ESL Activities: 4.What's It Like To Live In A Different Culture ?
Theme: Migration and refugees

Key Learning Area: English - Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE)

Age Group: Secondary Lower (13-14) - Secondary Middle (15-16)

Resource Type: Handouts

Stimulus Name: Culture

Teaching Strategies

Read the stories about the experiences and feelings of Ben and Chiao that resulted from them changing cultural environments.

Ask students, in pairs, to answer the questions:

1. What were the main issues/ conflicts experienced by Ben and Chiao?

2. Why were they experiencing these issues/ conflicts?

3. What did Ben and Chiao do to try and resolve the issues/ conflicts?

4. What role did communication play throughout the experiences of Ben and Chiao?

Elicit answers.

NOTE: The stories and questions of this activity encourage empathy for individuals who are visiting or settling into a different cultural environment.

Conclude the lesson by asking students to identify ways that they could assist a new student to settle into Australia.

NOTE: Some culturally sensitive strategies to assist new arrivals from overseas can include:

• inviting him/ her out socially

• explaining what is done in Australia when at school

• being a good friend

• treating them as an equal

• introducing him/ her to the range of migrant services provided

Worksheets to download
Ben and Chiao(PDF)



Related Resources
ESL Activities 1: My Friends and Peers
ESL Activities 2: My Feelings About Myself
ESL Activities 3: Cultural heritage
ESL Activities 5: Iceberg
ESL Activities 6: Pride and Prejudice
ESL Activities 7: What is Beauty?
ESL Activities 8: Who Am I?
ESL Activities 9: Journeys From Afar
ESL Activities 10: Our Paths to Australia
ESL Activities 11: A Mixed Bag of Apples
ESL Activities 12: Victims of Culture

Copyright Acknowledgement
Activities developed by teachers at Beverly Hills Intensive English Centre, NSW
PhotoMinh © Drift1 C.L

2005

Beverly Hills Intensive English Centre

©2005 Drift1