HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGLISH

The Society
of Major English - Speaking Countries

Number of credits = 2 (30 periods)

levy_hou@yahoo.com
1. Aims and Objectives of the Course
 achieve thorough understanding about the history, the
discovery and foundation as well as the development of
these countries
 know geographical conditions influencing people’s life
 be able to clarify the political systems: the monarchy and
republic; to know the power and the roles of the Head of
State
 have knowledge of native people and the present
population, including their races, the class system in the
society……
 have general views on the economy, education as well as
cultural features of the English-speaking world.

2
1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland

2. The United States of America

3. Canada

4. Australia and New Zealand

References

1. Aungles, A, Hill, J., McCormack, J. ( 2005 ). The Society and Culture of Major
English – Speaking Countries. Higher Education Press.
2. Ingpen, R. (1994). People Who Changed the World. Dragon World
Limited (UK)
3. McDowall, D. (1999). Britain in Close-up. Pearson Education Limited,
(UK)
4. Musman, R. (1987) Background to English-speaking Countries.
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, (UK)
5. O’Driscoll, J. (1995). Britain – the Country and its People. Oxford University
Press(UK)
6. O’Driscoll, J. (1999). Britain. Oxford University Press(UK)
7. Oxford Guide to British and American Culture. Oxford University Press(UK)
8. Parish, S. (1994). Discover Australia. Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd.

Methods of Evaluation

An oral or a written test is carried out at the end of the course. (Both tests can be applied for
4
full-time students)
 CONTENTS

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland

• Unit 1: A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom

• Unit 2: The Government of the United Kingdom
• Unit 3: Politics, Class and Race
• Unit 4 The UK Economy
• Unit 5: British Education System
• Unit 6: British Foreign Relations
2. The United States of America

• Unit 1: American beginnings

• Unit 2: The political system in the United States

• Unit 3: American economy

• Unit 4: Education in the United States
• Unit 5: Social problems in the United States
3. Canada

• Unit 1: The Country and Its People

• Unit 2: The Government and Politics of Canada
• Unit 3: The Canada Mosaic
4. Australia and New Zealand

• Unit 1: The Land and the Peoples of the Dreaming

• Unit 2: From Penal Colony to “Free Migration”

• Unit 3: Australia as a Liberal Democratic Society
• Unit 4: Land, People and History
• Unit 5: Political System, Education and Economy
 The United Kingdom
of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland

(commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK,

or Britain)
The UK

Great Britain

England
The UK - Great Britain - England
Scotland
Wales
- Northern Ireland
• The UK: situated on the British Isles.
consisting of 2 main islands:
the bigger: GB,
the smaller: Ireland - Northern Ireland
- Republic of Ireland/Irish Republic
- The capitals of the United Kingdom's constituent countries

• Belfast (Northern Ireland)

• Cardiff (Wales)
• Edinburgh (Scotland)
• London (England)
The United Kingdom:
• parliamentary democracy
• constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II as
head of state.
 Queen Elizabeth II

Queen of the United Kingdom and the other

Commonwealth realms
Reign 6 February 1952 to present (62 years)
Coronation 2 June 1953
Predecessor George VI
Heir ApparentCharles, Prince of Wales
Consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Issue Charles, Prince of Wales
Anne, Princess Royal
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Full name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Titles HM The Queen
HRH The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh
HRH The Princess Elizabeth
HRH Princess Elizabeth of York
Royal house House of Windsor
Royal anthem "God Save the Queen”
Father George VI
Mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Born 21 April 1926 )
Mayfair, London , UK
Baptised 29 May 1926
Buckingham Palace, London
 Elizabeth II: the Queen regnant of sixteen
independent states and their overseas territories
and dependencies.

• In theory: vast powers;

• In practice: never intervenes in political matters.
Other landmarks of England:

Stonehenge
Windsor Castle
Kings College, Cambridge
Buckingham Palace
 National Days in the UK

St David

1 March - The national day of Wales is St David's Day.

St David is Wales's patron saint.
 St Patrick

17 March - The national day of Northern Ireland is St Patrick's Day

St Patrick is Ireland's patron Saint
23 April - The national day of England is St George's Day.
St George is England's patron saint.
30 November - The national day of Scotland’s is St Andrew's Day

St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland.

 Unit 1

BRIEF INTRODUCTION
TO THE UNITED KINGDOM
OBJECTIVES
• a complicated country with a complicated name
• the significant role of London
• cultural and economic dominance of England
• settlement of the Anglo-Saxons
• brief introduction to Wales
• physical features of Scotland
• union with England in 1707
• physical features of Northern Ireland
• religious conflicts between the Irish and the British
• partition of Ireland in 1921
• Full name: The United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland.

• The UK is probably called Great Britain, Britain

or, wrongly, England
 The UK : - England (the English)
- Scotland (the Scottish)
- Wales (the Welsh)
- Northern Ireland (the Irish)
• English: Anglo – Saxons
• Scottish/ Welsh/ Irish: Celts.
(The British = the UK population)
 London

1. in the south of the country

2. the largest city;
3. the seat of government;
4. the cultural centre;
5. the business centre;
6. the financial centre.
 England

• largest of the four nations with the largest

population.

• Foreigners sometimes talk about England when

they mean the UK.
 British history has been a history of invasions.

• 4th century BC: Britain = Briton, and the people: Britons.

They belonged to the Celtic race (the Celts)

• 1st century AD (43): Briton was invaded by the Roman

Empire. → found valuable metals → decided to settle
down.
• BC = Before Christ
• AD = Anno Domini
• England and Wales (not Scotland or Ireland)
became a part of the Roman Empire for nearly
400 years.

• 4th century AD: invasion of a group of barbaric

people all over Europe
→ The Romans had to return to Rome to protect
their own country
• 5th century AD (410):
Anglo-Saxon invasion - Germanic peoples: the
Angles, and the Saxon.

They were powerful → They divided the

country into 2 parts:
- Anglo-Saxon area in England
- The Celtic area in Wales, Scotland, and
Ireland.
• the Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading
Britain → either absorbed the Celtic people, or
pushed them to the western and northern
edges of Britain.

• Anglo-Saxon invaders: forefathers of the

English, the founders of "Angle-land" or
"England".
• From the late 8th century on, raiders from
Scandinavia, the cruel Vikings, threatened
Britain's shores.
• The next invaders: Norman Conquest in 1066
→ defeated an English army under King Harold
→ imported a ruling class.

• The next 300 years: a Norman (French-

speaking) aristocracy ruling Saxon and English-
speaking population.
• next few hundred years: a process of joining
together the various parts of the British Isles
under English rule.
 Wales

• Wales: smallest among the three nations on

the British mainland; larger than Northern
Ireland.

• Wales: dominated by England for longer than

the other nations of the union.
• Before the arrival of the Roman Empire, Wales
was a land of Celtic peoples, living in a number
of small tribal kingdoms.

• Wales was conquered by the Romans.

• When the Romans left Briton, Wales was again
a Celtic land.

• When the Anglo-Saxons arrived, the Welsh

escaped to the wild mountains of Wales to
defend their freedom for 1000 years.
• English king, Edward the First, tried to conquer
Wales → named his eldest son “the Prince of
Wales” to try to bring Wales into the British
nation.

• In 1536 Wales was conquered by the English.

 Scotland

• the second largest of the four nations, both in

population and in geographical area.

• the most confident of its own identity because it was

not conquered

• the most rugged part of the UK: sparsely populated

mountains and lakes in the north (the Highlands),
and in the south (the Southern Uplands).
Located in the northern part of
Great Britain.
A part of the United Kingdom,
along with England, Wales and
Northern Ireland.
The second largest of the four
nations in UK, both in population
and in geographical area.
 Area: 78,822 square km
 Population: 5.111 million (2011)
Its capital city is Edinburgh,
while the largest city is Glasgow.
The first inhabitants of Scotland were the
Picts [1], a Celtic tribe.

[1]
: because they painted their bodies with “pictures”,
like tattoos today.
• Scotland was not conquered by the Romans or the
Anglo-Saxons

• 9th century: Scotland experienced Viking raids →

Scottish kings had to unify, forming an independent
singular Scottish state

• In 1314, the Scottish defeated the English at the

Battle of Bannockburn → 300 years of full
independence.
• In 1603, Queen Elizabeth the First of England
died childless → James the Sixth of Scotland
became James the First of England, uniting the
two thrones → for another hundred years
Scotland maintained its separate political
identity.

• In 1707 the English and Scottish parliaments

decided to form a union based on agreement →
Great Britain was established
England

The first Union flag in 1707

Scotland
 Northern Ireland

• Northern Ireland (often called "Ulster") is the

smallest of the four nations, both in area and
population.

• It is small but it is significant because of the

political troubles .
• Ireland has been divided by a long and bloody
conflict: Ireland's colonial history.

• From the time of Queen Elizabeth I (late

1590s) the new settlers, loyal to the British
crown and Protestants in religious persuasion,
were granted land, position, and privileges
(from Roman Catholic)
• In 17th century, English and Scottish
Protestants were sent to Northern Ireland to
stop Irish Catholics from causing trouble.

• Fighting:
English + Scottish Protestants ↔ Irish
Catholics
• The Irish Protestants helped the English and
Scottish Protestants → Irish Catholics were
defeated.

• Irish Catholics had to escape to the South

(Republic of Ireland)

• In 1801 Ireland became part of UK

• Until 1921 the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland".

• The Irish desired for an independent Irish state.

• In late 19th century: a campaign in parliament for

"home-rule" Irish political control of Irish affairs.
• In 1919 the IRA (Irish Republican Army) expanded the fighting,
and the Sinn Fein ("Ourselves Alone") party gained most of
the Irish seats in the British parliament

→ Irish independence became inevitable.

• In 1922, Ireland was divided into 2 parts:

- Northern Ireland: belonging to UK

- Republic of Ireland/ Irish Republic: independent
 Summary
• Foundation of the UK;
• settlement of the Anglo-Saxons;
• Invasion of Wales;
• physical features of Scotland and the union
with England in 1707;
• religious conflicts between the Irish and the
British;
• partition of Ireland in 1922;