Syllabus
Presentation topics
1. Sport Most popular British sports & sports originating from Britain or Celebrity spotlight – a brief cameo of a British sport celebrity
2. Culture British music – a close-up on a specific music genre or Celebrity spotlight – a brief cameo of a noteworthy British musician British film – a close-up on a specific genre (comedy, thriller, cartoon, etc.)
3. Education British educational system: a general introduction, types of school etc. Major differences between Czech and British educational system
4. Noteworthy personalities I Queen Elizabeth I (vs Mary Stuart) intro, pros & cons
5. Noteworthy personalities II James Cook Winston Churchill or Margaret Thatcher
6. Noteworthy personalities III Isaac Newton Charles Darwin Thomas Robert Malthus (utilitarianism -> Darwinism -> eugenics?!)
7. History I The origin of the British parliament The English Reformation The English Revolution
8. History II (out of spotlight) Josiah Wedgewood (and the birth of modern marketing) Top Five British Inventors
9. History III (out of spotlight) The Luddite movement and penal transportation The abolition of slavery in Britain
10. History IV (out of spotlight) British suffragist movement The rise and fall of British colonialism – multiculturalBritain The British Raj and the Quit India movement
11. Language corner A brief history of the English language British regional dialects and accents (audio samples required)
12. Britain and Europe Brexit – pros and cons
Annotation
The course is aimed at cultivating the students’ awareness of British cultural diversity and historical background, while simultaneously boosting their competence and confidence at giving a short audiovisual presentation on a topic of their choice (see the syllabus below). The length of an individual presentation must not exceed 15 minutes (if there are 3 presentations per session, the target speaking time should be 10 minutes).
The topics for the first 4 sessions are decidedly “low-brow” and user friendly, to make up for the short period of time for preparing the presentation. The students who are about to give the presentation are asked to arrive at least 10 minutes before the class or upload their .ppt file prior to the presentation (provided there is no audio or video file appended to it).
The students are also asked to take two online quizzes