Transcript Codes of Conduct

Codes of Conduct
The Warehouse Madrid
Upper-Intermediate Class
Take (expressions)
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Take a long time
Take a lot of risks
Take something too seriously
Take advice from somebody
Take someone for granted
Take responsibility for something
Take notice of someone/something
Take time (to do something)
Take sides (in arguments)
Do you know English people?
• Where and how did you meet them?
• What are they like?
• Use four adjectives to describe English people.
– Proper
– Shy
– Clever
– Opinionated
Are the English friendly?
• After reading the article “Watching the
English”, do you think that Kate Walsh thinks
that the English are friendly or unfriendly?
– Why?
#2
1. English codes aren’t obvious to everyone.
2. People who commute together don’t often
become friends.
3. Weather speak is a common way of starting a
conversation with strangers.
4. You should always agree with the person’s
opinion about the weather.
5. English people don’t like talking about
themselves to strangers.
6. It’s impolite to ask English people about money.
Verb+ ing
• As part of a continuous verb form:
– As an Englishman, I was laughing out loud…
– She was riding her bike when the car honked at
her.
– Where is Greg? He’s taking a shower.
Verb + ing
• After prepositions
– Apart from asking for information…
– Besides flirting with my sister, he ate all my
wedding cake!
Verb + ing
• After certain verbs:
– We also avoid talking about money.
– He loves asking people for directions.
– She enjoys travelling.
Verb + ing
• As an adjective:
– This highly entertaining book looks at…
– She’s rather boring, isn’t she?
Verb + ing
• In reduced relative clauses
– People standing at a bus stop will often break an
uncomfortable silence by…
– Gliding down the amazon river in a kayak, you’ll
soon fall in love with South America.
Verb + ing
• Despite
• In spit of
• Despite asking her to stay and give them
another chance, she left without even saying
goodbye.
• In spite of wanting a new wardrobe, she opted
for wearing her clothes from last Fall again.
Verb + ing
• As the subject of a verb
• Talking to strangers on trains just isn’t done.
• Riding a bus for 8 hours can be uncomfortable.
Verb + ing
• After these verbs:
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Hear
See
Watch
Feel
Imagine
Stop
Love
Like
Don’t mind
Dislike
Hate
Verb + ing
• As a noun
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Reading
Playing football
Cooking
Drawing
Running
Cycling
Verb + ing
• After fixed phrases
– There’s no point in
– It’s a waster of time
– It’s not worth
– It’s no use
• There’s no point in telling her, she’ll just get
upset.
#5
1. The section of Kate Fox’s book explaining the
rules of queuing is fascinating and the English
obey these rules without thinking about it.
2. Jumping a queue will certainly annoy those
people queuing properly.
3. However despite feeling intense anger towards
the queue jumper, the English will often say
nothing – staring angrily is more their style.
4. Then there are the rules for saying please and
thank you. The English thank bus drivers, taxi
drivers, anyone giving them a service.
#5
5. In fact the English spend a lot of time saying
please and thank you, and they hate not being
thanked if they think they deserve it.
6. Not saying thank you will often cause a person to
sarcastically shout out, “You’re welcome!”.
#6
1. I can’t stand people cutting in front of me in
Passport Control.
2. Taking a nap is the best way to relax.
3. I think cycling is really fun.
4. I’m going to the beach next week.
5. I think football is exciting at times, but can be really
boring.
6. I really enjoy doing yoga.
7. I’m thinking of learning how to paint next year.
8. I spend a lot of time cleaning my house.
Social Codes in the USA
• In NYC, staring at someone on the subway could get
you into trouble.
• Queuing or “waiting in line” is absolutely necessary.
It’s considered very rude to cut in line.
• In spite of appearing like an “everything goes”
country, there are dress codes in some social
situations, like weddings, church and the golf course!
• We don’t appreciate people not saying “please and
thank you”. In fact, like the English, we expect it.
• Talking to strangers is more acceptable in the U.S.
than in England, I suppose. Talking to strange
children is a big NO NO, however.
Social Codes in the USA
• Talking loudly in public is not as looked down upon
as in England, but you can get a dirty glare or even a
confrontation.
• Some subjects are very taboo in the USA. Talking
about religion, politics and race with a coworker is
usually frowned upon, unless you’ve known them for
years and are already familiar with their views. We’re
a very PC country.
• Farting in public or burping in a restaurant might
cause offense. Not leaving a tip at a restaurant is
definitely offensive towards the server and the
restaurant.