Essential English
General English
Topic:
Most popular holidays around the world
Objectives:
Becoming aware of various cultures and holiday
traditions
Vocabulary related to holidays
What do you think is there in the picture?
Let’s talk about holidays.
What popular holidays around the world do you know?
Are you familiar with these holidays? Where are they
celebrated?
Chinese New Year
Valentine’s Day
St Patrick’s Day
Holi
Easter
Midsummer
Ramadan
Day of the Dead
Hanukkah
Christmas
Oktoberfest
Play taboo with your partner: describe how the holiday is
celebrated and let your partner guess what you’re talking
about.
● What holidays do you really look forward to?
● Are there holidays in other countries or religions that
you wish were also celebrated in your country?
● Are there enough holidays in your country for which
workers get the day or days off?
● What do you think is the most overrated holiday?
● Are there any special occasions or anniversaries you
think deserve to be a public holiday but are not?
● Do you usually need a holiday after your holiday?
● Is it better to stay at home on holidays or go
somewhere?
● What holiday food do you like?
● Do you think holidays are too commercialized?
● What’s it like moving around your country during
holiday time?
● Do you think there should be a world holiday for
everyone on Earth to celebrate together?
Do you know any weird holidays around the world? Why
do they seem weird to you?
Watch the video called “10 Strangest Holidays Around The
World”
Which of these events would you like to see one day?
Which of these events would rather NOT participate in?
Which of these events could NOT take place in your
country? Why?
★ What has surprised you when you've met people from
other countries?
★ Are there many people of different cultures in your
country? Are you friends with any?
★ What other cultures have you met people from?
★ Have you ever felt confused by the actions of
someone from another culture?
★ Would you ever consider marrying or dating
someone from another culture?
★ If a group of people just came to your country from
overseas, what advice would you give them?
★ Do you think "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" is
always good advice? Why or why not?
● What is cultural awareness?
● What does having cultural awareness involve?
● Why is it important to know cultural differences?
● How do you show cultural awareness?
When interacting with individuals from other cultures,
backgrounds, and environments, people need to be aware
that there are different interpretations of words and
actions. Understanding what these differences are is so
important in both our personal lives and in the workplace.
Here are some example styles to consider. Imagine you
find yourself in situations like this. What might have you
done wrong? What should be done now? Even if you don’t
know the answers exactly, try to give ideas about what to
do right away, as if the situation was taking place at the
moment.
1. You visit your Japanese supplier and you meet their
new product manager. The interpreter introduces
the two of you. You go to shake the manager’s hand
but they hesitate, looking confused. Why would
someone from Japan not shake your hand? What
should you have done instead?
2. You are emailing the marketing manager located
in the corporation’s Swiss business unit. Should you
get straight to the point in your email, or should you
add pleasantries before you get to your
business-related questions? Explain your answer.
3. You work in the oil and gas industry and you are
creating a partnership located in the Middle East. As
a woman, you ask your boss if there are any cultural
idiosyncrasies you should be aware of when
interacting with employees of the other company.
Your boss tells you to remember not to shake
anyone’s hand from the other organization. Why
would your boss tell you this?
4. You meet with a supplier in Mexico. Before you get
the chance to visit their corporate office, you receive
an invitation to dinner with some of the supplier’s
executives. At this dinner, should you discuss
business, deals, contracts, and other professional
matters? Why or why not?
5. You find yourself in a situation where you offended
a customer in Turkey. You used a gesture that, in
your culture, means “okay” or “sounds good”. What
does this type of gesture mean in Turkey? Should
you make hand gestures when traveling?
In today’s highly competitive business environment, it’s
more important than ever before to invest in your
workforce and facilitate diversity. It goes without saying
that to maintain a competitive advantage over other
firms, attracting and retaining talent is absolutely crucial.
In today’s world, that means creating a culture of
inclusion, respect and understanding from the top down.
Look at the tips for an inclusive culture in the workplace.
If you were a manager, which of this would you do / NOT
do to maintain an inclusive culture in your office? How
would you do it?
● Take an interest in your colleagues holiday plans
and make them feel welcome to share.
● Be sure company-wide guidelines are open to all
religions and backgrounds, like dress code.
● Offer a prayer or meditation space.
● Include vegetarian options in all food offerings as
many religions have strict diets.
● Schedule important meetings, events, and parties on
days that do not interfere with any major religious
holidays across cultures.
● Host a seminar or workshop on diversity and
inclusivity.
● Offer floating holidays as part of paid holiday policy.
"78% of the top fifty most diverse companies in the
US reported having floating religious holidays."
● In a more regimented environment, encourage
voluntary shift switches..
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvV3vxEOgbM&ab_ch
annel=Countdownw%2FFresh
https://img.fresherslive.com/latestnews/images/articles/o
rigin/2021/10/21/most-celebrated-holidays-in-the-world-617
0df1adb56b-1634787098.jpg
https://esldiscussions.com/h/holidays.html
https://dayofthedead.holiday/mexican-culture/top-mexic
an-holidays
https://redshoemovement.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/
10/letsbuildnebraska.blogspot.com_.png
https://etactics.com/blog/cultural-awareness-quizzes#pr
oblem-solving-questions
https://imageio.forbes.com/blogs-images/jasondownes1/fi
les/2019/02/adult-cellphone-cheerful-1530313-1200x800.jpg
?fit=bounds&format=jpg&width=960
https://robinpowered.com/blog/celebrating-diversity-wor
kplace
https://mlsvc01-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/c9ee1637301/dc7
d6f8a-ef80-465f-9587-1d8fe9bd85c6.jpg?ver=1535726610000
