countries and nationalities essay

Countries and Nationalities for Young English Learners Essay

Lesson plan.

This lesson will be taught to kindergarteners aged between 3 and 5 who are Hispanic English Language Learners (ELLs). The content area of choice will include countries and nationalities, which is an effective tool to develop learners’ vocabulary while enhancing their knowledge on the topic. The following in the SIOP Lesson Plan developed for the identified sample of students:

The SIOP model has become a useful framework that teachers can employ in the presentation of the content to second language learners through tools that enhance accessibility and comprehension (Kareva & Echevarria, 2013). Therefore, each feature of the model is targeted at making sure that students’ language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) are improved in the most beneficial way possible. It is also important to mention that the alignment of the SIOP model with specific learning standards of the state, in which the learners are taught, is extremely beneficial. In the context of the specific lesson plan presented above, the SIOP model was aligned with the California Department of Education standards (CA ELD) to provide students with opportunities of attaining academic content while also engaging in English learning (Vogt & Echevarria, 2015).

In the presented lesson plan, there is a clear orientation on the target audience of Hispanic ELLs aged between three and five years old. Focusing the lesson on the topic of countries and nationalities is a way to engage ELLs into the conversation that could use their background knowledge while acquiring new information (Ziegenfuss, Odhiambo, & Keyes, 2014). In the lesson preparation, the teacher aims to help students benefit from the learning process through supplementary materials and such tools as visuals or tangible objects, which provide a starting point for the learning of new concepts. At the building background stage, the teacher will determine the level of ELLs’ acquaintance with the subject, which is supported by the SIOP model (Folorunsho, 2014).

Determining previous knowledge is essential for discovering gaps, misinformation, and overall competence that will guide future lessons. Comprehensible input is associated with ensuring that students understand the new concepts and can use language in their conversations with each other. In the lesson plan, this point was accounted for through the use of SIOP tools that make the presentation of information easier and more comprehensible to ELL. Strategies for improving language acquisition within the SIOP model are associated with capitalizing on the existing knowledge in students’ native language and transferring them to the EL. The lesson plan proposed scaffolding as a tool for providing instructional support to ELLs; also, it is essential to evoke students’ critical thinking and ask them questions that may require the application of both first and second language skills.

Interactions between ELLs during a lesson are vital to successful language acquisition, and the SIOP model proposes to use interactions for practicing the vocabulary and enhancing comprehension. The lesson plan proposed pair and small-group activities to improve collaboration between students and help them clarify the new concepts. During practice and application, it is essential to ensure that teachers present new material in an accessible way that would not restrict learning. Instead of using the lecture-like material, the lesson proposed group assignments, partner work, and small projects to facilitate students language development. When delivering a lesson, teachers should monitor the pace, ELLs’ comfort levels, and engagement levels to modify the assignments in a way that could keep everyone on track. Lastly, reviews and assessments will be conducted during the lesson to determine areas of improvement and enhance comprehension, as proposed by the SIOP model.

California State Board of Education. (2012). California English language development standards. Web.

Folorunsho, A. (2014). Instructional models for English language learners as contributors to elementary teachers ‘ effectiveness. Web.

Kareva, V., & Echevarria, J. (2013). Using the SIOP model for effective content teaching with second and foreign language learners. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 1 (2), 239-248.

Vogt, M., & Echevarria, J. (2015). Reaching English learners: Aligning the ELA/ELD framework with SIOP. The California Reader, 49 (1), 23-33.

Ziegenfuss, R., Odhiambo, E., & Keyes, C. (2014). How can we help students who are English language learners succeed? Current Issues in Middle Level Education, 19 (1), 58-62.

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Bibliography

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Lesson Ideas: Countries and Nationalities

Published by awalls86 on march 7, 2021 march 7, 2021.

For more lesson ideas, click here .

A common theme in beginner and elementary  course books is countries and nationalities, which often appears in one of the first units. However, lessons or speaking clubs themed on countries and nationalities at higher levels can be done which allow students to say much more about them.

I plan to do a separate page (or more than one) for travel related ideas, so these are not included here.

Possible Learning Outcomes:

Beyond being able to name countries and nationalities, it may also be useful for students to talk about countries or make generalisations about them. The following outcomes may therefore be useful in planning a lesson:

(All outcomes should be proceeded by “by the end of the lesson, students will be better able to”)

• identify countries on a world map and name the corresponding nationality,
• say where people are from and what their nationality is,
• talk about what a country is known for e.g. famous people and products,
• make generalisations about a country, nationality or something related to either (e.g. I love Italian food).

Games/Activities:

Course books often introduce a number of country and nationality pairings that they assume are useful to all students. Certain countries are always represented (the UK and the USA), some may find their way in (Thailand, Argentina), and some never get a look in (Nigeria, Pakistan). However, the countries and nationalities that students need to know most of all are the ones that their country has the most exposure to.

For this reason, when introducing students to countries and nationalities, I like to give them a blank world map and find their country first of all. In teams, I then ask them to find as many countries as they know, mark them and also write the nationality of people from that country. We then go through these and give out points to the teams. 

Talking about a Country/Nationality

One activity that students should be able to do from a pre-intermediate level is to prepare a short talk on a country. You could have a student pull a country from a hat each week and next week that student delivers a short talk on that country. You can provide questions to help the student e.g. what is the population, capital, national dish, official language, etc. To make it more fun (and ensure other students listen), you could also ask the student to prepare a few questions for their classmates to answer after their talk.

You could invite students at higher levels to do a pecha kucha presentation on a country. This is simply a 7 minute (6 minutes 40 seconds to be precise) talk with 20 pictures each being shown for 20 seconds each. Students may find it motivating to look for these pictures.

A good lead-in to a lesson on a particular country is the 5 things game . To play you simply need to think of 5 things that you find in a particular country, or 5 things that a particular nationality famously do. Of course these shouldn’t be things that are true to all countries (though not necessarily unique). For example:

5 things that you find in Australia:

• Gigantic spiders

5 things British people do:

• talk about the weather
• use sarcasm
• apologise too much

Another game that can be played here is one minute talks. In this game you just need the name of some countries written on pieces of paper. In groups one student takes a piece of paper and turns it over. The student has to try and talk about this country for minute. Alternatively, instead of trying to speak for one minute, they can speak for an unlimited time, but the other students should try and guess the country.

Comparing Countries

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Regions & Countries

What it takes to truly be ‘one of us’, in u.s., canada, europe, australia and japan, publics say language matters more to national identity than birthplace.

Debates over what it means to be a “true” American, Australian, German or other nationality have often highlighted the importance of a person being born in a particular country. But contrary to such rhetoric, a Pew Research Center survey finds that people generally place a relatively low premium on a person’s birthplace. Only 13% of Australians, 21% of Canadians, 32% of Americans and a median of 33% of Europeans believe that it is very important for a person to be born in their country in order to be considered a true national.

There are some exceptions – Hungary (52%), Greece (50%) and Japan (50%) – where about half the public considers birthplace to be very important. But in other nations – Germany (13%), Australia (13%) and Sweden (8%) – very few people make a strong connection between the locale of one’s birth and national identity.

These are the findings from a cross-national poll by Pew Research Center, conducted in 14 countries among 14,514 respondents from April 4 to May 29, 2016.

While many in the countries surveyed are open to those born elsewhere being part of “the nation,” acceptance comes with certain requisites. Majorities in every country surveyed say it is very important to speak the dominant language to be considered truly a national of that land. This includes a median of 77% in Europe and majorities in Japan (70%), the U.S. (70%), Australia (69%) and Canada (59%).

In addition, sharing national customs and traditions is very important to many people’s sense of “who is us.” Just over half the public in Canada (54%) and roughly half the public across Australia (50%) and Europe (a median of 48%) links adoption of local culture to national identity. Somewhat fewer than half of Americans (45%) and Japanese (43%) make that connection.

The survey also asked about the link between religious affiliation and national identity. About a third (32%) of people in the U.S. believe it is very important to be Christian to be considered truly American. This contrasts with 54% of Greeks who say this, but only 7% of Swedes.

Young, old see national identity differently

The generations differ even more sharply over the importance of national customs and traditions. In the U.S., people ages 50 and older (55%) are far more likely than those ages 18 to 34 (28%) to say sharing such cultural elements is very important to being truly American. There is a similar 20-percentage-point generation gap in Canada, Australia and Japan. In Europe, a median of 37% of 18- to 34-year-olds believe this aspect of national identity is very important, compared with 56% of those ages 50 and older.

Partisan views on national identity in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Europe

In the U.S., more than eight-in-ten Republicans (83%) say language proficiency is a very important requisite for being truly American. Fewer independents (67%) share that strong belief and even fewer Democrats (61%) agree. Among Republicans, 60% say that for a person to be considered a true American it is very important that he or she share U.S. culture. Only 40% of independents and 38% of Democrats agree that this is very important to being truly American.

A clear partisan split in the U.S. also exists on the importance of being Christian. More than four-in-ten Republicans (43%) say it is a very important part of being an American. Fewer Democrats (29%) and independents (26%) share this view.

Notably, there is not much partisan difference about the link between the land of one’s birth and U.S. national identity. Roughly a third of Republicans (35%) and Democrats (32%) say being born in the U.S. is very important. Slightly fewer independents (29%) hold that view.

There is a similar 24 percentage-point difference on the importance of Swedish customs and traditions between sympathizers with the right-wing, populist Swedish Democrats and those who see them unfavorably. And in Germany there exists a 22-point gap on the importance of culture between those who favor the Alternative for Germany party and those who don’t.

In Australia, roughly eight-in-ten (79%) supporters of the center-right Liberal Party and about seven-in-ten (68%) backers of the center-left Labor Party say it is very important to speak English to be considered Australian. Only a third of the left-leaning environmentally oriented Greens agree. There is even greater partisan disparity on the importance of customs and tradition. More than six-in-ten Liberal Party followers (63%) believe that adherence to Australian customs and traditions is very important to national identity. Just over four-in-ten Labor Party supporters concur (44%). And even fewer Greens agree (15%).percentage-point difference on the importance of Swedish customs and traditions between sympathizers with the right-wing, populist Swedish Democrats and those who see them unfavorably. And in Germany there exists a 22-point gap on the importance of culture between those who favor the Alternative for Germany party and those who don’t.

In Canada, while majorities across all major parties say it is very important to speak either French or English, this sentiment is held most strongly by those supporting the center-right Conservative Party of Canada (68%), followed by those backing the center-left Liberal Party (59%) and those supporting the social-democratic New Democratic Party (53%). More than six-in-ten Conservatives (63%) believe that a person must share Canadian customs and traditions to be truly Canadian. Fully 57% of Liberals agree, but only 46% of New Democrats share this view. Relatively few Canadians aligned with any of these major parties think it is very important to national identity to be Christian or to be born in Canada.

CORRECTION (April 2017): The topline accompanying this report has been updated to reflect a revised weight for the Netherlands data, which corrects the percentages for two regions. The changes due to this adjustment are very minor and do not materially change the analysis of the report. For a summary of changes, see here . For updated demographic figures for the Netherlands, please contact [email protected] .

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Table of contents, how hispanic americans get their news, language and traditions are considered central to national identity, latinos’ views of and experiences with the spanish language, among asian americans, u.s.-born children of immigrants are most likely to have hidden part of their heritage, relatively few asian americans say they’re well-informed about asian history in the u.s., most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

• ESL Activities

Teaching About Countries & Nationalities [In English]

• Posted by by Zaraki Kenpachi
• 3 years ago

Introduction: Teaching countries and nationalities is an engaging and educational topic that helps students develop their language skills while expanding their cultural knowledge. By linking countries, nationalities, and languages, students can better understand the world and its diversity. In this article, we will explore effective techniques and interactive activities that language teachers can use to teach countries and nationalities in an engaging and memorable way. From introducing the topic to playing games and incorporating grammar, we will provide practical advice, examples, and detailed information to enhance the learning experience for your students.

Getting Started: To initiate the lesson, start by assessing your students’ existing knowledge of countries and languages. Encourage them to share what they know, focusing on big countries, nearby countries, and well-known countries. For example, you can ask questions such as:

• “Can you name any countries you are familiar with?”
• “What do you know about the languages spoken in these countries?”

Focusing on Relevant Countries:

Teaching about countries can be overwhelming, so it’s crucial to narrow down the selection of countries initially. Here are some guidelines to consider:

• Focus on nearby countries: Relate the lesson to your students’ geographical location, highlighting neighboring countries to foster a sense of connection. For instance, if you are teaching in Colombia, focus on countries such as Venezuela, Brazil, or Ecuador. This approach enables students to relate to the cultures and languages of their immediate neighbors.
• Highlight big countries: Emphasize countries with significant populations or sizes to capture students’ attention and create a basis for comparison. For example, you can focus on countries like China, India, the United States, Russia, and Brazil. Discuss their population, land area, and cultural significance to provide context and engage students in meaningful discussions.
• Explore well-known countries: Incorporate countries with rich cultural heritage, historical importance, or worldwide recognition to engage students’ curiosity and enthusiasm. For example, countries like Spain, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom are well known for their history, culture, landmarks, and contributions to the global stage. Encourage students to explore these countries and their unique characteristics.
• Highlight historical and cultural relevance: Connect countries that have historical, cultural, or trade ties to provide a broader context and enhance students’ understanding. For instance, you can discuss the historical connections between Latin American countries and the Spanish language due to colonization. Highlight how these shared experiences shape the languages spoken and cultures in these regions.

Explaining Borders:

To help students comprehend the concept of countries, it is essential to explain what borders are and how they are determined. Borders can be lines on land or water and can be influenced by various factors. Some key points to discuss include:

• Conventions and agreements: Explain that borders can be established through conventions or agreements between countries. For example, neighboring countries may negotiate and agree upon the demarcation of their shared border.
• Military conquest and historical influences: Discuss how borders can be shaped by military conquest and historical events. For instance, the Roman Empire’s borders expanded through conquest, influencing the borders of several European countries today.
• Geographical features: Highlight the role of geographical features in the creation of borders. Mountains, rivers, and oceans often act as natural boundaries between countries. Provide examples, such as the border between the United States and Canada along the Niagara River or the division of Germany by the Berlin Wall.

Linking Country, Nationality, and Language: Introduce the idea that people living in a particular country have specific nationalities and languages. Use examples such as Germany (German – German – Berlin) or Japan (Japanese – Japanese – Tokyo) to illustrate this link. Utilize maps to point out countries while mentioning their nationalities and languages, facilitating visual and auditory learning. Consider the following structure when explaining country, nationality, language, and capital city:

• Germany: German – German – Berlin
• Japan: Japanese – Japanese – Tokyo
• France: French – French – Paris

Games and Activities:

Visualize it.

• Color specific countries after you mention their names.
• Write the names of countries on the map, using continental maps if needed.
• Place pieces of paper with country names on top of their respective locations.
• Connect the location of a country with its language, either using pieces of paper, coloring, or writing.

Flag Bingo:

• Create bingo sheets with country names and have students add the corresponding flags as they hear the names called out. The first student to complete their sheet shouts “bingo” and wins. This game encourages students to identify countries by their names and flags, reinforcing their learning.

Sing-along Songs and Chants:

• Incorporate songs about countries and nationalities to make the learning process more enjoyable and memorable for students. Songs can aid in vocabulary retention and pronunciation practice. For example, you can use songs like “Hello to All the Children of the World” or “The World is a Rainbow.”

Make Full Presentations about Countries:

• Put students in groups for group presentations or assign individual countries.
• Give them a time limit to prepare their presentations.
• Encourage the use of specific grammar or vocabulary related to the topic.
• Ask students to create a PowerPoint presentation or use posters to enhance their visual aids.
• Conduct a Q&A session after each presentation to check comprehension and engage other students.

Categories:

• Splitting the game by continent, where students have to name countries from a specific continent.
• Allowing skip or wrong guess chances to keep the game engaging.
• Shifting the focus to capital cities instead of countries.

Which Country Is It? Heads-Up!:

• Have students sit in a circle and assign or allow one student to choose a country without revealing it to others. The next student in the circle asks a yes/no question or makes a guess. This pattern continues until someone correctly guesses the country. The student who guesses correctly wins a card/token. The game concludes when everyone has had a chance to present, and the person with the most cards/tokens wins.

Which Country Am I?:

• Similar to the previous game, but this time, students guess their assigned country by asking other students yes/no questions. Each student has a piece of paper with their country written on it attached to their forehead. The first person to guess their country correctly wins the game. This activity encourages active listening, critical thinking, and deductive reasoning.

Teaching Grammar while Doing Activities:

• Comparatives and Superlatives:
• “China has a larger population than Japan.”
• “Russia is the largest country in the world.”
• “Canada is colder than Thailand.”
• “Brazil has more land area than India.”
• “Italy is more densely populated than Australia.”
• Would You Rather? :
• “Would you rather eat Italian food or Chinese food?”
• “Would you rather live in Spain or South Africa?”
• “Would you rather visit Japan or Brazil?”

Conclusion:

Teaching countries and nationalities offers an exciting opportunity to engage students in language learning while broadening their cultural knowledge. By using techniques like linking country, nationality, and language, playing interactive games, and incorporating grammar, teachers can make the learning process more enjoyable and memorable for their students. Remember to adapt these activities to suit your students’ proficiency level and interests, fostering a positive and interactive classroom environment. By using these techniques, you can empower your students to embrace global diversity and develop their language skills simultaneously.

Further Reading Recommendations:

• “The Usborne Geography Encyclopedia” by Gillian Doherty
• “Countries of the World: Our World in Pictures” by Gerard Cheshire
• “National Geographic Kids Beginner’s World Atlas” by National Geographic Kids

Testimonials:

“As a language teacher, incorporating interactive activities and games to teach countries and nationalities has transformed my classroom. My students are not only learning about different cultures and languages but also actively engaged in the learning process. The ‘Visualize It’ activity and ‘Flag Bingo’ have been particularly effective in reinforcing their knowledge. The joy and enthusiasm on their faces while participating in these activities are truly priceless.” – Emma, English Language Teacher.

Note: The article has been expanded and enhanced to provide detailed information and examples. The additional content includes more specific instructions, elaborations on games and activities, and further explanations of grammar integration.

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LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

Countries and nationalities.

Level: Elementary (A1-A2)

Type of English: General English

Tags: people and places countries nations and nationalities Vocabulary lesson

In this lesson, students learn and put into practice the names of important countries, nations and nationalities. The lesson assumes a basic knowledge of the verb ‘be’.

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Good questions and answers at the end. I like the abbreviation for the young.

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In this lesson, students learn and put into practice the names of important countries, nations, and nationalities. The lesson assumes a basic knowledge of the verb ‘be’.

COURSE PLANS

This comprehensive course plan covers the full range of language needs – listening, role play, vocabulary development.

Worksheets in Elementary English course plan

Type of English: General English Level: Elementary (A1-A2)

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• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Nationalities, languages, countries and regions

When we refer to a nation or region, we can use:

– the name of the country or region: Turkey, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Asia

– a singular noun that we use for a person from the country or region: a Turk, a Japanese, a German, a Brazilian, an Asian

– the plural expression the … used for the whole population of a country or region: the Turks, the Japanese, the Germans, the Brazilians, the Asians

– an adjective: Turkish, Japanese, German, Brazilian, Asian

The name of a national language is commonly the same as the national adjective. In this case, the words are nouns and may be modified by adjectives. We don’t use the or the word language :

Do you speak Chinese ?

Not: Do you speak the Chinese? or Do you speak Chinese language?

Russian is difficult to learn, isn’t it, especially the alphabet?

She speaks fluent French .

We use a capital letter when we refer to a nationality, a language, a country and a region:

They have studied American literature.

Not: They have studied american literature .

When we talk about the United Kingdom (UK), English is not the same as British. English is not used for Scottish or Welsh or Northern Irish people. (Great) Britain refers to the territory of England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom refers to England, Scotland, Wales and the six counties of Northern Ireland. Some people from Northern Ireland refer to themselves as British in the context of the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland . However, everyone from Northern Ireland has the right to Irish nationality and can hold an Irish passport. Irish also refers to citizens of the Irish Republic.

The Scots themselves prefer the adjective Scots and it also occurs in the compounds Scotsman and Scotswoman . We use the adjective Scotch to refer only to food and drink from Scotland e.g. Scotch broth (broth is a kind of soup).

Nowadays we use the noun Briton only to refer to the ancient tribes that lived in Britain:

The ancient Britons built huge earthworks to bury their kings and leaders.

The short form of British , Brit , is often used as a noun (or less commonly as an adjective) in journalistic style and in informal situations to refer to British people:

The Brits have a bad reputation in some countries.

We use Arabic for the language spoken in Arab countries; the normal adjective is Arab (e.g. the Arab World, the Arab Press ). We use Arabian in a few fixed expressions and place names (e.g. Arabian Nights is a famous film; the Arabian Sea ).

The singular noun is normally the same as the adjective (e.g. Moroccan ), and the plural expression is the same as the adjective + -s (e.g. the Moroccans ).

Here are some exceptions:

The + country name

A few countries have the as part of their name, for example, The United States, The United Kingdom, The United Arab Emirates . We often abbreviate these to USA , UK and UAE .

Geographical places

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Countries and Nationalities

This is a Full Access Handout. Get Full Access to download this Handout.

Students are introduced to nouns and adjectives to talk about a country and nationality as well as questions to introduce themselves and ask about someone. The verb ‘to be’ is introduced and students talk about themselves and ask about others. A fun Bingo game is included.

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Countries and using “the” – Answers

Below are the answers and explanation for the lesson about using the article “the” when referring to countries and nationalities.

If you have not completed the test already, please do so now. To complete the test, click here: Articles & Countries Grammar Test

Country Names and THE

Almost all country names do not require the article “the”. We refer to France, England, Britain, Vietnam, Canada, China, India – all without “the”.

However, there are exceptions. Countries that are made up of a group of states or islands use “the”, such as the Philippines and the US. Any country that uses the words “states” or “united” or “republic” also use “the”, for example the UK, the US, the Republic of China.

Please note, the word “Britain” is not a synonym for England. Britain means the UK. Britain refers to the group of countries that make up the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The word “Britain” actually means “Great Britain”.

Nationalities

We need to use the article “the” when referring to nationalities as a group of people : the British, the Americans, the Chinese, the Vietnamese, the English.

Do not confuse the rule of nationalities, above, with a different rule about using similar words as part of a noun phrase where it does not form the main noun. For example, the words “a British car” is a noun phrase and in that noun phrase the word “car” is the main noun, not the word “British”. So, the rule about using “the” with nationalities is only when referring to a group of people under the umbrella of their nationality – not when using the nationality as an adjective to another noun. One more example: “the hard-working British” is a noun phrase referring to the whole group of British people as a nationality and requires “the”. But we could say “a hard-working British man” – in this noun phrase, the word “man” is the main noun and can use any article depending on how the noun is used. To learn more about this, refer to two chapters in my Grammar E-book: the chapter on Articles and the chapter on Noun Phrases. Also note that when referring to “Americans”, it is possible to drop the article “Americans are friendly” and it is also possible to use “the” – “The Americans are friendly”.

I hope you found this useful. Rules about articles (a / an / the) can feel confusing. But you can learn them all simply and easily in my new Grammar E-book 🙂

Answers for the Grammar Test:

Number 3 “the America” is wrong. Number 4 “the Britain” is wrong. Number 8 “the England” is wrong.

Correct: the British, the UK, the English, the US, the Americans. Note it is also possible to say “Americans” without an article as noted on the page above.

Grammar E-book

My Grammar E-book is now available in my online store. There is a comprehensive chapter on Articles as well as over 200 pages of other grammar to push your English to a higher level. You will find content and details of the e-book given in my store. See below:

CLICK HERE: VISIT STORE

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Hi Liz! I have some questions regarding the use of article in listening. Here is the question: “Pesonality Questionnaires • completed during … ” I answer “the staff selection” but the answer key says “staff selection” only. And the maximum number of words is 3. Is it considered wrong if I use the word “the”?

As you can see, you are not completing a sentence. When you complete a sentence, the sentence must be grammatically correct when it is finished and that means articles must be correctly used. However, there is no sentence. There are notes. When we take notes, we do not write articles. Your answer would be marked wrong. If you look at the Cambridge IELTS test books (which are real tests) you will see that note completion questions don’t require articles – the examples and answer keys show you this.

Good day Ma. How can some one purchase your grammar book? Because we are currently under locdown, I want to know if i can purchase it through the website and I will like to have the web address.

If you are using a phone and you look further down this page, you will see a link to my store and an advert for the Grammar E-book. If you are using a laptop, you can see this in the right hand column.

After looking over tens or maybe hundreds of various lessons, lectures, videos etc. for learning English language (and for IELTS preparation) I finally found the BEST source! The best of the best is your materials – your website, YouTube videos and your store. I bought your E-Grammar today and I am really impressed. You are a hard-working professional and amazing teacher. You post so much of valuable free material – I can’t believe my eyes, especially after seeing (over the years) lots and lots of other sources, as mentioned above. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, DEAR LIZ!

All the best!

Aukse Ivanov

Thank you so much for your kind message. It really warms my heart when someone sees how much I do and how hard I try. It’s great to know you are making the most of my lessons 🙂 Tomorrow I will be posting my story – how I have done this and what my approach to life is all about. I hope you read it 🙂 Wishing you all the best 🙂

Dear Liz, I have some confusion over the passive structure and therefore request you to answer the following questions and get back to me ASAP. 1. Cristina hates people criticizing her look. passive: Cristina hates having her look criticized. 2. I saw him beating a man. Passive: He was seen beating a man. Please let me know if my passive sentences are correct and also if there are other alternative passive forms as well. Thank you!

To explain the passive voice and the variations in using it takes me 9 pages in my e-book. It isn’t something that requires a quick tip in a message. It is something that requires pages and pages of explanation. Please get my Grammar E-book to learn more. About your sentences, the first set of options are fine. The second don’t work. In the second set of sentences, your active sentence is about “I”. You can’t change that into passive in that way. Not all sentences can be turned into a passive. The sentence “He was seen beating a man” does not relate to “I” – it infers that someone (a person or people) saw him beating a man. This means by using the passive, you are completely altering the meaning. So for the second set of sentence, you would never choose to use passive unless your aim is to alter the meaning.

Hello Liz, Your website is amazing. You have explained so many topics in very interesting way. I really appreciate your efforts. Thank you for being there for us. Get well soon. May God bless you with healthy, happy and long life.

Thank you 🙂 You’re welcome 🙂

Hi Elizabeth. Does it correct to say “London is the capital of Great Britain”

Owing to a misunderstanding some people believe that it is incorrect.

Why? Why not? Thank you in advance Andy

Most people call our country the UK. That is what it is most commonly referred to. It is lengthy to explain the political, geographical and common interpretation of “Britain” and “Great Britain”. I’ll make a post about it some time.

Thanks Liz for shading more light,I attempted & got the second one wrong but it was a beautiful exercise.Thank you

I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It takes time to learn the rules for articles.

3/5/8are incorect

I can’t understand how we should distinguish if we need to put “the” before British and English, because I thought that in above-mentioned case it was language, not nationality, or in case of language we also need to use “the”?

This lesson is not about languages. This lesson is about nationalities and countries. British is a nationality and English is also a nationality. If you are asking about languages, we don’t use articles. “I speak French.”

Really interesting quiz and explanation to the details. I have bought your both books and they are very useful. I didn’t realized earlier that Learning English can be so interesting. Thanku for sharing knowledge. May GOD bless you with good health.

That’s such a nice message to read. I’m really pleased that you find learning English interesting. That is precisely what I want people to feel. I honestly think if you approach teaching in the right way, learning becomes enjoyable for people. You’ve brought a smile to my face – thank you 🙂

Hi Liz Hope you are doing well. I have purchased your Grammar book and I am sure it will not only help for the IELTS but also to get a good hold on the language . While attempting the exercise, I did mark ‘The Britain’ wrong as it doesn’t sound correct/right but now when I see your explanation, I am a little curious to know about the rule which makes “the Britain” wrong. You have mentioned ‘Britain’ is a group of countries and that ‘Britain’ means “Great Britain’, then shouldn’t it be right(as per the rule of ‘group of states, islands etc’) to write “the Britain’ instead of “Britain” as “great Britain” too is called “The great Britain”. It would really help all the students out here if you can kindly answer this query.

We must sincerely admit that you are not just into the noble job of teaching but you are doing a wonderful job helping the students and thus the world. Thank you so much!

I see where you are confused. The first and main rule – nearly all country names do NOT use “the”. The word “America” has the same meaning as “the US” but they each use different grammar rules. The US contains the word “states” and the UK contains the word “kingdom” – both words mean you must use “the”. But the name “America” does contain a reference to the many states that it represents. It is about what the name implies as well as the rules. All you need to remember is – all country names do not use “the” unless – they contain “states”, “kingdom” or “republic” in their name because those words imply a union or a group. – the name represents a group of islands. So, don’t get confused about what we know of the country, but look at the words and the implications of the words. = the UK, Britain, England, the US, America, the Philippines, the Republic of China, China etc

Thanks Liz. That answers everything except one: “the Great Britain”. “The Great Britain” is just like Britain as in it doesn’t contain “states, kingdom , republic” etc yet it has “the” in it. Is it an exception?

Also, British council says the following ” The kangaroo is found only in Australia”=(refers to all kangaroos) “the wolf is very ferocious”=(refers to any wolf in general) “the heart pumps blood” =(refers to any heart in general)

On these lines, can we thus say the following: “the government needs to take care of its citizens” (refers to just any government and not any particular government)

I’m a bit confused. Great Britain requires no article the . When you refer to whole species as a group, you have two choices: a) The honeybee is an interesting insect. This means you are referring to the whole species when you use “the”. b) Honeybees are interesting insects. This is referring to all honeybees in general. So, while both sentences seem to be the same when it comes to meaning – all honeybees, one sentence is referring to a species group and the other to all honeybees. Two different methods of grammar. When we refer to “the government” we are usually referring to our government in our country. There is also a rule that you use “the” when referring to social institutions – the government, the police, the army.

As you see, you might have one meaning with two options of grammar use depending on the thoughts in your mind. This is about the subtle use of English. Your are showing your thoughts by the choice you make, for example: honeybees (the general group) or the honeybee (the species). This is also what IELTS Reading is sometimes testing. When you learn the grammar rules, you learn subtle variations which IELTS will test.

I hope this helps 🙂

Thank you so much Liz. The more we learn , the more we realize how much less we have known and that keeps us going in our pursuit to learn further.

Thank you for all your efforts. May God bless you with a good health

That’s a great way to think about learning. I agree. It’s about becoming aware of how much more there is. When there is more to learn, you know that clarity and understanding will come.

I bought both of your new books it’s excellent and I think both of them useful way to learn and improve

Brilliant. It makes me so happy you find them useful 🙂 Wishing you all the best 🙂

Thanks Liz for answers and understand you. And then did you get my email?

No, I didn’t get any email. Try using this email address: [email protected]

Oh I am sorry, I didn’t see that, I am really happy that I got all answers right. Thank you again!!!

No, don’t apologise, you didn’t miss it. I added it after for more clarity 🙂

Useful.thank you for sharing knowledge

Thank you Liz, the quiz was really useful and I answered all questions right, with the exception of 7th I thought that it is wrong to say the Americans but thanks to explanation I know how use it properly.

I’ve just added a note about that. The nationality “Americans” can also be used with an article.

Thanks Liz, I got it, thanks for shedding more light on it.

It’s interesting that you ask people to put comments but then you delete them. I asked a question under an essay and it was earased. Simple question asking about a simple rule

I am sorry that happened. As a sick, disabled person who works alone I sometimes struggle to answer the hundreds and thousands of comments posted on this site. I have a notice on the HOME page of this site which explains that I am not able to answer all comments. I currently have 10,000 comments waiting – I will not be able to answer them. I do not actually provide a question/answer service. I offer free lessons and tips which you can access through the HOME page or the RED NAV BAR at the top of the website. Please respect the work I do for free and understand that I have limitations. Always read the HOME page of any website fully to learn about the website you are using.

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ESL Learn about Countries and Nationalities

• Ages 10 - 14
• One-time Course

This beginner ESL Countries and Nationalities lesson is great for students vocabulary. This topic is considered a necessity when starting with a new language. The lesson has various fun activities to ensure students enjoy the lesson.

Learning Objectives

• Students will practice their grammar.
• Students will learn and then practice vocabulary related to countries and nationalities.
• Students will learn how to form questions about counties and nationalities.

Class Description

This lesson is for A1-A2 students. This ESL Countries and Nationalities lesson starts with a fun warmer of labelling a map with the different continents. Students then have to group countries into the correct continent and answer questions about them. Exercise 3 introduces nationalities and gives students the opportunity to practice! Later, students need to read the diary entries of a traveler and complete tasks to practice their ESL Countries and Nationalities vocabulary. Next, students act out a dialogue and complete a true and false questionnaire about it! This lesson continues by showing students how to form questions about countries and nationalities. Then, they need to answer these questions using a map. This ESL Countries and Nationalities lesson culminates with a few discussion questions. We are positive that students will enjoy this lesson plan and find it very helpful! This ESL Countries and Nationalities lesson plan comes with a set of homework questions. Firstly, students need to correct grammar mistakes related to the verb “to be”. Then, they have to complete a writing task related to their countries. Last, but not least, they have to complete a geology quiz. Be sure to check out At the Airport, Diets Around the World and Travel which are other beginner lessons!

Session Materials

Class schedule abidjan time, teacher introduction.

Hello, nice to meet you all! Thank you for visiting my profile :) I am a full-time online English teacher and have been teaching for 3 years. Along with teaching English, I also homeschool my 2 children. I have a passion for teaching and love to see how quickly my students improve in their English. Along with my TEFL qualification, I have a Certification for 'Teaching Young Learners', 'Advanced Grammar' and teaching different 'Methodologies'. I have taught both children and adults, but mainly children. My passion is teaching children. I like to deliver a warming and fun, relaxed learning environment. To meet individual learning goals, I help students make meaningful social, emotional, academic and physical connections through engaging, interactive classes with relevant learning materials and activities. In my classes, we build a safe community where asking questions and making mistakes is a celebrated part of learning. My classes are cross-culturally and gender inclusive - everyone is valued and very, very welcome! Although from Britain, I now live in beautiful Ireland. I live in the countryside with my 2 children, husband and we have 1 dog. We are an adventurous family and spend a lot of time at the beach, up the mountains or camping. Thank you for viewing my profile and course offerings. Please connect with me if you have requests that are not listed on my page. I hope to see your child in my class very soon! -Teacher Kerry

Parent reviews (1)

All reviews see more 5 stars reviews, other classes by teacher kerry.

ESL 1-1 Learning Grammar, Future Tense 'going to'

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Ages 8 - 12 

ESL Describing People Lesson 1

Ages 7 - 11 

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ESL 1:1 Conversation Class - 'Let's Talk About Money' for A2 Students

Ages 14 - 18 

ESL Lets Learn About Our Emotions

Ages 4 - 8 

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Other english classes.

Kids Learn English (ESL) - Level A1 Beginner Unit 1

Warriors of History - The Spartans (English, ESL, History, Art)

1 to 1 Year 1 English Lesson

Underwater Animals--ESL Level 1

Ages 3 - 6 

Speak Up: Loud and Proud! Enhance Your Public Speaking Skills

Reading Camp With Graphic Novels: The Greek Olympians Part 1

Creative Writing Class - Storytelling, Reading and Speaking (ESL). Ongoing weekly practice class

Ages 10 - 13 

An Introduction to Reading and Writing Short Sentences For Native and ESL Learners.

What are Dragons anyway?

Ages 8 - 15 

Nationalities - exercises

Countries & nationalities

Countries - nationalities

Worksheets - pdf exercises.

• Countries - wordsearch
• Countries and nationalities - easy level
• Countries & nationalities - worksheet
• Nationality - pdf exercises
• Countries and nationalities - handout
• Countries and nationalities
• Country or Nationality? - exercises

Countries - vocabulary resources

• Countries & nationalities - vocabulary
• Country / adjective / person
• Countries and nationalities - list
• Flags of all countries

Download Lessons

Please subscribe to a plan to view lesson downloads. subscribe.

• Beginner (A1-A2)

Countries and Nationalities

This game teaches students new vocabulary like currency, the capital city, etc ., and gets them speaking! One student picks up a card and has to describe the country using the information on the card. The other students have to guess the country. The student who guesses the country correctly then has to guess the nationality. Whoever gets both the country and the nationality correct first wins the card. The player with the most cards at the end wins!

For further practice on this topic check out the Countries and Nationalities crossword worksheet on Quick and Easy English.

Quick and Easy English

Nationalities

Nouns vs. adjectives.

You Might Also Like

Basic Adjectives and Opposites

Basic Verbs

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Poor Nations Are Writing a New Handbook for Getting Rich

Economies focused on exports have lifted millions out of poverty, but epochal changes in trade, supply chains and technology are making it a lot harder.

• Share full article

By Patricia Cohen

Reporting from London

For more than half a century, the handbook for how developing countries can grow rich hasn’t changed much: Move subsistence farmers into manufacturing jobs, and then sell what they produce to the rest of the world.

The recipe — customized in varying ways by Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and China — has produced the most potent engine the world has ever known for generating economic growth. It has helped lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, create jobs and raise standards of living.

The Asian Tigers and China succeeded by combining vast pools of cheap labor with access to international know-how and financing, and buyers that reached from Kalamazoo to Kuala Lumpur. Governments provided the scaffolding: They built up roads and schools, offered business-friendly rules and incentives, developed capable administrative institutions and nurtured incipient industries.

But technology is advancing, supply chains are shifting, and political tensions are reshaping trade patterns. And with that, doubts are growing about whether industrialization can still deliver the miracle growth it once did. For developing countries, which contain 85 percent of the globe’s population — 6.8 billion people — the implications are profound.

Today, manufacturing accounts for a smaller share of the world’s output, and China already does more than a third of it . At the same time, more emerging countries are selling inexpensive goods abroad, increasing competition. There are not as many gains to be squeezed out: Not everyone can be a net exporter or offer the world’s lowest wages and overhead.

There are doubts that industrialization can create the game-changing benefits it did in the past. Factories today tend to rely more on automated technology and less on cheapworkers who have little training.

“You cannot generate enough jobs for the vast majority of workers who are not very educated,” said Dani Rodrik, a leading development economist at Harvard.

The process can be seen in Bangladesh, which the World Bank’s managing director called “one of the world’s greatest development stories” last year. The country built its success on turning farmers into textile workers.

Last year, though, Rubana Huq, chair of Mohammadi Group, a family-owned conglomerate, replaced 3,000 employees with automated jacquard machines to do complex weaving patterns.

The women found similar jobs elsewhere in the company. “But what follows when this happens on a large scale?” asked Ms. Huq, who is also president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

These workers don’t have training, she said. “They’re not going to turn into coders overnight.”

Recent global developments have accelerated the transition.

Supply chain meltdowns related to the Covid-19 pandemic and to sanctions prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove up the price of essentials like food and fuel, biting into incomes. High interest rates, imposed by central banks to quell inflation, set off another series of crises: Developing nations’ debts ballooned , and investment capital dried up.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund warned of the noxious combination of lower growth and higher debt.

The supercharged globalization that had encouraged companies to buy and sell in every spot around the planet has also been shifting. Rising political tensions, especially between China and the United States, are affecting where businesses and governments invest and trade.

Companies want supply chains to be secure as well as cheap, and they are looking at neighbors or political allies to provide them.

In this new era, Mr. Rodrik said, “the industrialization model — which practically every country that has become rich has relied on — is no longer capable of generating rapid and sustained economic growth.”

Nor is it clear what might replace it.

There’s a future in service jobs.

One alternative might be found in Bengaluru, a high-tech center in the Indian state of Karnataka.

Multinationals like Goldman Sachs, Victoria’s Secret and the Economist magazine have flocked to the city and set up hundreds of operational hubs — known as global capability centers — to handle accounting, design products, develop cybersecurity systems and artificial intelligence, and more.

Such centers are expected to generate 500,000 jobs nationwide in the next two to three years, according to the consulting firm Deloitte .

They are joining hundreds of biotech, engineering and information technology companies including homegrown giants like Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Infosys Limited. Four months ago, the American chip company AMD unveiled its largest global design center there.

“We have to move away from the idea of classic development stages, that you go from the farm to the factory and then from the factory to offices,” said Richard Baldwin , an economist at the IMD in Lausanne. “That whole development model is wrong.”

Two-thirds of the world’s output now comes from the service sector — a mishmash that includes dog walkers, manicurists, food preparers, cleaners and drivers, as well as highly trained chip designers, graphic artists, nurses, engineers and accountants.

It is possible to leapfrog to the service sector and grow by selling to businesses around the world, Mr. Baldwin argued. That is what helped India become the world’s fifth-largest economy .

In Bengaluru, formerly known as Bangalore, a general rise in middle-class living attracted more people and more businesses that, in turn, attracted more people and businesses, continuing the cycle, Mr. Baldwin explained.

Covid sped this transition, by forcing people to work remotely — from a different part of town, a different city or a different country.

In the new model, countries can focus growth around cities rather than a particular industry. “That creates economic activities which are fairly diverse,” Mr. Baldwin said.

“Think Bangalore, not South China,” he said.

Free markets are not enough.

Many developing nations remain focused on building export-oriented industries as the path to prosperity. And that’s how it should be, said Justin Yifu Lin , dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University.

Pessimism about the classic development formula, he said, has been fueled by a misguided belief that the growth process was automatic: Just clear the way for the free market and the rest will take care of itself.

Countries were often pressured by the United States and the international institutions to embrace open markets and hands-off governance.

Export-led growth in Africa and Latin America stumbled because governments failed to protect and subsidize infant industries, said Mr. Lin, a former chief economist at the World Bank.

“Industrial policy was taboo for a long time,” he said, and many of those who tried failed. But there were also success stories like China and South Korea.

“You need the state to help the private sector overcome market failures,” he said. “You cannot do it without industrial policy.”

It won’t work without education.

The overriding question is whether anything — services or manufacturing — can generate the type of growth that is desperately needed: broad based, large scale and sustainable.

Service jobs for businesses are multiplying, but many offering middle and high incomes are in areas like finance and tech, which tend to require advanced skills and education levels far above what most people in developing nations have.

In India, nearly half of college graduates don’t have the skills they need for these jobs, according to Wheebox , an educational testing service.

The mismatch is everywhere. The Future of Jobs report , published last year by the World Economic Forum, found that six in 10 workers will need retraining in the next three years, but the overwhelming majority won’t have access to it.

Other kinds of service jobs are proliferating, too, but many are neither well paid nor exportable. A barber in Bengaluru can’t cut your hair if you’re in Brooklyn.

That could mean smaller — and more uneven — growth.

Researchers at Yale University found that in India and several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural workers jumped into consumer service jobs and raised their productivity and incomes.

But there was a catch: The gains were “strikingly unequal” and disproportionately benefited the rich .

With a weakening global economy , developing countries will need to wring every bit of growth they can from every corner of their economies. Industrial policy is essential, Mr. Rodrik of Harvard said, but it should focus on smaller service firms and households because that is going to be the source of most future growth.

He and others caution that even so, gains are likely to be modest and hard won.

“The envelope has shrunk,” he said. “How much growth we can get is definitely less than in the past.”

An earlier version of this article misidentified the location of IMD. It is in Lausanne, not Geneva.

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Patricia Cohen writes about global economics and is based in London. More about Patricia Cohen