TEMA 5

Oposiciones al cuerpo de maestros: especialidad Lengua Extranjera (Ingls).

Comunidad Autnoma: CASTILLA Y LEN.

Geographical, Historical and Cultural Overview of the English Speaking Countries.

Didactic Applications of the most Relevant Geographical, Historical 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 20th 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 Orden EDU/
519/2014 in its 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.
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.

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 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
Commonwealth and the European Union. Its capital is London and its currency the
sterling pound.

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 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 50s 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
things by themselves. There are national exams, called SATS, that test the students

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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 5th century. In the 8th
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
of the kings was increased, until King John was forced to sign the Carta Magna ,an
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important symbol of political freedom. The beginnings of the Parliament are found
in the reign of Henry III, (Johns son).
Afterwards, the Hundred Years War fought between England and France had
a devastating effect on the English economy, and led to the peasants revolt.
After the War of the Roses (15th 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 daughters, 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 worlds third biggest country in the world
by land area, after Russia and Canada. USAs 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, Thanksgivings Day, Presidents Day or the
Independence Day among others.
Lets 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 4th 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 6th 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 firstterritorial claimwas 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 worlds 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,
Presidents Day or any other that can help you grow the students 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 cultureIf 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 Orgnica para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa (LOMCE) 8/2013
de 9 de diciembre.
Orden EDU/519/2014 de June 17th that establishes the curriculum in
Castilla y Len.
Bibliography:
Crystal, D, The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of English Language,
Cambridge University Press 1997.
Crystal, D, English as a global language, Cambridge University Press
(1997)

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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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-education-
activities

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, Presidents Day, Royal Wedding, popular rhymes,
chants.

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.

RECURSOS ONLINE

British history

o http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/

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 o https://www.thebritishhistorypodcast.com

The United States of America

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

http://www.usahistory.info

New Zealand.

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

The Hakka dance

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

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

Canada.

http://www.canadahistory.com

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

Australia

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

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

SOME MOTIVATION

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