British Culture Lesson

Many of my students here in China are going to study in the U.K. next year, and they really want to learn about British culture. Most Chinese don’t know much about Western culture except what they see on TV and in movies, and those things are surprisingly difficult to put into context.

With this PPT, I give a one hour lecture on British culture. I believe strongly in getting students to talk, and so it includes some discussion questions. It is useful to know what they do and don’t understand before teaching a certain part of the topic.

Of course, this PPT doesn’t contain completely 100% accurate information, but you can address that while speaking. For example, at one point I mention how people aspire to be gentlemen… You will want to do as I did and say that not all British men are gentlemen! But of course, the point is that manners are a big part of our culture.

I’m from the U.K. and so I can talk pretty much endlessly on this topic without preparation. If you’re from another country and hope to teach British culture to your students, you will need to do a lot of prep work beforehand.