Introduction

Introduction - Cultural appropriation

What do you think of when you see or hear the word culture? Do you think of your nationality and customs? Do you think of words like multi-cultural? Is culture a positive or a negative word? What other words go together with culture? There a lot of ideas and you may think of all of these ideas or, you might have some ideas of your own.

In this first section we’re going to look at the topic of cultural appropriation. Do you know what the term means? Examples include Miley Cyrus twerking, or Selena Gomez’s bindi. In other words, the debate surrounds whether it is right to take something from another culture, and to use it in your own, if it is not normally a part of your own culture. You will hear both sides of the argument. But first, let’s see how many different cultures you ‘use’ on a daily basis.

This first section contains 5 steps. Work them through step by step.

Step	Activity
	Introduction	Find out what you already know.
Step 1	Speaking (and reading)	Make a list of your morning routine objects/foods. Read a text and make a list of the items and their origins.
Step 2	Watching	Watch two videos about cultural appropriation. Complete notes about the first video. Put statements in order about the second video. Compare the videos and give reasons.
Step 3	Reading	Read the complete text. Fill in the headings.
Step 4	Words	An exercise about prefix. Make words negative.
Step 5	Task	Write an email to your friend in 150 words.
	Evaluation	Reflecting on what you have learned.

Difficult words? Search these on Cambridge Dictionaries