America. USA entered the World War I , resulting into a period of prosperity, that came to an end in 1929, with the Stock Crash. In 1941, the Japanese navy made its attack on Pearl Harbour (Hawaii) which made the USA enter the World War II. Finally, USA got involved into a Cold War with the Soviet Union (1947-1991), which took place after the World War II between capitalism and communism.


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Nowadays, the USA is one of the most influential countries in the world. It was been attacked on September 11, 2001 , by the Islamist terrorists. Barack Obama , the first African American president is trying to restore the vision of the Americans created by its precursor, George Bush as regards terrorism. 2.3 Australia.

Due to time restrictions, only the most outstanding aspects of Australia, Canada and New Zealand will be mentioned. Talking about Australia, it is the smallest continent but the 6 th largest country in the world. Its capital is Canberra and its currency is the Australian dollar. The history of Australia records that the first settlers were Aboriginals from Southeast Asia who arrived about 40,000 years ago. The first European explorations


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did not begin until the 17th century. The first territorial claim was made in 1770, by Captain James Cook, who took possession in the name of the British Empire. Australia became known for its liberal legislation : free compulsory education women's suffrage, maternity allowances, and sickness and old-age pensions. It is important to state that although nowadays Australia is ruled by Malcolm Turnbull , it has previously been ruled by a woman, Julia Gillard, who became the first female prime minister in Australia. 2.4 New Zealand.

The meaning of “New Zealand” in the native language, Maori, is “land of the long White cloud”. The capital city is Wellington . It became a British colony in 1840, and the United Kingdom parliament gave New Zealand freedom in 1931. Two cultures coexist in New Zealand: the Maori culture, and the British one. The Maori people often use the term “people of the land” to describe themselves in a way that refer to their relationship with the land. The Hakka is the most famous Maori dance. Nowadays it is performed by the all Blacks Team in order to symbolize their status in the world rugby. The Hakka has become a unique form of national expression.


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2.5 Canada.

Finally, the last English-speaking country that we will deal with is Canada. It is the world’s second biggest country , after Russia. The capital is Ottawa and the currency the Canadian dollar . The Canadian culture has been greatly influenced by immigration from all over the world. It is a multicultural country, where two languages coexist, French and English. We should look at Canada as a good example of bilingualism, since our governments are trying to promote bilingual sections in our schools. 3. DIDACTIC APPICATIONS OF THE MOST RELEVANT GEOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS. Before finishing the topic, it is important to highlight the didactic implications of the most relevant geographical, historical and cultural aspects. It is obvious that we should not expect such a detailed knowledge from our students. Referring to primary education, our general aim as far as socio-cultural competence is concerned is to get our pupils to show an understanding attitude towards the English language, its speakers and its culture.


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Many schools throughout the country are involved in cultural projects with other countries thanks to different programs such as Comenius or E-twinning among many others. These cultural exchanges are an excellent tool to establish the first contacts with people from other places and to use the language in context, developing an understanding and tolerant attitude towards other peoples and cultures. Furthermore, it is very interesting to include different cultural activities in our lessons like for example the so well-known Halloween, Christmas, Pancake Day, President´s Day or any other that can help you grow the student´s interest and awareness towards the foreign language and its speakers.

4. CONCLUSION. As a way of conclusion it is essential to mention that language cannot be separated from culture, and in our lessons we should have both present. Furthermore, learning a foreign language enriches the individual, and broadens his or her cultural life. Nelson Mandela himself said “if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart”. As Brooks points out in his book: “As language teachers, we must be interested in the study of culture…If we teach language without teaching at the same time the


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culture in which operates, we are teaching meaningless symbols or symbols to which the student attaches the wrong meaning”. 5. EPILOGUE: LEGAL REFERENCES, BIBLIOGRAPHY, WEBSITES These are the most relevant legal references that I have taken into account when elaborating this essay. •

Ley Orgánica para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa (LOMCE) 8/2013 de 9 de diciembre.

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Decree 82/2014 de 28 th August, that establishes the curriculum in Asturias.

Bibliography: •

Crystal, D, The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of English Language, Cambridge University Press 1997.

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Crystal, D, English as a global language, Cambridge University Press (1997)

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Macdowall D., “An llustrated History of Britain”, Longman (1996).

Websites visited: www.usa.gov www.davidcrystal.com www.pattytrimborn.com www.britishcouncil.co.uk www.teachingenglish.co.uk www.canada.ca www.govt.nz www.australia.gov.au/ www.preparadoresdeoposicionesmaestros.com


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www.elpupitredepilu.com Before finishing with my topic I would like to thank you all for your attention and wish you a wonderful day/ afternoon. 6. APPENDIX •

CULTURAL PROJECTS OR ACTIVITIES TO BE DONE WITH STUDENTS AT PRIMARY LEVEL: SOME EXAMPLES. !

http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/24727/multicultural-educationactivities

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www.teacherspayteachers.com o

You will have to freely register in this website in order to be able to download content. Check for activities related to any festivity : Halloween, President´s Day, Royal Wedding, popular rhymes, chants….

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https://www.google.es/#q=etwinning+projects You can open a free account and even design your own Project. There are many tutorials on how to do it and the MEC also organizes a couple of free oficial courses trhought the year. You can check for some examples of Projects on the same website.

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RECURSOS ONLINE !

British history o

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/ www.elpupitredepilu.com 633.812.348

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o

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https://www.thebritishhistorypodcast.com

The United States of America "

https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=dsH7Z_4osos&noredirect=1

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http://www.usahistory.info

New Zealand. "

http://www.newzealand.com/int/history/

The Hakka dance

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y

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http://www.lovenewzealand.net.nz/maori/

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http://www.canadahistory.com

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http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Canada.html

Canada.

Australia "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhY9PBceqYY

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http://www.australia.com/en/things-to-do/art-musicculture.htm

SOME MOTIVATION


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TEMA 5 Maestros Ingles Asturias

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