TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Foreign Languages

Division of Linguistics, Culture and Literature

UNIT 7

AMERICAN LIFE
001175 American Culture

Designed by Vu Cong Danh

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 1
AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE

What is the typical American family like?

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 2
 AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE:
FAMILY STRUCTURES

• Traditional American family: nuclear family

• Households today:
• Married couples without children
• Single parents & children
• Unrelated people
• Single people
 Very different

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 3

 AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE:
INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
• Primary purpose: happiness of
individuals

• More working mothers

• Independent decision making,

individual privacy

• Liberal parents

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 4

 AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE:
MARRIAGE & DIVORCE

• Young Americans marry later in life

• Many Americans stay single

• Very few marriages are arranged

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 5

AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE:
MARRIAGE & DIVORCE

• Quality of marriage: companionship

• The couple is not happy  divorce

• Irreconcilable difference  "no-fault" divorce

• High rate of divorce  value individual happiness

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 6

 AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE: CHILDREN
- Most children live with their parents until 17 or 18 years old.
- Then, many leave their parents to go to college. But
Because High cost of housing/ living

After divorce
 Many still live with their parents during college or after college graduation
or after divorce.
AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE: EQUALITY

• Equality between all family members

 Is there too much democracy?

• Parents cannot teach teenagers

• Children learn independence, self-reliance

 “Leave the nest”

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 8
 AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE:
FOUR STAGES OF MARRIAGE
RELATIONSHIPS
1. Wife as servant to husband

2. Husband-head, wife-helper

3. Husband-senior partner, wife-junior partner

4. Husband-wife equal partners

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 9

AMERICAN ETIQUETTE: ATTITUDES

• Americans are casual, assertive, direct

• Imposition equals rudeness

• They express and accept disagreements

• They prefer first names  friendly, informal

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 10

AMERICAN ETIQUETTE:
MANNERS IN INTERACTIONS
• No imposition
• No personal question
• No intrusion on individual private zone
• No racism
• No over-politeness
• Firm handshake, but no touching

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 11

AMERICAN ETIQUETTE: HOME DINNER

• Arrive on time. 10 – 15 mins late

• Bring some gifts, e.g flowers, candy

• Compliment the food

• Don’t leave right after meal

• Don’t overstay
27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 12
 AMERICAN ETIQUETTE: DINNING OUT

• Restaurant: make a reservation

• Pay the bill

• Share the bill when your companion insists

• Tipping: 15% of the bill

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 13

 AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

Education in the US is provided in public (state) , private, and home schools.

/ˈtɝːʃi.er.i/: relating
to the third stage

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 14

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 15
HOMEWORK

Read the assigned materials :

[4] Pages: 258 – 267

27/07/2016 001175 Unit 7: American Life 16