English for Korean learners/ festivals and celebrations/ generalising and hedging
New Cutting Edge Intermediate Module 7
Part One – Korean New Year
How would you explain the things below connected to Korean New Year celebrations to a foreign person who had never heard of them?
- seollal-
- hanbok-
- charye-
- charye sang-
- tteokguk-
- tteok mandu guk-
- sebae-
- jegi chagi –
- neolttwigi-
- yutnori-
————————————fold, cover or cut ———————————-
Match the words above to the descriptions from English language websites here:
- a game of jumping on a seesaw
- traditional family board game
- traditional Korean clothing
- a ritual table
- soup with rice cakes
- ttok-guk with mandu dumplings
- first day of the lunar calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays
- paying your respects to the living elders of the family by performing one deep traditional bow… Usually, the elders give something to the people offering saebae: food, money, drink or something similar and offer words of wisdom, or deokdam
- honoring of the past four generations of ancestors
- -a game where a light object is wrapped in paper or cloth, and then kicked in a Hacky Sack like manner
Are the explanations above accurate and clear? How would you change them?
How important are the things above in a modern Korean New Year?
Are there any things which have been forgotten? How would you explain what they are and how important they are (traditionally and nowadays)?
Do the same with the “Korean cultural code words” below. Choose one and explain what it is and how important (or not) in traditional and modern Korea but without saying the name, then your partner will guess which one you are talking about. See if they agree with what you said, then take turns doing the same.
Kalbi Samgetan
Bulgolgi Kisaeng
Taekwondo Kimchi
Anju Chuseok
Dan-gun DMZ
DVD bang Hagwon
Hallyu Hangeul
Hanbok Hanok
Jjimjulbang KTX
Minbak Mudang
Ondol Pansori
Pension PC bang
Samul nori Soju
Yangban “Couple look”
Gyopo Jeonse
Ohmy News Ajumma
Which things do you think most foreigners would already have heard of before they visited Korea?
Which things above are the most important to explain to describe traditional and modern Korean culture?
What other things should be on the list? How would you explain what they are?
What phrases can you use to make accurate generalisations in situations like the discussions above? Write useful phrases in the box, then look at pg 75 for more examples.
| Language of generalisation |
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