This week, the Thinking in English Community is talking about Culture & The UK in our conversation clubs!
What does “culture” really mean? Is it food, language, traditions, values, or behaviour? Culture affects how we think and communicate, but it can be difficult to define clearly, especially when we try to describe our own culture.
In this session, we’ll focus on culture in general and then look more closely at the UK. This conversation club is inspired by recent Thinking in English episodes on Moving to the UK and What is a Pub?.
Discussing culture will give us a chance to practise describing traditions, comparing countries, and sharing personal experiences in clear and confident English.
Here are 10 conversation questions to get you talking about culture and the UK!
The Thinking in English Conversation Club takes place every TUESDAY and THURSDAY at 12pm, 6pm, and 23pm UK time!
You can find more details on how to participate here!
Conversation Questions:
- What does the word culture mean to you?
- What are the main parts of a country’s culture? (Food? Language? Values? Behaviour?)
- Do you think people notice their own culture, or only other cultures?
- What comes to mind when you think of the UK?
- What stereotypes have you heard about British people?
- What aspects of British culture are most famous internationally?
- Do you think the UK has one culture, or many different cultures?
- What challenges might someone face when moving to the UK?
- Has globalisation made all “cultures” similar to each other?
- Make your own questions!
Vocabulary
- Values (Noun): Important ideas or principles that influence behaviour.
- Behaviour (Noun): The way a person acts in different situations.
- Stereotypes (Noun): Fixed and oversimplified ideas about a group of people.
- Aspects (Noun): Particular parts or features of something.
- Internationally (Adverb): In or between different countries around the world.
- Challenges (Noun): Difficulties or problems that require effort to deal with.
- Globalisation (Noun): The process by which countries become more connected through trade, communication, and culture.
- Notice (Verb): To become aware of something.
- Famous (Adjective): Known by many people.
- Similar (Adjective): Almost the same, but not exactly.
Resources
Conversation Club Times
12pm Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Tue/Thur at 12:00 GMT
- Mexico City, Mexico Tue/Thur at 06:00 CST
- Bogota, Colombia Tue/Thur at 07:00 COT
- Santiago, Chile Tue/Thur at 09:00 CLST
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Tue/Thur at 09:00 BRT
- Rome, Italy Tue/Thur at 13:00 CET
- Warsaw, Poland Tue/Thur at 13:00 CET
- Istanbul, Turkey Tue/Thur at 15:00 EEST
- Taipei, Taiwan Tue/Thur at 20:00 CST
- Tokyo, Japan Tue/Thur at 21:00 JST
18pm Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Tue/Thur at 18:00 GMT
- Mexico City, Mexico Tue/Thur at 12:00 CST
- Bogota, Colombia Tue/Thur at 13:00 COT
- Santiago, Chile Tue/Thur at 15:00 CLST
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Tue/Thur at 15:00 BRT
- Rome, Italy Tue/Thur at 19:00 CET
- Warsaw, Poland Tue/Thur at 19:00 CET
- Istanbul, Turkey Tue/Thur at 21:00 EEST
- Taipei, Taiwan Wed/Fri at 02:00 CST
- Tokyo, Japan Wed/Fri at 03:00 JST
23:00pm Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Wed/Fri at 23:00 GMT
- Mexico City, Mexico Tue/Thur at 17:00 CST
- Bogota, Colombia Tue/Thur at 18:00 COT
- Santiago, Chile Tue/Thur at 20:00 CLST
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Tue/Thur at 20:00 BRT
- Rome, Italy Wed/Fri at 00:00 CET
- Warsaw, Poland Wed, Wed/Fri at 00:00 CET
- Istanbul, Turkey Wed/Fri at 02:00 EEST
- Taipei, Taiwan Wed/Fri at 07:00 CST
- Tokyo, Japan Wed/Fri at 08:00 JST
Model Answers & Vocabulary
To help you prepare for the Thinking in English conversation club this week, I have created vocabulary lists and some model answers.
The model answers are split into intermediate, upper-intermediate, and advanced level responses. Hopefully this will give you an idea on the differences in quality between intermediate and advanced responses, and perhaps inspire your own answers to these questions!
B1 (Intermediate)
Model Answers
Vocabulary
B2 (Upper Intermediate)
Model Answers
Vocabulary
C1 (Advanced Level)
Model Answers
Vocabulary
See you all at this week’s conversation club!
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Further Questions?
