Video ACTIVITIES🎬 Values

Story summary

Olivia, a student, is making a video about American values by interviewing three international students: Hikaru (Japan), Ranbir (India), and Enku (Ethiopia).

Language summary

Grammar Present unreal conditional with unless, only if, and even if

Wishes and regrets

Vocabulary Forming antonyms with prefixes

Adjectives describing ethics and attitudes

Adjectives and nouns referring to personal values

Before you watch

A Which of the following behaviors do you think are typical of people from the United States?

Choose all that apply based on your opinion.

⬜ tend to be on time

⬜ tend to be late

⬜ don't express emotion

⬜ express emotion openly

⬜ value freedom for the individual

⬜ prefer to fit in with the group

⬜ embrace rebelliousness

⬜ respect the elderly

⬜ are obedient to family

⬜ believe people are equal

⬜ think fate is predetermined

⬜ believe people make their own fate

B Pair work Compare and discuss your answers for part A. Then select six behaviors you both agree typical of Americans. Share your opinions with the class and give reasons to support your choices.

While you watch

A Choose the six topics discussed in the video.

⬜ 1. friendships

⬜ 2. time

⬜ 3. food

⬜ 4. emotions

⬜ 5. individuality

⬜ 6. family/groups

⬜ 7. customs

⬜ 8. equality

⬜ 9. jobs

⬜ 10. rewards from hard work

B Who says each sentence? Write O for Olivia, H for Hikaru, R for Ranbir, or E for Enku.

Olivia, the U.S.

Hikaru, Japan

Ranbir, India

Enky, Ethiopia

___ 1. "Americans would think it disrespectful to be late unless they have a very good reason."

___ 2. "I often wish I could express my emotions with more freedom."

___ 3. "I wish I had a dollar for every time Americans talked about freedom."

___ 4. "But then I realized: It's not about the freedom to do illegal things, but the freedom to be an individual."

___ 5. "It's more about the family than the individual"

___ 6. "But it's more about the group - fitting in with people at work, for example."

___ 7. "If we had been better about it from the beginning, I think we could have avoided a lot of war and violence."

___ 8. "I can't imagine not choosing the life I want to lead."

C Choose the correct answers according to the information in the video.

1. If you were in __________ , you might not worry about being late.

a. Japan

b. the U.S.

c. Ethiopia

2. As an American, you might think of someone who is late as __________ .

a. insensitive

b. respectful

c. important

3. In __________, you would never yell at someone in public, even if you were very angry.

a. Japan

b. India

c. Ethiopia

4. A young woman in __________ would do what her family wants.

a. the U.S.

b. India

c. Ethiopia

5. Not everyone believes they can change their fate in __________ .

a. Olivia's family

b. the U.S.

c. Ethiopia

6. A very uniquely American idea is that if you __________ .

a. work hard, you can achieve whatever you want

b. are born into a certain lot in life, you can't change it

c. follow the path your parents choose, you will succeed

After you watch

A Make a list of the behaviors in Before you watch part A that are true about people in your culture.

B Pair work

Compare your choices for part A and review the behaviors again.

Which behaviors from part A do you agree are OK or normal in most cultures?

Which depend on the culture a person is from?

C Group work

Make lists of behaviors you think are generally acceptable or not acceptable in most cultures. Include at least three or four behaviors for each category.

PROJECT

Write the script

Make and share the video

Write the script

Write your own video about cultural differences.

Preview the activity you will work in small groups to make a video about cultural differences. You will write a script and take turns speaking and operating the cameras.

Brainstorm We are going to have groups brainstorming ideas about cultural differences. You may wish to focus on how you culture differs from others, how it compares to another culture, or the ideas about global values we discussed in After you watch. Decide if your group will film a group discussion or individuals speaking directly to the camera.

SAMPLE SCRIPT IDEA

Group discussion

Description: A small group discusses several topics about cultural differences
Points to discuss: (1) food customs, (2) customs when meeting or visiting someone, (3) family relations

Outline Make an outline of your scripts. You can use your own ideas or the following structure:

Introduce the idea of cultural differences.
Introduce topics and discuss differences. For example: (1) Food customs: table manners, eating out, preparing food; (2) Customs when meeting or visiting someone: introduce yourself, giving gifts, making friends; (3) Family relations: closeness of members, living situations, influence.
Summarize the discussion.

Write the script Write your scripts using your outlines. Read through your work and revise as needed. The discussion should be easy to follow and have good organization. If using individual interviews, the order of presentation should be easy to follow and the statements may need to relate to each other.

Check the script Groups rehearse their scrips.

Make and share the video

In the part of the activity you make and share your own video about cultural differences.

Plan the video Have in mind that you will take turns speaking and operating the camera. Alternatively, you can set up the camera so you can appear on-screen together to act out a situation.

Make the video Make your videos.

Share the video Upload your video to Google Drive, YouTube or any other place on the Internet. Then share the link to your video with the class.

DISCUSSION

Group discussion about the videos.

Which videos are the most interesting?

Which are most thought-provoking?

What types of cultural differences are mentioned most often?

Travel Tips W3

Google Sites

Report abuse