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LESSON 03: SPEAKING

• Part 1: Culture, Traditions, Festivals
• Part 2: Describe a new culture
• Part 3: Cultural Questions

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1. What kind of things do people celebrate in your country?

Well, to be honest there are tons of occasions that Vietnamese celebrates. One of which

is the upcoming Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year if you wil. This

occasion is considered as the traditional holiday and it lasts for about a week. Other than

that, there is a wide range of festivals, differing depends on the regions. We also celebrate

some other “holiday” that is originated from foreign cultures such as Christmas or

Valentine’s day.

2. What do you do to celebrate birthdays in your country?

This is an intriguing question. I can’t tell for sure as it varies based on the family’s

culture itself. For some families, they take it seriously and throw a lavish party for their

friends and families. Others, they consider birthdays just as any other day, so there is

nothing to be done at all. I think it is interesting as the older people grow, the less they

care about birthdays.

3. Are there any celebrations in your country known throughout the world?

Yes, of course. And the Da Nang international fireworks festival is on the top of my list. It

is held annually and attended by around 10 national fireworks teams around the world.

This is a chance for our country to tell our story to the world through fireworks performance

and vice versa. There has been a lot of publications about this competition, I would say,

praising it as one of the activities that could connect the world.

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4. Do you enjoy public holidays and celebrations?

To tell you the truth, holiday is not my cup of tea simply because in HCMC where I am

living, it could either by extremely crowded on normal holidays or completely

unoccupied during Tet holidays. So I usually feel either bored or annoyed during holidays.

Also, staying at home makes me feel like, you know, being lazy, and this could lead to my

productivity drop.

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Foreign culture vs Native culture:

Vietnam Foreign

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Part 2:

Describe a foreign culture that you like.

You should say:

• What it is

• Where it is

• How is it different from your country

• Why you like it

What culture it is

Where it is

How is it defferent from your country

Why you like it

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Discussion:

What is the best way to learn foreign culture?

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Example Part 2:

The manifold cultures are a set of learned behaviors, beliefs and norms of a
specific group of individuals. Our world is full of a variety of cultures and it is
something that makes every community unique. I’ve had the opportunity to
experience some of the cultures when I was on a recent reunion trip to Nepal with
my schoolmates. As one of our friends was from Nepal itself, we came across different
cultural traditions that are practiced in that region.
We planned our trip in November, during our festive break. Surprisingly, a similar
festival was taking place in Nepal which was enriched with rituals and the citizens of
the country were busy decorating, making most of the festive mood. The ritual that
fascinated me the most was a festival called ‘Kukur Puja’ which literally means the
worship of dogs. The people of that country devoted a mini-festival solely to
human’s most devoted friend faithful companion.
Being a dog lover myself, it really delighted me to witness these adorable canines
treated with special love and admiration. During this festival, the Nepalese offer flower
garlands and delicious food to their pet dogs as well as stray dogs which symbolized
their sacredness. This particular festival is not practiced in the culture I come
from. Animals, especially dogs are ill-treated and mishandled not only in Vietnam
but other parts of the world as well. Humans use them for scientific experiments while
some slaughter them for meat.
In Nepal, dogs are considered as mankind’s guardian. After talking to some of the
inhabitants, I learned that they trusted dogs to accompany them on the way to
heaven. I felt extremely overwhelmed to be a part of this heart-melting festival of
Kathmandu.

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