Unit 5, grade 12: Cultural Identity – Listening

Cultural in diversity Singapore (Cultural diversity in Singapore)

1. Task 1 Unit 5 Grade 12 Listening

You are going to listen to a talk about cultural diversity in Singapore. What do you know about this city-state? Look at the information below. Guess and write the name of each ethnic group in the blank. (You will hear a talk about cultural diversity in Singapore. What do you know about this city? See the information below. Guess and write the name of each ethnic group in the blank.)

SINGAPORE

– Official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil (Official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil)

– Ethnic groups : Chinese, Malays, Indians, Eurasians, and other (Ethnic groups: Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian, and others)

– Currency used : Singapore dollar SGD (Currency used: Singapore Dollar))

Guide to answer

1. Eurasians and other	2. Indians
3. Malaysia	4. Chinese

2. Task 2 Unit 5 Grade 12 Listening

Work in pairs. Discuss and match the national costumes with their names. (Work in pairs. Discuss and match national costumes with their names.)

Guide to answer

first. d Indian saris (Indian sari)

2 a Malay baju kurung (Malay’s baju kurung)

3. c Chinese cheongsam (Chinese cheongsam)

4. b Malay baju melayu (Malay’s baju melayu)

3. Task 3 Unit 5 Grade 12 Listening

Listen to a talk. What is the speaker about? Tick ​​the correct boxes. (Listen to a conversation. What is the speaker talking about? Tick the correct boxes.)

Click to listen

Guide to answer

1. Singapore’s ethnic group groups and official languages (Ethnic groups and official languages in Singapore)	x
2. Singapore’s traditions and official languages (Tradition and official language of Singapore)
3. Chinese wedding costumes in Singapore (Wedding dress) oh the Chinese in Singapore)
4. Malay traditional costumes for men and women (Traditional costume of the Malay cho men and women)	x
5. Modern Indian costumes for men (Modern clothes of the Indians spend for men.)
6. The Indian traditional dress (Traditional dress of the Indians.)	x

Audio scripts

Singapore gained its independence on 9 August 1965 and now has a population of more than five million people including Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians. The country has four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Singapore does not have a national costume, as people from the different ethnic groups tend to wear their traditional clothing.

The Chinese traditional attire for ladies is called cheongsam, which means a long garment. Originally, both men and women used to wear this long, one-piece dress specially designed to conceal the body shape. Today it’s often worn by Chinese women in Singapore during Chinese New Year celebrations and at traditional wedding ceremonies.

For Malay men, the traditional garment is called baju melayu.

It consists of a loose shirt and a sarong worn over a pair of trousers. Malay women often wear baju kurung, which looks like a long-sleeved and collarless blouse worn over a long skirt.

The traditional dress for Indian women is thesari, which can be not only worn on special occasions, but used every day. It’s a long piece of brightly-colored cloth wrapped around the waist and hung over the shoulder. It’s usually decorated with beautiful patterns.

Because of the hot temperatures and the modern character of Singapore, clothing is usually very casual and most people prefer western fashions. For business, men usually wear dark trousers, white shirts and a tie. Standard office attire for women includes a long-sleeved blouse with trousers or a skirt.

Unified by the common goal for a better future, the people of Singapore, especially the younger generations, think of themselves as Singaporeans first, and then as Chinese, Malay or Indian.

Translation

Singapore gained its independence on 9 August 1965 and today has over 5 million inhabitants including China, Malaysia, India and Eurasia. The country has four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Singapore has no national dress, as people from different ethnic groups often wear traditional clothes.

The traditional Chinese dress for women is called cheongsam, which means long clothes. Originally, both men and women wore this long, one-piece dress specifically designed to conceal the figure. Today it is often worn by Chinese women in Singapore during the Chinese New Year festival and traditional wedding ceremony.

For the Malays, the traditional clothing is called baju melayu.

It consists of a loose shirt and worn sarong over a pair of pants. Malay women often wear baju kurung, which looks like a long-sleeved shirt and collar worn over a long skirt.

The traditional dress for Indian women is thesari, which can be worn not only on special occasions, but used daily. It was a long piece of light colored cloth that was wrapped around the waist and hung over the shoulders. It is often decorated with beautiful patterns.

Due to the hot temperatures and modern character of Singapore, the clothes are usually very casual and most people prefer western fashion. For business, men usually wear black pants, a white shirt, and a tie. Standard office attire for women consists of a long-sleeved top with trousers or a skirt.

United by a common goal for a better future, Singaporeans, especially the younger generations, think of themselves first as Singaporeans, then as Chinese, Malays or Indians.

4. Task 4 Unit 5 Grade 12 Listening

Listen again and complete the following sentences. Fill each blank with no more than four words or numbers. (Listen again and complete the following sentences. Fill in each blank with no more than four letters or numbers.)

Click to listen

Guide to answer

first. Singapore achieved its independence on 9 August 1965. (Singapore gained its independence on 9 August 1965.)

2. Singapore does not have a national costume, as people from the different ethnic groups tend to wear their traditional clothes. (Singapore does not have a national costume, as people from different ethnic groups tend to wear traditional clothes.)

3. Chinese men and women used to wear cheongsam. (Chinese men and women often wear cheongsam.)

4. Sari is often wrapped around the waist and Hung over the shoulder. (Sari is usually wrapped around the waist and over the shoulder.)

5. At office men usually wear dark trousers, white shirts and ties while women wear long-sleeved blouses with pants or skirts. (In the workplace, men usually wear black trousers, white shirts and ties while women wear long-sleeved blouses.)

6. The young people often think of themselves as Singaporeans first, and then as Chinese, Malay or Indian. (Young people often think of themselves as Singaporeans, and then Chinese, Malay or Indian.)

5. Task 5 Unit 5 Grade 12 Listening

Work in pairs. Ask and answer the following question. (Work in pairs. Ask and answer the following questions.)

What else do you know about the city-country and its culture? (What else do you know about the nation’s cities and their cultures?)

Guide to answer

There are a lot of other interesting things about Singapore. For example, Singapore is the English word for ‘Singapura,’ which means Lion City. The lion head symbol was introduced in 1986 as an alternative national symbol of Singapore. The lion head was chosen as a logo, as it best captures the characteristics of Singapore’s reputation.

Translation

There are many other interesting facts about Singapore. For example, Singapore is the English word for ‘Singapura’, which means Lion City. The lion head emblem was introduced in 1986 as a sub-national symbol of Singapore. The lion’s head was chosen as the symbol because it captures the features of Singapore’s reputation.

6. Practice Task 1

Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word that from the other three in the position of the primary stress in each of the following questions.

Question 1: A. opportunity B. intellectual C. psychology D. civilization

Question 2: A. dormitory B. elementary C. beneficial D. continental

7. Practice Task 2

Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Question 1: The Indigenous experience, like with any form of belonging, is highly fluid and context-specific, meaning there are examples of what such cultural pluralities can look like.

A. countable B. uncountable C. too few to count D. too many be counted

Question 2: Steve Kootenay-Jobin, Aboriginal housing coordinator at Mount Royal University, notes that many Indigenous students who move to the city for education, encounter culture shock.

A. avoid B. confront C. overcome D. wipe out

9. Conclusion

At the end of the new Unit 5 English Grade 12 – Listening, students need to practice listening, remembering the cultural diversity in Singapore; Also remember the following words:

• currency /ˈkʌrənsi/ currency
• costume /ˈkɒstjuːm/ costume
• consist /kənˈsɪst/ include
• unify /ˈjuːnɪfaɪ/ unify
• characteristic /ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪk/ characteristic
• reputation /ˌrepjuˈteɪʃn/ reputation