2 Culture Notes

The Longman Dictionary of English Language & Culture includes culture notes to help you
understand in more detail some particular cultural references. Using the cultural notes in
your dictionary, answer the following questions:

1) What is the stereotype of someone that comes from the East Coast of the USA?

2) What changes have taken place in the East End of London since the 1980s?

3) Graduates from the Ivy League tend to become successful, powerful people in US society. Which
professions do they often go into?

4) ID card and driver’s licences in the US both show certain details about the owner - what are these?

5) A hen is a female bird often kept for its eggs on a farm. Why can a woman often be referred to as a
mother hen?

6) Why was there a general strike in Britain in 1926?

7) Which European countries are thought of as having large number of British expatriates?
a) Spain and Portugal b) Spain and Italy c) Spain and Greece

8) Why have cults in the UK and US had arguments with the Governments?

9) Which age are people in the US and UK allowed to vote and get married? (their coming of age)
a) 18 b) 21 c) 16

10) How did the Burma shave advertisements work in the US?

11) Why are those in favour of anti-globalization against globalization?

12) What are the two well-known football teams in Liverpool. Liverpool and which other team?
a) Queens Park Rangers b) Crystal Palace c) Everton

13) What have some protestants who oppose women’s ordination done in protest?

14) Which vegetable is it joked about that you could turn into if you stay out until or after midnight?
a) swede b) squash c) pumpkin
15) A man who is tall and attractive, and enjoys all of the sexual attention he gets from the women he
teaches. Which person is this a stereotype of?
a) Swimming Instructor b) Social Studies Instructor c) Ski instructor

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Teacher’s Notes
2 Culture Notes
Time: 45 minutes - 1 hour

Lesson ideas:
As a quick warmer choose 4-5 of the cultural words that students will be looking up in the quiz and write them on the board -
eg: cults/East Coast of US/East End of London/Liverpool, and get students to write down any words they know associated with
these areas.

Students then do the quiz either in pairs or independently.

After students have done the quiz, get each student to think about their own countries:
- are there areas of their capital cities which have been regenerated and changed?
- do they have ID cards - what information is included?
- is there a ‘top’ league of universities?
- when can you vote/get married? When is it more common for people to get married/if at all?
- can they describe a stereotype of a particular type of person from their country
This is a writing activity for the students which they start to plan in class and finish off for homework (150-200 words)

Answers:

1) A man or woman who thinks he or she is more educated and more interested in art, literature, music etc than people who
live in other parts of the US. (p.434)
2) Many businesses and middle-class people have moved into parts of the East End, especially the Docklands which has
changed the character of the area. House prices have increased and many old buildings have been replaced by new ones
(p.434)
3) Law, politics and business (p.737)
4) Photograph, date of birth, height, weight, eye colour, hair colour, permanent address and signature (p.692)
5) Because she worries about her children and wants to know where they are (p.654)
6) Everyone stopped work in support of the men who worked in the coalmines (p.575)
7) c) Spain and Greece (p.476)
8) The cults have claimed they are churches and therefore should not pay taxes (p.335)
9) a) 18 (p.271)
10) Each billboard contained one sentence from an advertising slogan, and as people drove past them they eventually read the
whole slogan (p.177)
11) They believe it harms the environment and gives advantage to rich Western countries but is unfair to local people. (p.48)
12) c) Everton (p.816)
13) They have become Catholics where there are no women priests (p.986)
14) c) pumpkin (p.1119)
15) c) ski instructor (p. 1301)