Country Studies Through Edutainment
The Aim – to test and deepen knowledge about the target culture
Objectives:
- To practice listening and speaking skills
- To develop motivation in target language learning
The rules:
– Students split up in two teams and think of the best name for their team.
– In turn they choose the category they like and the rank of the question (the easiest questions score 10 points, the most difficult ones – 50) It’s up to the teacher to decide what each question is worth in points depending on the level of English and students’ awareness of the target culture.
– After the choice is made, the box with the points is crossed out.
– Finally, all the points are added up within each team and the winners are announced.
| National Symbols | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| History | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Landmarks | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Celebrations | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Famous People | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
The USA.
| Category | q-n № | Question | Answer |
| National Symbols | 1 | What is the national bird of the USA? | The bald eagle |
| 2 | How many stripes and stars are there on the US flag? (The stars represent the number of states and the stripes represent the number of the first colonies) | 50 /13 | |
| 3 | Which country gave a gift to the US which became a symbol of Freedom? | France (the Statue of Liberty) | |
| 4 | What is the capital of the USA? (What does D.C. stand for?) | Washington, District of Columbia | |
| 5 | What is the national tree of the US? (This tree is also a national symbol of Britain) | Oak Tree | |
| History | 1 | What was the name of the ship that brought the first colonists to the New World? | The Mayflower |
| 2 | Who refused to give up her seat in 1955, in the section of the bus for the whites? | Rosa Parks | |
| 3 | What is the difficult period after the stock market crashed in 1929 called? | The Great Depression | |
| 4 | Was New York City once called New Amsterdam or New Netherland? | New Amsterdam | |
| 5 | What does the Liberty Bell have in common with the Tsar Cannon in Moscow? | Crack (it was rung on George Washington’s birthday and got a crack a few hours later) | |
| Landmarks | 1 | Which river carved the Grand Canyon? | The Colorado River |
| 2 | Which mountains stretch from Alaska to Mexico in the western part of the USA? | The Rocky Mountains | |
| 3 | Which is the largest state in the US and which country did they buy it from? | Alaska, from Russia | |
| 4 | What is one of America’s most famous “wild west” towns in Kansas? | Dodge City (famous sheriff Wyatt Earp) | |
| 5 | What do we call the area where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico meet? (Every room has it) | Four Corners | |
| Celebrations | 1 | What Festival is New Orleans known for? Is the city’s heritage mostly French, English or Spanish? | Mardi Gras, French (it is also known as fat Tuesday coming before the Lent) |
| 2 | What do children usually hunt at Easter? | Colored eggs | |
| 3 | The largest celebration of this day takes place on February, 2 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see this creature? What creature is it? What is the celebration called? | Groundhog, Groundhog Day | |
| 4 | Which fashion doll was born on March, 9, 1959? | Barbie | |
| 5 | When is Independence Day celebrated? From who? | July, 4, the UK | |
| Famous People | 1 | The image of which President can one see on the American dollar bill? | George Washington |
| 2 | What is the name of the first man to walk on themoon? | Neil Armstrong (July 21, 1969) | |
| 3 | Who is known for his “I have a dream” speech? | Martin Luther King Jr | |
| 4 | What is the name of an American Indian girl who helped the first settlers in Virginia? (the daughter of Chief Powhatan) | Pocahontas | |
| 5 | What’s the name of an outstanding jazz trumpeter and singer? | Louis Armstrong |
Thanks to University students, Yulia Melik-Pashaeva and Maxim Lvov, for the inspiration.