Escuela de Ciencias del Lenguaje

Sección de Lenguas para Fines Generales y Académicos

Inglés con Fines Generales y Académicos I

Greetings around the world – Part 2

Unit 1: My life, my preferences and alternatives
Skills involved: Reading, speaking, listening
EGP: Greetings
EAP: Using reading strategies (skimming, scanning, reading images);
presenting simple oral reports
Grammar & Vocab.: Present simple.
Task: Reporting how people greet in other cultures and how these gestures are
changing during the Covid-19 pandemic
Time (approx.): 2 hours

● Olga nicole cambindo hurtado

Warm up:

To start with the topic, take the following online quiz in order to review the topic
about Greetings: https://www.englishclub.com/speaking/greetings-quiz.php

Check your answers and take a screenshot of your score. Paste the screenshot in
the chart below:

PASTE YOUR SCREENSHOT HERE:

During task

1. Reading and writing:

a. Go to the PowerPoint Presentation called “Greetings around the world”.

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 b. Read the information carefully. Choose THREE countries and answer the
following questions: What country is this information from? How do they greet?
What is the meaning?

● The Philippines: Mano

When greeting elders, take their hand and press their knuckles against your forehead as a sign
of respect.

Post task:

2. Reading:
You will read a text to learn about other ways people around the world are saying
hello. Before you read the text, look at the key words below.

Key words:
● spread: propagación
● bump: golpe suave
● upward: hacia arriba
● bend: inclinarse
● bow: agachar la cabeza, hacer una reverencia
● prayers: oraciones
● weapon: arma
● monk: monje
● handshake: apretón de manos
● in-laws: familia política
● cup your hands: ahuecar las manos
● squat down: agacharse, acuclillarse
● elders: personas mayores, más viejas
● boundaries: límites

A. Read the text below and answer the questions.

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 The Namaste and other contactless cultural greetings may be safer alternatives to
handshakes during the coronavirus pandemic.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT NICKELSBERG, GETTY IMAGES

Five ways people around the world say hello—without

touching
From the Thai wai to the Zambian cup-and-clap, these no-contact salutes express respect and
welcome.

To prevent the spread of coronavirus, people around the world are changing their handshakes,
hugs, and hongi (a traditional Maori greeting with noses) for lower-risk gestures such as foot
bumps and air high-fives. The current COVID-19 crisis is influencing ways people connect,
but for some cultures, no-contact greetings already exist and are the result of very old
traditions rather than pandemic protocol.

Namaste from India to Nepal

Maybe you hear the phrase “Namaste” accompanied by a mudra (gesture) of upward-pointing,
pressed-together palms in Western pop culture. But in the western society, it is often separated
from its cultural and spiritual context.

The term Namaste translates to “bend or bow to you,” and its history dates back several
thousands of years, says Divya L. Selvakumar, a Hindu Indian American and the founder of
the American Hindu World Service. Doing Namaste is considered to be a sign of respect and
gratitude.

The wai in Thailand

As an influence of Hinduism and Buddhism, the standard greeting across Thailand, the wai,
also involves a gentle bow of the head with one’s hands pressed together in front.

“Many Hindus and Buddhists say prayers with their hands pressed together, using the wai,”
says Amporn Marddent, an expert on cultural studies at Walailak University. “But the history
of the wai also comes from the greeting to show that we are very open, we do not carry any
kind of weapon, and we come in peace.”

To express a higher level of respect, use a deeper bow and place your hands higher: pressed
hands at chest level for a standard greeting; face level for a colleague, elder, or a superior;

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hairline level for a monk. And if you travel to Thailand and see the King, bow deeply and
place your pressed hands high—thumbs at the top of your head.

Bowing in Japan

Bowing was introduced to Japan in the seventh century from China. It originated to show the
class difference...so that the person bowing would be bending the body to make themselves
seem shorter.

Mika White, a marketing expert, says that the Japanese bow has evolved into the modern bow,
“when you bow now, you can keep your feet planted on the ground, but, in the past, Japanese
bows were made from a seated position. The key component of the Japanese bow, lowering
the head to a degree that matches your intended message, remains intact”.

Cup and clap in Zambia

Shaking hands is common in Zambia. But you can also communicate without physical
contact. To say a simple hello, cup your hands together and clap a couple of times while
saying “muli bwanji” (meaning “hello,” used any time of the day) or “mwaka bwanji” (good
morning).

If you’re meeting in-laws, while cupping your hands in the same way as the general hello,
squat down low and clap in this position. Lowering your body while greeting expresses
greater respect.

When you meet other elders, you can say hello by placing a hand on your chest and stomach
and bending your legs slightly.

The salaam of Islam

Many “salaams” (greetings) involve touch and it’s common within Muslim communities for
members of the same gender or family to greet one another with a handshake, hug, and
multiple cheek-side kisses, but physical contact isn’t a requirement.

A no-contact salaam shows respect for the personal boundaries or the religious or cultural
values of the person you are greeting as well as for everyone’s health during the pandemic.
You can do as many Muslims do and simply put your right hand to your heart when greeting.
(606 words)

Adapted from:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/2020/03/ways-people-around-world-say-hello-without-
touching-coronavirus/

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 Reading Techniques/Strategies

What are Reading Techniques or

Strategies?

Reading strategies is the broad term used to describe the planned and
explicit actions that help readers translate print to meaning. Strategies that improve decoding
and reading comprehension skills benefit every student, but are essential for
beginning readers, struggling readers, and English Language Learners. (Taken from:
https://www.readinghorizons.com/reading-strategies)

a. Skimming: Skimming is reading a text rapidly, in order to get the gist, the basic
overall idea, rather than concentrating on absorbing all the details. For instance, many
people skim read a newspaper article just to get a quick overview, or a text could be
skimmed to see if it's worth reading in detail. This strategy helps us to get a general
idea of the text.

You skim read a text when you:

● Read the title, subtitles and subheadings to find out what the text is about.
● Look at the illustrations to give you more information about the topic.
● Reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph.
● Don’t read every word or every sentence and look out for keywords.
● Continue to think about the meaning of the text.

Let's practice!

What is the text about? Skim the picture, the caption, the title and the headings. What is this
article mainly about? Write your answer and share it with the class

● It is about the different types of greetings of each country.

Scanning: Scanning is a quick look at the text to find specific information. When scanning,
the reader looks for specific facts rather than trying to absorb all the information. A good
example is when you are reading a timetable. Generally, you want specific information and
look for something specific that is convenient for your journey plan. Some tips for better
scanning, are:

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● Don’t try to read every word. Instead let your eyes move quickly across the page until you
find what you’re looking for.
● Use clues on the page, such as headings and titles, to help you. • In a dictionary or phone
book, use the header words to help you scan. You can find these in bold at the top of each
page.
● If you’re reading for study, start by thinking up or writing down some questions that you
want to answer. Doing this can focus your mind and help you find the facts or information
that you need more easily.
● Many texts list things in alphabetical order from A to Z. These include everyday materials,
such as the phone book or indexes to books and catalogues.
● There are many ways to practice scanning skills. Try looking up the playlist of your
favorite group or singer or scan web pages on the internet to find specific information.

Let's practice!

Look for the following information in the text.

1. One region where Namaste has been removed from its spiritual origin is:
● Sociedad occidental.

2. Two uses of the Thai wai are:

● It is also done to say goodbye and apologize.

3. The key component of the Japanese bow is:

● head down.

4. You show respect to your relatives when greeting them in Zambia by:
● Yes.

B. Choose one country, different from the ones mentioned already in the text and
in the PowerPoint Presentation, look for information about how they greet.
Write a short report (1 Paragraph) explaining how they do it and what it
means. Include pictures if necessary.

Saudi Arabia: Touch noses In Saudi Arabia, and a number of Persian Gulf countries, the
A go-to greeting isn't a handshake or kiss on the cheek, but rather it's touching noses. While a
kiss can be intimate but a nose, a “nose” is merely a handshake using other means, right?

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