Цели:
Обучающие:
- Познакомить учащихся с культурой Ирландии;
- Развивать умения аудирования с целью извлечения конкретной информации;
- Развивать умение диалогической речи;
- Развивать умение поиска, анализа и выбора необходимой информации;
Развивающие:
- Развивать мыслительную деятельность учащихся;
- Развивать умение анализа полученной информации и самоанализа;
- Развивать умение аргументировать свою точку зрения;
- Расширять кругозор учащихся;
Воспитательные:
- Формировать позитивный режим при обмене мнениям;
- Формировать умение работы в группе;
- Повышать мотивацию к изучению английского языка
Задачи:
- Активизировать лексические единицы по теме “Страноведение.Ирландия”;
- Тренировать употребление в речи настоящего, прошедшего и будущего времён;
- Отработать навыки вопросов и ответов
Оборудование: мультимедийная установка, компьютер, флэш-карта с презентацией
Место проведения урока: класс
Ход урока
The teacher (T) Good morning, dear students. How are you?
The students (S) Fine, thanks. And you?
T: Very well. Let’s begin our lesson. Today we’re going to speak about folklore and modern culture of Ireland” so our lesson is focused on studying the ancient culture of Ireland, especially, folklore, and its influence on the formation of modern culture of the country. Today we’re going to have a little talk about Concepts ‘culture’ and ‘folklore’; what Ireland is; the short excursion to the historical past; folklore and music; folklore and literature; folklore and the way of life; folklore and fashion; folklore and traditional festivals.
And, of course, make a conclusion from all information that we’re going to study.
The topic is interesting because the Irish folklore is laconic and harmonious with the beauty of its representation. The musical direction, such as, Irish traditional dances and songs, is worldwide known and attracts the public attention. Works of art are mysterious and full of mysticism. Painting reflects the essence of the people who can't stay indifferent even the most ordinary people.
When studying culture of the Irish people there are some interesting questions:
“How the ancient culture of the people influences the modern one? ”, namely, “What the folklore influence on the modern culture of the nation is? ” and “What is its influence?”
So let’s try to answer these questions.
In order to reach the aim we should accomplish the following objectives:
To get acquainted with the concepts of culture and folklore.
To find a lot of information about the country and the Irish people.
To find out the connection between the ancient national creativity and different aspects of the modern culture.
To show the ways of the folklore influence on the modern culture nowadays.[slide 2]
Now Helen and Anna are going to tell us about concepts "culture" and "folklore". Girls, please, do it.
S: The first thing to consider is the meaning of the word "culture". As it is written in Ojegov's dictionary, the culture is a set of production, public and spiritual achievements of people, that is, culture is a practical realization of universal and cultural wealth. In other words, culture is everything that is created by a person and his way of life and manners, both a single object, and the nation as a whole.[slide 3]
The national culture is a set of symbols, beliefs, rules of behavior which characterizes the spiritual life of human community in one or another country or a state.
The huge number of various factors has impact on the formation of the national culture, such as events of the historical past, features of development, geographical situation of the country, political structure, economy, as well as folklore. It should be noted that folklore means creativity of any people which passes across the generations. The definition ‘folklore’ was thought out by an English scientist William Toms in 1846. Folklore is proverbs, songs, fairy tales, and riddles.
The modern culture has been traced to ancient times; one of its components is the folklore. [slide 4]
So what influence does the national folklore have on the modern culture of the Irish people?
T: Who wants to answer? (students try to answer the question)
Thanks a lot. Now let’s see what Ireland is. Julia, please, tell us.
S: To understand the above-mentioned question, we will consider what the country of Ireland is?
Ireland is the country situated on the island of the same name in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean.
The territory is about 70000 km2.The population is approximately 4,5 million people, generally Celtic origin. About 58% of the population lives in the cities. The territory is mainly lowlands. State languages are Irish and English. The Capital is Dublin.
The flag is the rectangular panel consisting of three vertical equal strips: green, white and orange. Green color symbolizes Catholics, orange — Protestants, white — the world between these religions.
The national emblem is a golden harp with silver strings in an azure (blue) field.
Clover is a symbol of Ireland. According to a legend, the baptizer of this land St. Patrick, having taken a clover leaf in a hand explained the Irish that the Holy Trinity is. “ Just as three leaves can grow from one stalk God can appear in three states”, is a phrase that has already become axiomatic.
And in Ireland there is a tradition to attach a leaf of shamrock to clothes. It symbolizes a cross, the color of Catholicism and symbolical color of the country.[slide 5]
T: Thanks a lot. Now we know about a country nowadays but what about its historical past?
Andrew, please, tell us about it.
S: The name of the island of Ireland in the Irish language — “Erin” (Eire).
The ancient Irish lived in separate tribes — clans. In the IV century in the country
the Christianity began to extend. Since the beginning of the VII century literature in the
ancient Irish was created. In IX-X centuries there were the attacks of the Vikings which
considerably weakened the economic and demographic situation of the country. At the
beginning of the XI century the Irish under King Bryan Bohr fought against Vikings. At the
end of the XII century a part of the Irish territory was conquered by the British. Robert
Bruce joined the war and became the king of Ireland in 1315. In 1348 "The black
death" came to Ireland, exterminated almost all the British who lived in the cities.
In 1541 Henry VIII conquered Ireland and proclaimed it the kingdom. In 1649 Oliver
Cromwell with numerous and skilled army arrived there. And almost all the Irish Catholics
disappeared. In 1652 there were only 850 thousand inhabitants in Ireland. In 1801 the
country became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Irish language
began to be forced out by English. In 1845 - 1849 there was “Great hunger” because of
agrarian revolution. As a result, the population of Ireland was reduced by 30%. And
further Ireland promptly lost the population: if in 1841 its population was 8 million 178
thousand people, in 1901 — only 4 million
459 thousand In 1919 the Irish Republican Army (IRA) developed active attacks on English
armies and police. In 1949 Ireland was proclaimed an independent republic with the
official name “Eire” (Eire).
The government of Ireland makes efforts to replace English with revived Irish. It is studied at schools and used on the national television and radio.[slide 6]
T: Thanks a lot. It was very interesting. Now let’s look how folklore is connected with the music.
Polina, please, tell us.
S: One of the most remarkable features of Ireland is love to music. It, probably, explains that a national symbol of Ireland is the harp. In days of Celtic leaders the harpist was the esteemed person and took the place on the social ladder after the leaders and bards. Harpists, sometimes blind, were playing while bards were reciting for leaders. The Irish folk music is very various: from lullabies to drinking songs, from slow instrumental melodies to fast incendiary dances, and a huge role is played by using variations and nuances of a rhythm and melody. The traditional Irish dance music includes rills, an Irish jig and hornipes. As a rule National music is played on violins, whistles, drums and bagpipes. Practically in every small village there is at least one pub where the folk music can be listened, and if you want, it is possible to take part in its performance. [slide 7]
In the XX century there appeared the revival of the Irish traditions. The folk musical instruments became popular. The competitions on the Irish step and Ceili (Ceilis) began to be held. And chanson (sean-nos), style of songs and dances performance in the old manner, is very popular nowadays.
At present in Ireland there are plenty of international musical and folklore festivals most part of which is concentrated in Dublin and Cork. For example, in 2008- 2010 there was “PUB MUSIC FEST”, the Veronica Dunn International Competition of vocalists, the International concert tour "A Celtic Ornament”. And also Noel Redding Band, Planxty, WaylanderSweeney's, Men The Irish Rovers, The DublinersDe Dannan, Arcady, Dervish, Patrick Street, Beoga, Grada, Danu, Teada, Karan, Casey, Meav, Omnia. [slide 8]
The first mention of Irish dance dates back to 1569 year. It is a letter written by sir Henry Sydney to Queen Elizabeth I. In it he described girls, dancing Irish jigs in Galway, which greatly impressed him: "The dancers of the first class, they are very beautiful and has amazing dresses". In addition Sydney went on to describe dance formation, watching the dancers in two straight lines, which are the early version of the long dance (Rinnce Fada). But it is clear to understand that the existence of the Irish dance began since the times of druids. In their religious rituals of worshipping oak tree and the sun they danced and moved in a circle. From that the group “round” dance took its origin, which is the predecessor background of the modern ceili dances.
Nowadays the dancing shows of troupe of Geena Battler and Michael Flettli are worldwide popular.
They are: Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, Celtic Tiger, Dancing on Dangerous Ground
The Irish dance is so beautiful that it can charm even the man whohas had no particular love for the dance at all. The passion for traditional dances can be observed not only among the young people of Ireland, but also among the people all over the world. Folk music has direct impact on formation of the culture of modern society because it enters into any house, in any family, affects any person. Under its influence creative potential is developed and realized. The person starts behaving definitely, expressing different actions, manners, as it is a culture basis. [slide 9]
T: Thanks a lot, take your seat, please. But what about folklore and literature? Alina, could you tell us please.
S: Literary works of Ireland are known as art images of legends and the fairy tales, including folklore characters that have been living till the present time. Widespread folklore styles are sagas and bylichkas.
Since VI century we have known about Kukhalan and Fionn's acts due to sagas.
One of the outstanding examples of the Irish folklore is the saga about kidnapping a bull from Kualnge. Analyzing this saga, it is possible to see many echoes in the modern characteristic of the Irish people.
A saga is an epic work, a legend about gods and heroes. It can be in prosaic and poetic styles. In this saga the main character is Kukhulin, who symbolizes the Irish people as a nation. Comparing the modern Irish and Kukhulin it is possible to tell that the Irish are very brave. Bravery is brightly described in Kukhulin's song during the fight.
The Irish people read and listen to sagas. They develop bravery and strength, firmness to difficulties since their childhood. These all have influence on their way of life, and, therefore, the culture of the society as a whole. The Irish nation boasts that “royal blood flows in their veins”. Horns are mentioned in Kukhulin's song “Horns of a wild bull” that symbolizes the royalty. There is an opinion that the Irish are an aggressive nation that is also reflected in literary works. There are a lot of fairy tales on this topic. For example, “The right hand of the Holly Walton”, “ The poet Malony and a farmer from Dal Casa”, “The fairy stream and the spindle”, “About the King, the Holy and the Goose”, “The honorable Lord of the city and the Landlord” e.t.c. We can see that folklore influence through literature on the formation and cultural development of society is reflected in development of certain qualities of a person, and, his way of life and manners.It is possible to note the following modern literary works connected with folklore sources: The horseback rider on a white horse (Eogan Macque - and-Vard) , Exile (Patrick O'Konayra), Hawk (Patrick O'Shikhra) e.t.c. It is interesting to know that writers Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, who have given great literary works to the world, were Irish by origin. [slide 10]
T: Thanks a lot. It was very interesting. Now let’s look how folklore is connected with the way of life of Irish people. Alex, please, tell us.
S: The features of an ancient Irish life correspond with their temper, an environment in which they happened to live, and their traditions. Their life was filled with hunting, war, cultivation of the land and religious ceremonies. Handicraftsmen created magnificent jewelry, vessels and other household goods.
Now the way of Irish life has undergone some changes though the direct connection with the antiquity is traced. Houses here are still built according to old traditions and style. Bright cheerful colours can be seen on walls of the majority of houses with colourful doors. Such description of houses can be met in bylichka “Legends and parables from the County of Clare”.The farm in the Irish culture exists since the ancient times.The saga “Cale -o-Dale” describes a typical village of old Ireland. It is known that the Irish farmers use old methods of housekeeping. The people of Ireland are very hospitable and friendly. The family in Ireland is very important. As it is said in Kakhar-Kileyn's saga, “the most important value of the life is my house, my family”.The strong respect for women is developed. Till the time of Christianization the woman had the high status in society with matriarchy elements.
For example, the legendary Queen Medb is mentioned in saga “Kidnapping the bull”. She was the wife of nine kings of Ireland. Nowadays feminist movement increases every year. For example, there are a lot of women in parliament.
Nevertheless, in folklore the negative character of women is shown in the phenomenon of Banshee. These are the women who live in other world, but sometimes appear in ours. Their function is “a death sign”. Usually they represent the evil, but sometimes, for example, in the saga “Gisli” Banshee is described absolutely on the contrary: “And once the kind woman came to Gisli at night dreams. She was on a grey horse and called to go with her, to the dwelling, and he agreed”. In modern society Banshee has function of frightening children to premolish them not to do prohibited actions.
In Ireland horseracing is widespread. The love to horses is expressed brightly. To look after the horses is considered to be very honourable. At schools the children are taught riding.
In sagas horses have always had bright characteristics. For example, in the saga about kidnapping of a bull from Kualnge. The love to horses grows also to a tribute to god of the sun Dagda. The horse symbolizes the sun that is a fast and tireless traveler, as well as the horse, the fastest land traveler.
The central place in mythology was occupied by belief in resettlement of souls that reduced fear of death, and during wars maintained bravery and dedication.
And even now in small villages there live the people capable to cure diseases without drugs, to know and predict different events. A lot of the Irish people believe in them and come for their help but some don't accept this theory and consider such women or men as charlatans.
So having analyzed some aspects of this topic it is possible to make the conclusion that the influence of folklore on the way of life of the Irish people, and, therefore, and on their modern culture is actual, and shown in maintenance of traditional actions and vital values [slide 11]
T: Thanks a lot but what about folklore and fashion? Marina, could you tell us please.
S: Now the traditional clothes which description we meet in folklore works are very popular. For example, the saga about Kalkelu (K?l-ke-l?) tells us about women dressed in long clothes with green and grey flowers and tall handsome men in long raincoats. Every Irish girl or woman has a traditional dress and a lot of clothes with special folk ornament. They wear them during big national festivals, small private holidays or events and as casual clothes. They enjoy wearing their dresses during the dancing.
So we can see the direct connection between the modern fashion style and the ancient one because it is passed from generation to generation. In December, 2012 in Dublin there was a great fashion show where models of dresses with folk components were presented.
Nowadays lace is a very fashionable part of women’s clothing. We can find the mention of such elements of handmade cloth in saga “The song of Kuale”.
So, the influence of folklore on the style of modern clothes can be clearly understood as a very important part of the everyday life of the Irish people that is a part of the national culture. [slide 12]
T: Thanks a lot. It was very interesting. Now let’s look at some traditional holidays. Helen, please.
S: They have different festivals in Ireland: both official, and informal.
There are some of them:
- January, 1st — New Year
- February, 1st —St Brigitta’s Day, Imbolk, the first day of spring
- March, 17th —St. Patrick’s Day and the Independence Day of Ireland
- May, 1st — Beltayn, the first day of summer
- The first Monday of May — Easter Monday
- August, 1st — Lugnassad, the first day of fall and harvesting
- September, 22nd — Mabon, the day of an autumn equinox
- October, 31st —Halloween (Samayn)
- December, 25th — Christmas [slide 13]
We consider in details only two of them: Samayn and St. Patrick’s Day.
Samayn is a festival of the end of harvesting. The world “Samayn” means “November”. It was marked out as a holiday of the beginning of the New Year, and also as the day of honoring the dead. In Ireland it is sometimes called “the Holiday of the Dead”. It was believed that night the people who had broken the law died. At acceptance of Christianity Samayn was transformed to All Saints' Day which is celebrated on November, 1st —Halloween. During the celebration they burn down fires. People jump over them. This ritual means the clarification by fire. Also they put on frightening costumes; prepare traditional Irish dishes and everywhere we can hear national music playing. A lot of folklore works are connected with this festival. For example, a mention of ancient celebration traditions can be found in the saga “Lock about Gisl Son Illugi”. So we can definitely say that the modern Irish society uses the folklore beginning for expression of the relation to occurring events of the festival. [slide 14]
March, 17th is the day of memory of the patron of Ireland, Saint Patrick
(St. Patrick's Day). According to the legend this man brought Christianity on the pagan island and expelled all snakes. They believe that with the help of shamrock Patrick explained the concept of the Holy Trinity to the people. He said: “The same as three leaves can grow from one stalk, and God can be uniform in three persons”. But this day also has pagan motives. So, one of the characters is Leprickon, a fantastic shoemaker who owns a hidden pot with gold. If a successful hunter of treasures managed to catch Leprickon, he would have to tell the person where his treasures were hidden. But this fairy character is very angry and dangerous with ability to do the harm for the people. During this festival people wear green clothes, eat green food and drink green drinks. Green colour is the colour of spring.
There are traditional parades in the streets with a lot of people dressed in extravagant costumes, and traditional music of the bagpipes and whistles is playing everywhere. In this case we can see that during the national festival celebration the folklore comes out on top because of national songs and dances. They have their origin in the past and have reached the present and are sung everywhere in Ireland.
Therefore the direct influence of folklore on modern culture of the country is observed. [slide 15]
T: Thank you very much. Do Russian people celebrate these festivals?
S:..,..................................................
T: We have known a lot of interesting and new information. And what conclusions can we make?
S: Having considered correlations between the folklore and various components of the modern culture of Ireland, it is possible to draw the following conclusions:
- The influence of folklore on the formation of the modern culture is actual and strong through various components of culture, whether it is music, art, literary works, the way of life and behavior manners, so as traditions from the antiquity and to the present.
- Genesis of the present traditions and ancient culture of the Irish people is observed.
- The most ancient monuments of oral national creativity brightly reflect the modern life of today's vigorous inhabitants of Ireland.
- Studying small elements of the past, it is possible to learn a lot about different people, namely, studying of the Irish folklore helps to understand features of the Irish and their difference from other people. [slide 16]
T: I hope that the material has seemed interesting to you. Did you like the lesson?
S:..,..................................................
T: Your home task is to make some notes about Ireland and Irish culture for the newspaper. Thank you for your attention. Goodbye. [slide 17]
The list of references
- Powell Tonnels. The origin of Celts. M:2004
- Powell Tonnels. The attitude of the Celts to the supernatural. M: 2004
- Shirokov N. Another World Celts. Spb:2000
- Byrne.F. Kings Leicester Spb:2006
- Shirokova H. Religion and mythology of the ancient Celts. Spb:2000
- Dillon M., Chadwick N. Ancient Irish society. Spb:2002
- Laighsaft P. Banshee. M: 2007