Powerful culture based Ingredients to Step Up for success in ELT

“Powerful culture based Ingredients to Step Up for success in ELT” by

Dilorom Hushvaktova- ELT, Chirchik, School N 20

Once upon a time there lived a group of people called Amish…

   Amish community

What does this sign mean? You think: “Watch out for horses and buggies on the road” Suddenly you look at coming towards you two black horse- drawn buggies. You surprise thinking: “ What’s going on, Are they making movie about 18th century America?, Why do people inside look like old fashioned? “ Next, things are even more stranger: alongside of the road of North America you can see men with long beards dressed up black coat, women dressed in a curiously ancient fashion, farm houses with lots of horse buggies… Is it real or tale?

Amish community

•Who are Amish people?•Where do they live?•Where do Amish people live and work in their community?•What do you know about their life style?

WORDSAMISH IS PRONOUNCED "AR-MISH"  BUGGY: SMALL CARRIAGE APRON – A PIECE OF CLOTHING WORN OVER THE FRONT OF THE BODYPRAYER CAP- A PIECE OF CLOTHING WORN ON HEADSTRAW HAT- HEADWEAR MADE OF DRIED STEMS OF WHEAT OR OTHER GRAIN PLANTSCULT – TRADITIONSUPPLIER – A SOURCE, A PERSON WHO SUPPLIES OUT OF TOUCH – NOT IN CONTACT CAPE - A PIECE OF CLOTHING THAT HAS NO SLEEVES , FASTENS AT THE NECK AND HANGS FROM THE SHOULDEROPT – CHOOSE

Vocabulary

Who are Amish people?

Amish people are a religious group who came to America from Switzerland and South Germany in 18th century. They have become very famous by keeping old traditions and refusing to accept new ways of life.

Amish believe that their religious faith and the way they live are inseparable and interdependent. The first Amish arrived in Pennsylvania in the 1730s to escape persecution in Europe. Amish believe that the community is at the heart of their life and faith, and that the way to salvation is to live as a loving community apart from the world.

Individualism is avoided.

Where do they live?

There are around 200,000 Amish, who live in more than 20 US states and Ontario, with the largest  communities  in  Ohio,  Pennsylvania and Indiana. They are a growing group -                                                                          it's thought that their population doubles every 20 years.The ideal Amish occupation is to be a farmer, but Amish men also do factory work. The Amish believe  that  it's essential  to keep themselves  separate  from  the  'world',  so they live in their own small communities and differ  from  other  Americans  in  their  dress, language, work, travel and education.

The Amish produce many of their needs, rearing animals to produce meat, growing corn for food and for feeding animals, and growing vegetable both for food and for sale. Amish women make most of the clothes. But they are not totally self-sufficient and rely on the outside community for other requirements. Members of the community help each other, and the whole community will work together to help a member in trouble. They do not accept state benefits or use insurance, but rely on community support instead.

Where do Amish people live and work in their community?

Life style 

The men wear black hats and have beards but not moustaches. Amish women wear modest dresses with long sleeves and a full skirt, a cape and an apron. They usually wear their hair in a bun on the back of the head, often covered with a bonnet or a white organza prayer cap. Amish women don't use makeup.Men and boys wear dark trousers, braces, straight-cut coats and broad-brimmed straw hats. Their clothes don't have stripes or checks. Amish men grow beards only after they marry and don't grow moustaches because 19th century generals wore beards and moustaches and anything military is shunned.

Technology in Amish life 

Amish use own horse-drawn buggies, not cars.Farm machinery is generally horse-drawn, although some communities permit tractors with steel wheels as such tractors can't be used on the road.They don't allow telephones or electricity in their houses, because both of these technologies would literally connect them to the world through their wires. Electricity and petrol/diesel power are used in barns for work purposes. Televisions, radios and stereos are not used, which helps keep the Amish unpolluted by the values advanced by mass media. The Amish avoid modern technology not because they want to live ascetic and uncomfortable lives but to preserve the uniqueness of their way of life.Most Amish speak three languages: a German dialect called Pennsylvania Dutch at home, High German at their worship services, and English when talking to non-Amish (whom they call 'English').

Education

The Amish have their own private education system of around 1,200 schools which stresses the 'four Rs' of reading, writing, arithmetic and religion.A typical school has between 25 and 35 pupils, with only one room and one teacher to cover all ages. Teaching is in English. Teachers are usually younger women without specialist training. Children will often do farm work before and after school. After they leave school Amish boys learn work skills such as farming and carpentry on the job, while Amish girls concentrate on practical domestic matters. Formal high school education beyond the 8th grade

        Amish children and their games 

The Amish sect is renowned for shunning modern technology, opting for a simpler life with horses, buggies and plain clothes. As a result, Amish children are usually not seen playing with Xboxes or cell phone games. Instead, they prefer nonelectric means of passing the time like skating, biking, sports such as baseball and board games.

Amish family

Amish, who reject modern medicine and all forms of birth control, have some of the biggest families in America, with an average of over six children per family.

Can you find similarities and differences between Amish community and our community?

Our community Amish community

Houses, families Houses, families

Do different job Farm, community factories

Cars, tracks, buses Horses and buggies

Wear different clothes Wear same type of clothing

Schools Schools until 8th grade

Buy food and clothes Buy food, raise food, make clothes

Electricity Diesel power windmills

TVs, cars, phones… No TVs, cars, phones…

Work together as “hashar” Work together helping each other

Uniqueness of Amish people 

Amish  people  are  unique  by  their  life style,  culture,  strong  belief.  They  are unique by their respectful relationship among community. They are unique by their  handmade  crafts,  homemade fresh  products.  They  celebrate  all Christians    holidays  giving  to  each other  handmade  gifts.  They  are graceful,  kind  and  incredibly  caring about nature.                                           By the end….

And they live still long and happily  

What kind of activities can teachers conduct in giving cultural information about Amish people? 

1. True or false activity 2. “Similarities and differences” activity3. Matching the words and pictures4. Group discussion “Life without technology”5. Advantages/ Disadvantages6. “ I know, who knows…?” activity 

What is the aim of giving  cultural information about Amish people?

•To enriches students' cultural knowledge, they get to know about people most of them have never heard of, and they learn to respect differences as well.

•To let them to understand and respect social and cultural ways of life.•To evaluate value of cultural and intercultural style of life….

1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary  2. 

http://www.steadymom.com/2011/03/powerful-words-lessons-from-the-amish.html

 3. BBC News/ Who are the Amish? 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5400904.stm 4. The Amish

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/amish_1.shtml

 5. Explaining the Amish way of life- VOA story

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

Resources