Fostering students’ awareness of preserving ethnic cultural identity after learning “part a Unit 2 cultural diversity English 12” a case study in bac son high school 0 THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIO[.]
THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BAC SON HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE INNOVATION FOSTERING STUDENTS’ AWARENESS OF PRESERVING ETHNIC CULTURAL IDENTITY AFTER LEARNING “PART A - UNIT 2: CULTURAL DIVERSITY- ENGLISH 12”: A CASE STUDY IN BAC SON HIGH SCHOOL Writer: Triệu Thị Đào Position: Teacher Topic in the fields of: English THANH HOA, 2019 SangKienKinhNghiem.net INDEX CONTENT Page A INTRODUCTION I Reasons to choose the theme II Aims of the research III Subjective of the research IV Methodology of the research B CONTENTS I Theoretical basis of the research I.1 Definitions of culture I.2 What is cultural diversity? I.3 What is the importance of cultural diversity? II Reality of the study III Solution PART A: A brief note on Vietnamese Cultures and Traditions in comparison with other cultures PART B: Students’ discussions and presentations 14 IV Effectiveness of the research 20 C CONCLUSION 21 Conclusion 21 Proposal 21 REFERENCE 22 APPENDIX 24 SangKienKinhNghiem.net A INTRODUCTION I Reasons to choose the theme According to Adam Gopnik, an American writer “We breathe in our first language, and swim in our second.” And English may not be the most spoken language in the world, but it is the official language of 53 countries and spoken by around 400 million people across the globe Being able to speak English is not just about being able to communicate with native English speakers, it is the most common second language in the world That is why knowing English is a must in our modern world However, learning a foreign language means more than just mastering its grammar, vocabulary and phonology 21st century society crosses borders confidently, each new day exploring the most hidden parts of our planet and bringing changes even into the class Successful cross-cultural communication requires culturally aware communicators, those who respond appropriately in a given social context, show empathy, tolerance and openness towards other communicators Teaching a foreign language means preparing your students for real-life situations they are likely to encounter while visiting London, Tokyo or New York for example in order to avoid being misunderstood, embarrassed or excluded from communication The goal of language education is not native speaker competence in target language Rather, it is developing intercultural communicative competence in students through culture incorporation [11] In this world of integration, people and especially the young absorb new languages as well as new cultures rapidly Consequently, they in some cases have lost their national identity This is also a matter of students in Bac Son High School, where I am teaching English Most students in our school are ethnic minorities and have low living standard Therefore, some of their traditional customs have gradually been lost as a result of globalization and industrialization In my capacity as a teacher, I am deeply aware of my responsibilities in orienting my students to acquire new cultures correctly and simultaneously preserve and bring into play their ethnic cultural identity Because of this reason, I have decided to this research named: Fostering students’ awareness of preserving ethnic cultural identity after learning Part A – Unit 2: Cultural Diversity – English 12: A case study in Bac Son High School II Aims of the research I have been working as an English teacher for more than ten years and grown fond of the work I incessantly make every effort to improve the standard of teaching and learning English in my school Moreover, I believe that teaching English is not just teaching a language, it is teaching about people and their cultures In the recent years, my attempts have been reciprocated little by little Be aware of my responsibility for requirements of the Department of Education and Training combining the reality of my students to English learning, I carried out my study with three main aims: SangKienKinhNghiem.net - To help my students have correct consciousness of cultural diversity and build sense of ethnic cultural identity - To provide some pedagogical suggestions for teachers to teach the related lesson effectively and have connection to the school students in reality III Subjective of the research The total participants were 73 students from two twelve grades (12A1 and 12A2) in Bac Son high school, which is situated in Ngoc Lac, a mountainous district in Thanh Hoa province Out of the 73 participants, there are 21 male students (28.8%) and 52 female ones (71.2%) participating in the study The state of unbalance of gender percentage is caused by some of reasons of which males at late teenager are regarded as main employees in their families, they therefore, abolish their schooling and earn living More specially, the number of Muong students (90.5%) is overwhelming to the amount of Kinh students (8.2%) and Dao students(1.3%) This disproportion is unsurprising as the fact that Bac Son school is situated in a mountainous area where a vast majority of the inhabitants are Muong ethnics The majority of these students come from disadvantageous families with the under medium level of living standard and learning condition as well Consequently, these students’ motivation of studying is remarkable limited due to the burden of subsistence Unfortunately, their English proficiency is almost either at the beginning level or at A1 level although they have been learning English for more than four years, since they were sixth grade students IV Methodology of the research To make my solutions effectively, I have used some following methods Firstly, I always get advices from colleagues through co-working Secondly, I usually study, create and use new methods in teaching English such as using images, pictures, posters, real objects, etc - Pictures of Ao Dai (traditional costume of Vietnamese women) - Images of wedding ceremony in Vietnam - Photos of wedding ceremony and other traditional festivals and customs of Muong ethnic minority and Dao ethnic minority Thirdly, I apply science and technology in teaching, use projecters, presents films, video clips to make the lesson actively For example, I show a short film about wedding ceremony of Dao ethnic group before the lesson to motivate the spirit of studying between students Lastly, I classify students into groups to discuss about their own cultures (Kinh, Muong, Dao) Then, I introduce the representatives of each group to tell about their ethnic cultures such as food, costume, festival, wedding, funeral.etc SangKienKinhNghiem.net B CONTENTS I Theoretical basis of the research I.1 Definitions of cultures Culture is a notoriously difficult term to define In 1952, the American anthropologists, Kroeber and Kluckhohn, critically reviewed concepts and definitions of culture, and compiled a list of 164 different definitions Apte (1994: 2001), writing in the ten-volume Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, summarized the problem as follows: ‘Despite a century of efforts to define culture adequately, there was in the early 1990s no agreement among anthropologists regarding its nature.’ The following extract from Avruch provides an historical perspective to some of the ways in which the term has been interpreted: Much of the difficulty [of understanding the concept of culture] stems from the different usages of the term as it was increasingly employed in the nineteenth century Broadly speaking, it was used in three ways (all of which can be found today as well) First, as exemplified in Matthew Arnolds’ Culture and Anarchy (1867), culture referred to special intellectual or artistic endeavors or products, what today we might call “high culture” as opposed to “popular culture” (or “folkways” in an earlier usage) By this definition, only a portion – typically a small one – of any social group “has” culture (The rest are potential sources of anarchy!) This sense of culture is more closely related to aesthetics than to social science Partly in reaction to this usage, the second, as pioneered by Edward Tylor in Primitive Culture (1870), referred to a quality possessed by all people in all social groups, who nevertheless could be arrayed on a development (evolutionary) continuum (in Lewis Henry Morgan’s scheme) from “savagery” through “barbarism” to “civilization” It is worth quoting Tylor’s definition in its entirety; first because it became the foundational one for anthropology; and second because it partly explains why Kroeber and Kluckhohn found definitional fecundity by the early 1950s Tylor’s definition of culture is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” In contrast to Arnold’s view, all folks “have” culture, which they acquire by virtue of membership in some social group – society And a whole grab bag of things, from knowledge to habits to capabilities, makes up culture The extreme inclusivity of Tylor’s definition stayed with anthropology a long time; it is one reason political scientists who became interested in cultural questions in the late 1950s felt it necessary to delimit their relevant cultural domain to “political culture” But the greatest legacy of Tylor’s definition lay in his “complex whole” formulation This was accepted even by those later anthropologists who forcefully rejected his evolutionism They took it to mean that cultures were wholes – integrated systems Although this assertion has great heuristic value, it also, as we shall argue below, simplifies the world considerably The third and last usage of culture developed in anthropology in the twentieth-century work of Franz Boas and his students, though with roots in the SangKienKinhNghiem.net eighteenth-century writings of Johann von Herder As Tylor reacted to Arnold to establish a scientific (rather than aesthetic) basis for culture, so Boas reacted against Tylor and other social evolutionists Whereas the evolutionists stressed the universal character of a single culture, with different societies arrayed from savage to civilized, Boas emphasized the uniqueness of the many and varied cultures of different peoples or societies Moreover he dismissed the value judgments he found inherent in both the Arnoldian and Tylorean views of culture; for Boas, one should never differentiate high from low culture, and one ought not differentially valorize cultures as savage or civilized Here, then, are three very different understandings of culture Part of the difficulty in the term lies in its multiple meanings But to compound matters, the difficulties are not merely conceptual or semantic All of the usages and understandings come attached to, or Core Concepts What is Culture? SpencerOatey 2012 can be attached to, different political or ideological agendas that, in one form or another, still resonate today Some other definitions of cultures according to some famous linguists: ‘Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.’ Tyler (British anthropologist) 1870: 1; cited by Avruch 1998: ‘Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behaviour acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other, as conditional elements of future action.’ Kroeber & Kluckhohn 1952: 181; cited by Adler 1997: 14 ‘Culture consists of the derivatives of experience, more or less organized, learned or created by the individuals of a population, including those images or encodements and their interpretations (meanings) transmitted from past generations, from contemporaries, or formed by individuals themselves.’ T.Schwartz 1992; cited by Avruch 1998: 17 ‘[Culture] is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.’ Hofstede 1994: ‘ the set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people, but different for each individual, communicated from one generation to the next.’ Matsumoto 1996: 16 ‘Culture is a fuzzy set of basic assumptions and values, orientations to life, beliefs, policies, procedures and behavioural conventions that are shared by a group of people, and that influence (but not determine) each member’s behaviour and his/her interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of other people’s behaviour.’ Spencer-Oatey 2008: SangKienKinhNghiem.net I.2 What Is Cultural Diversity? According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_diversity, Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural decay The phrase cultural diversity can also refer to having different cultures respect each other's differences The phrase "cultural diversity" is also sometimes used to mean the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole Globalization is often said to have a negative effect on the world's cultural diversity I.3 What is the importance of cultural diversity? Cultural diversity is not only important but critical in our education today and all schools say that they are preparing students for the future and that they are preparing them for the bigger world When students leave their neighborhoods and go off to college or go out in the workaday world, they are not going to find just one culture there They are not going to find one way of thinking, one way of problem solving They are going to find richness out there, that if they are not prepared for it, they are going to have a hard time They are going to have a hard time in their education and in their workaday world but if we can want to ask ourselves what kind of a world we want to live in Paul Cummins, PhD, President and CEO of Coalition for Engaged Education (CEE) Cultural diversity is needed in schools because of the following reasons: Promotes Student Growth & Reflection This is probably the biggest benefit of discussing or experiencing diversity in the classroom When students learn about other groups’ struggles, perspectives, and experiences, they tend to reflect on and respond to that information They are likely to ask themselves several questions that encourage personal growth: Would I act that way in a similar situation? Have I looked down on someone because of their race, gender, or other uncontrollable factors? Do I believe certain racial or gender-based stereotypes that are limiting my influence or making me appear judgmental? When honest, open-ended discussions about diversity occur within the classroom, teachers can facilitate productive conversation and embrace teachable moments to help promote personal growth in each student Fosters a Sense of Empathy and Awareness Simply being aware of an issue isn’t always enough to bring about empathy But when that “issue” is connected to names and faces of fellow students, awareness turns to empathy and a true desire to understand a new point of view Allowing students to hear about real struggles or negative experiences dealing with race or culture will help them to understand more about the challenge some people face with diversity, or a lack thereof At the same time, in schools that are not particularly diverse, bringing awareness to the importance of diversity and allowing students to see another perspective will prompt them to realize there is a large world beyond their small classroom, and they will be able to empathize more with people who are different than them SangKienKinhNghiem.net Brings About Open-Mindedness and New Perspectives It’s easy to remain in a bubble of your own thoughts and opinions, especially when you’re a young student But when diversity is not only present, but also discussed, it brings about a great deal of new perspectives that generally leads to more open-mindedness When a person has a respectful conversation with another person who has a very different point of view, their eyes are often opened to new ideas and new thoughts When students can face situations by thinking of varying perspectives on that situation, they will experience great personal development and a new way of approaching the world Supports Mindfulness and Tolerance Children who grow up around those of other races, ethnicities, or cultures are usually very willing to embrace a new culture, a new mindset, or a new perspective But for children who don’t experience diversity from a young age, they often have to learn how to be mindful and tolerant of others in diverse situations, as well as understand that not everyone is the same as them Having a diverse classroom and having quality conversations about diversity can support mindfulness and tolerance in just about any student Allows Students to Feel Unique, Yet Part of a Group This point applies especially when diversity within the classroom itself is explored, discussed, and celebrated As teachers, we know that every student is unique and an individual But students often feel grouped—they’re one of the smart kids, they’re on the football team, or they’re so-and-so’s sibling— and therefore not unique Even with diversity, the same happens Allow students to explore their individual diversity, from their country of ethnicity all the way down to their immediate family It will show students that we are, in fact, all a part of large, meaningful groups, but we also have individual characteristics and experiences that make us all individual and unique Prepares Students for Diversity in the Workplace Regardless of the diversity of a school or a town, students can rest assured that they will indeed come face to face with diversity in the workplace Once employed, whether at a fast-food restaurant or a Fortune 500 company, students will have to interact with those from different backgrounds—both racially and culturally— on a daily basis In the world of business, intolerance and ignorance are simply unacceptable, and each employee of every company is expected to behave appropriately and act maturely in all situations, including those where diversity is involved Having conversations about diversity and exposing students to diversity at an early age will benefit them significantly when they enter the workplace, as they will already be tolerant, understanding, and openminded about differences in people School Is About Preparing Kids for Life—Not Just the Next School With state standards, test grades, and report cards constantly on a teacher’s mind, it can be easy to focus solely on preparing your students for the next grade or the next school But good teachers know that teaching is more than just that—it’s about preparing students to become well-rounded and educated adults We all want our students to grow up and to be successful However, money and fame are not the only means of success when it comes to education SangKienKinhNghiem.net Parents and teachers alike constantly strive to mold and shape their kids into the best versions of themselves, prepared to take on the world with understanding, empathy, and love Encouraging kids to talk about and embrace diversity from a young age fosters those characteristics, and allows students to be more successful in life, not just as a businessman or woman, but as a human being who is kind to others and respectful of people’s differences (https://www.teachtci.com/the-importance-of-diversity-in-the-classroom/) II Reality of the study Some years ago, when teaching Part A Unit Cultural Diversity, I used to get students to skim and scan the reading passage then the tasks that follow After students had done all the tasks, I had them discuss the differences between traditional Vietnamese family and modern Vietnamese family In the end, we finished the lesson when time was up Gradually, I realized that even though my students can understand the differences between Americans and Asians about love and marriage which is expressed in the reading passage, they didn’t show much interest of the topic On the other hand, some of them said that they would like to imitate several beliefs and lifestyles of the Americans In fact, they have lost a number of their traditional values Until then, I knew that what I need to teach my students was not only the differences in cultures between Americans and Asians or traditional Vietnamese family and modern Vietnamese family, but also the diversity of their own ethnic groups and the importance to preserve their cultures Before applying this new teaching method, I conduct a small survey to determine students’ attitude towards their ethnic cultures The questionnaire was administered to 73 students They were as yes / no/ don’t know Students were asked to circle the letter a,b, or c next to the answer that best described their feelings towards the statement at the moment All questions were written in Vietnamese to guarantee students’ accurate understanding as well as their full confidence in their responses shown in Appendix III Solution The research focus on heightening students’ consciousness of their ethnic cultures, thus I would like to present it in the form of discussion and describing pictures I divide the theme into two main parts: Part A – A brief note on Vietnamese cultures and Traditions in comparison with other cultures Part A consists of pictures and explanations on the pictures Part B- Ethnic minority cultures and traditional customs In Part B, each student from each ethnic minority group makes a presentation of what they have discussed about the ethnic identity PART A A brief note on Vietnamese Cultures and Traditions in comparison with other cultures In this part I present the content in terms of costumes, cuisines, accommodations and festivities I show different pictures of diverse cultures from other countries such as Japan, China, Korea, India etc By looking at the pictures and their descriptions, students can analyze the similarities and differences in cultures among the countries SangKienKinhNghiem.net * Costumes Traditional Vietnamese costume The áo dài is a Vietnamese national garment, worn by both sexes but now most commonly worn by women In its current form, it is a tightfitting silk tunic worn over trousers Áo translates as shirt.[12] Dài means "long".[13] The dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s On Tết and other occasions, Vietnamese men may wear an áo gấm (brocade robe), a version of the ao dai made of thicker fabric Traditional Japanese costume The kimono (着物, きもの) is a traditional Japanese garment The word kimono literally means "thing to wear on the shoulders"; ki comes from the verb kiru (着る),[14] a gender-neutral verb describes clothing worn on the shoulders or on the entire body, and mono (物) means "thing".[15] Today, kimonos are most often worn by women, particularly on special occasions Men wear the kimonos most often at weddings, tea ceremonies, and other very special or very formal occasions SangKienKinhNghiem.net Traditional Korean costume A Hanbok (South Korean) or Joseonot (North Korean) is a traditional Korean dress for semi-formal or formal attire during traditional occasions such as festivals, celebrations, and ceremonies It is characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets Although the term literally means "Korean clothing", hanbok usually refers specifically to clothing of the Joseon period Korea had a dual clothing tradition in which rulers and aristocrats adopted different kinds of mixed foreign-influenced indigenous styles while commoners preserved a distinct style of indigenous clothing, today known as hanbok.[16][17] Traditional Indian costume Traditional Indian clothing for women in the north and east are saris worn with choli tops; a long skirt called a lehenga or pavada worn with choli and a dupatta scarf to create an ensemble called a gagra choli; or salwar kameez suits, while many south Indian women traditionally wear sari and children wear pattu langa * Cuisines Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages of Vietnam, and features a combination of five fundamental tastes (Vietnamese: ngũ vị) in the overall meal.[18] Each Vietnamese dish has a distinctive flavor which reflects one or more of these elements Common ingredients include fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce, bean sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables Pho (pronounced “Fur”) is the traditional food of Vietnam and known throughout the world It is usually a chicken (ga) or beef (bo) broth with thin rice noodles and various herbs 10 SangKienKinhNghiem.net Korean cuisine Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, vegetables, and meats Traditional Korean meals are named for the number of side dishes (반찬; 飯饌; banchan) that accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice Kimchi is served at nearly every meal Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes The traditional cuisine of Japan (和食 washoku) is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes Sushi is the most significant dish that represents Japanese cuisine Italian cuisine Italian cuisine is food typical of Italy It has developed through centuries of social and economic changes, with roots stretching to antiquity.[19] Pizza as Italian traditional food was made with a type of bread dough, flattened with hands and covered with cheese or lard and cooked in a very hot woodburning oven *Accommodations Traditional Vietnamese house A traditional northern Vietnamese house is built with mud or brick walls, a thatched or tile roof, and earthen or concrete floors Large houses are set around a courtyards and are open-fronted with a sloping red-tile roof supported by heavy wooden pillars A traditional southern Vietnamese house has walls of woven bamboo, brick, wood; earthen or concrete floors; and a roof of palm leaves or thatch In recent decades corrugated iron or metal sheets made from recycled aluminum cans have been used to make roofs 11 SangKienKinhNghiem.net Traditional Japanese house Minka, or traditional Japanese houses, are characterized by tatami mat flooring, sliding doors, and wooden engawa verandas Another aspect that persists even in Westernstyle homes in Japan is the genkan, an entrance hall where people remove footwear The flooring for the house proper is raised a little off the ground to prevent dampness from entering and to keep the living area from flooding in the case of heavy rain Traditional Thai house The traditional Thai house (Thai: เรือนไทย, RTGS: ruean Thai, lit "Thai house") is a loose collection of vernaculararchitectural styles employed throughout the different regions of Thailand Thai houses usually feature a bamboo or wooden structure, raised on stilts and topped with a steep gabled roof.[20] Traditional Korean house A hanok (Korean: , 韓屋) is a traditional Korean house Hanoks were first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon Dynasty.[21] While tile-roofed and thatch-roofed hanoks were equally common, the former were typically noblemen residences while the latter were mostly houses of the commoners in the past * Festivities In Vietnam (The Hung Kings Temple Festival) Festival in Vietnam is a cultural event organized with community spirit, an unique cultural charactere of the farmers, fishmans Festival in Vietnam is varied due to the 54 ethnics laying on all over the countries from the North to the South Kinh is the largest ethnic in Vietnam 12 SangKienKinhNghiem.net The Hung Kings Temple Festival (The Death Anniversary of The Hung Kings) is held annually on March 10 of the lunar calendar to commemorate the 18 Hung Kings who founded Vietnam in Viet Tri City, Phu Tho Province where King Hung’s Temple stands It becomes traditional festival of nation This is time for Vietnamese people turn your heart to ancestors In this anniversary, they held palanquin procession and incense-offering In Spain La Tomatina (Spanish pronunciation: [la tomaˈtina]) is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, in the East of Spain 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the Mediterranean, in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in a tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes Since 1945 it has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during a week of festivities in Buñol In Japan Japan is known around the world for its cherry blossom festivals Known as hanami in Japanese, cherry blossom festivals are an important custom and are held all over Japan during the spring Hanami is the ancient tradition of going to enjoy the blooming of cherry blossoms (sakura) and sometimes plum blossoms (ume) in parks and throughout the countryside in Japan The most popular kind of Japanese cherry tree, sakura, can be found all over the country These trees are also called somei-yoshino trees or yedoensis in botanical circles Hanami literally means "viewing flowers," but it generally indicates cherry blossom viewing It's said that the origin of hanami dates back more than a 1,000 years to when aristocrats enjoyed looking at beautiful cherry blossoms and wrote poems inspired by them In China With a rich history of more than 5,000 years, China enjoys many traditional such as the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day (Qingming Festival) to the Dragon Festival and Midautumn Day, each with its own significance and features Chinese New Year[22] (or generally referred to as Lunar New Year globally) is the Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the 13 SangKienKinhNghiem.net traditional Chinese calendar The festival is usually referred to as the Spring Festival in mainland China, and is one of several Lunar New Years in Asia Observances traditionally take place from the evening preceding the first day of the year to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February.[2] In 2019, the first day of the Chinese New Year was on Tuesday, February, initiating the Year of the Pig PART B Students’ discussions and presentations In this part I divide students into four groups basing on ethnic group ( Kinh, Muong, Dao) Two groups discuss their Muong cultures and two others discuss Dao cultures (students can choose any aspect of culture they want to discuss) After finishing the discussion, the representative from each group will make a complete presentation in front of the class Here are my students’ presentations: B.1 Muong students’ presentation In the 54 ethnic communities of Viet Nam, the Muong ethnic group rank th among the largest ethnic in Vietnam The Muong people have very close relations with the Kinh and residing in the Northern provinces, the highest density is in the Hoa Binh province and some mountainous districts of the Thanh Hoa province The cultural identity of the Muong ethnic cultures associated with the Hoa Binh culture more than a thousand years ago The Muong have the same origins as the Kinh, therefore, their language is in the Muong-Vietnamese group * House House on stilts is a traditional house of the Muong people, designed especially convenient for living Beside the functions for residence and storage, preventing from predators, snakes, centipedes and suitable for hot and humid climatic conditions in the mountains, the dwelling of the Muong people is a place to preserve the cultural identity, educate members in the family 14 SangKienKinhNghiem.net * Costume Beautiful Muong girls in their traditional costume Comparing to the other ethnic groups, the costume of the Muong are simpler but still are very characteristic Muong people have the skirt dying technique quite meticulously, creating durable fabric color but very high gloss Most women’s dress is woven by hand, decorated with knitting fabric, dying The Muong women wear a long, black dress and a white or brown shirt with a line of buttons in the front and long sleeves They wind a white or indigo headscarf around the head The high spot in the Muong costume is embroidered on the dress hem and belt It has need of skillful and artistic ability to design the patterns and harmonize the colors of the costume * Cuisine Muong cuisine has a unique flavor because it is made from ingredients found in the forest and springs Muong women have always depended on the natural, fresh taste of these ingredients whether cooking a daily meal or a feast for a worshiping ceremony or festival The Muong arrange food on young banana leaves They believe that it looks sociable when people pick at food placed on banana leaves on a flat basket The bitter leaf soup is a speciality of Muong people in Ngoc lac( Thanh Hoa) The main Canh đắng( bitter leaf soup)- the ingredients are chicken (especially speciality of Muong ethnic in Ngoc Lac the internal organs and blood of a 15 SangKienKinhNghiem.net chicken) and a bunch of bitter leaves The typical feature of the soup is the bitter taste Therefore, at the first time tasting, many people may find it terrible because they have never tried more bitter food than that However, when they have been familiar with the bitter taste, they will be addicted Besides, the soup is good for wine drinkers as it can reduce the symptoms of drunkenness * Customs and Festivals Muong peole in Ngoc Lac often celebrate the Lunar New Year by organizing traditional festivals During the festivals, they wear traditional costume and play traditional music instruments such as “gong” and drum Pôồn pôông festival of Muong ethnic group in Ngoc Lac (Thanh Hoa) Pôồn Pôông festival Pôồn pôông means “playing with flowers” There is a tree called “cây bông” or Pôồn Pôông The tree is made of wood, bamboo and paper People join the festival by singing and dancing around the tree The festival is an occasion for people to worship the Deities, wish for good luck and exchange cultures B.2 Dao students’ presentation The Dao ethnic group, which has many names such as Đông, Trại, Dìu Miền, and Kim Miền, has a total population of nearly million people They live mainly in the northern mountain provinces of Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Lai Chau and Tuyen Quang and the midland provinces of Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, and Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa A small number of the Dao group, who traditionally live in the northern mountain provinces, have migrated to the Central Highlands There are many subgroups differentiated by habits, customs, and costumes, for example, the Red Dao, Dao Quần Chạt, Dao Lo Ga, White Pants Dao, and Dao Thanh Y 16 SangKienKinhNghiem.net * House There are a variety of architectural styles, as some Dao build their houses directly on the ground while others build them on stilts Some Dao houses combine both these elements The traditional house of “Dao Quan Chet” in Ngoc Lac is the combination of both style A house with the combination style of Dao Quan Chet * Costume In the past, men had long hair with chignon or top tuft, with the rest shaved smoothly Different groups have different types of head-scarves and ways of wearing them They wear short or long shirts Dao women’s clothes are diverse They usually wear a long blouse with a dress or trousers Their clothes are colorfully embroidered Costumes of the Dao Quan Chet people Costumes of the Dao Quan Chet people in Ngoc Lac, Thanh Hoa are always embroidered the pattern of dogs and sailboats.The men of Dao also wear white cloth pants but not bundles On the body of the indigo, there are patterned embroidery bags The shirt of Dao Quan Chet women is embroidered with many patterns such as pine trees, sun pattern There is a type of pattern that is required to be a sailboat pattern and a dog pattern This pattern is related to the migration of the Dao Dao's people 17 SangKienKinhNghiem.net According to the legend of crossing the sea of Dao Quan Chet people, they have to rely on sailing boats to come to Vietnam In the days of floating on the sea, the boat broke and was torn, and the water was flooded In order to save, people have to insert a dog to the hole to prevent the water from overflowing the boat, then the ancestors of Dao Quan Chet people escape from the Death Soon after they landed, they set up an altar to worship the dog that saved them And that is also the reason why Dao Chan Chet never eat dog meat, or kill dogs, but always consider dogs as friends * Cuisine The cuisines of the Dao people are not picky, complicated Therefore, the ingredients are not abundant, and the cooking process is very simple as: boiled, steamed, baked.The Dao eat mostly rice and prefer boiled meat, dried or sour mixed meat and sour bamboo shoot soup The special cake of Dao people is “banh day”, which is made from sticky rice The Dao often make “banh day” at “Tet Thanh Minh” or “Tet Nam Cung” Making “banh day”-the traditional cake of Dao ethnic people The cake is made from steamed sticky rice, then it is put into a stone mortar to make it smooth and sticky Peole eat these cakes with sesame salt 18 SangKienKinhNghiem.net * Customs and Festivals In a year, the Dao people have many Tet Holiday like Lunar New Year (Lunar New Year lunar calendar), real Korean New Year (3/3 lunar calendar), Doan Ngo Tet (5/5 lunar calendar), but New Year dance and Lunar New Year is still the biggest Dance Festival is one of the Tet holidays that has a profound effect on the community life of the Dao ethnic people Tet dance is a festival of periodic revival, ancestral thanksgiving ceremonies and gods The sorcerers and the Dao ethnic boys to the Deities for performing the ritual of the Dance Festival According to the custom, the New Year celebrated only in the "house" space (the house with the worshiping group) and also considered the common New Year of the whole region to show respect and gratitude to the ancestors' merit Dance Festival is usually held between December 1st and December 25th and worshiped in the morning, lasting about days and nights The dances in the Dance Festival show gratitude to the gods and ancestors who have protected and supprted their children to have a peaceful life 19 SangKienKinhNghiem.net ... the north and east are saris worn with choli tops; a long skirt called a lehenga or pavada worn with choli and a dupatta scarf to create an ensemble called a gagra choli; or salwar kameez suits,... northern mountain provinces of Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Lai Chau and Tuyen Quang and the midland provinces of Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, and Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa A small number of the Dao group,... anniversary, they held palanquin procession and incense-offering In Spain La Tomatina (Spanish pronunciation: [la tomaˈtina]) is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, in the East of