In the video below, some British people,
first a man and then a couple, are interviewed. They
are asked the following two questions:
In the video below, some British people, first
a man and then a couple, are interviewed. They
are asked the following two questions:
Do you agree that dropping rubbish in the street,
for example a drinks can, or empty cigarette packet,
is unacceptable behaviour? On a scale from 1-5:
do you strongly agree (1), or strongly disagree
(5)?
Do you or do you not agree with the following
statement: If I see someone littering in public,
I feel like I have to confront them?
After watching the video below do Task 9 in your worksheet
(where you also find a transcript).
Intercultural incidents
When abroad, people often comment
on things they find strange. One of these things is
the attitude to littering in some countries. Look at the
following, authentic, stories:
Candy
wrappers
Three Portuguese students had spent time living in
Germany and Switzerland and noticed the great difference
between those populations and the Portuguese population
in terms of littering. The Portuguese have no problem
with throwing down trash in the street - things like
candy wrappers, cigarette boxes, tissues, etc. (Reported
by a Portuguese man)
Bottles
A group of Belgian tourists were very shocked during
their holiday in Crete. While they were lying by the
pool, the boss of their hotel came out of the kitchen
with a bunch of empty plastic bottles. He simply threw
them over the fence into the street. Later, when the
Belgians walked out of their hotel, they noticed a
big pile of empty bottles next to the hotel. (Reported
by a Belgian lady)
Fags
I have noticed that representatives of "well-disciplined"
nations who never drop their cigarette butts
outside a litterbin in their own country don't
bother to look for a litterbin in countries where
littering the streets with butts is common. (Reported
by a Bulgarian lady)
People can be quite disturbed by seeing
others crossing the street while the light is red,
or throwing rubbish on the ground, especially when
one is abroad and when the ‘others’ are
foreigners. And yet, for these ’other people’ that
behaviour may be normal, what they are used to: ”It's
what everybody does". How difficult is it to accept
that other people are different?
In any case, it means that one should
refrain from confronting anyone abroad by pointing
out what s/he should do. There is no point in trying
to make people abroad conform to what you are used
to at home and to what you think is right. When
in Rome ...
Now, try to answer the question in
Task 10 in your worksheet.
