Oral Task In Class

In our English class at 28.09.16, our teacher decided to pair us in groups and hand out tasks for us to present for the rest of the group. The tasks concerned different topics about world issues, exchange studies and Norwegian traditions. Everyone was interesting and educating to listen to, and I learned a lot from this teaching method.

Group 1, Eivor-Mari-Mille-Gaute

The first group (my group) decided on some questions that we wanted to discuss in class. We chose up-to-date topics about the refugee crisis and general facts about world immigration. The following questions are the ones that we discussed.

Question 1:

Why do you think that there are no syrians on the chart? (Image below the questions)

Answer: The chart only shows the refugees that has legal citizenship. The Syrian refugees is the main group among the refugees.

Question 2:

Why do immigrants come to Norway?

Answer: Four main reasons: Freedom, Work, family(not everyone get’s permission to stay in Norway) and education.

Question 3:  Which gender has the highest employment rate among immigrants? And why is that?

Answer: Men, because they come here to work, and possibly because of their culture. Many refugees follow the old household patterns, which means that the wife stays home and cooks and care for the children, and the husband is out working.

Question 4: How long can wage-earners on a short term stay in Norway without being registered as residents in the Central Population Register?

Answer: Six months, because taxes

Question 5: Can you think of another reason for immigrants to come to Norway, other then what you see in the picture below? The remaining 1%.

Answer: Because of the money that they will get, taxes and peace.

In this chart you will find some statistics and facts about the questions that just were mentioned. It was made in January 2016 and the facts are correct. 

Here are some links that we found our information from, and that you could use to go more in-depth about the topic: here, here and here.

Group 2, Andreas-Julia-Maren

The second group was going to choose a video each from this link and show them in class, and explain why they chose the following videos.

Maren chose this video because it was fun and exciting to see what you can do in other countries. It was also quite educating and showed how different we all are. It also taught everyone to be more careful with their hand gestures in foreign countries - because you never know what it means in their country. 

Julia chose this video because it reflects students study abroad experience in China. After seeing this video, I became more interested in a year abroad. 

Andreas chose this video because it is easy to understand and it shows the culture in china compared to The culture in the USA in a good and funny way.  

Discussion questions p. 221

a.             What special Norwegian features (for example food) do you think foreign workers might want to take back with them to their native countries?

Answer: Nugatti might be something foreign workers might want to take back to their native countries. I heard on the radio that they now sell nugatti in Asia. The class would also recommend salmon, brown cheese (if you are used to eating it), komler, milk chocolate, bacon sausage to other countries. 

2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a large number of foreign workers in a country.

Answer: It can be hard to integrate them into society, communication problems (hand gestures). Cheap work, work properly. Bring their own culture and traditions.
Body language can be a problem. One hand gesture can mean completely different things depending on where you come from.

3. Globalization will continue. Discuss what vision you see of the future when it comes to global education and work possibilities.

Answer: This year some student’s education was not valid because they took their education in other countries. There are differences in education in different countries, which might be why their education was not valid even though the education had the same standard as the Norwegian education. This could be fixed by having a council to judge different education programs. Work is affected by the EU since you can work in an EU country if your own country is an EU country. I would also add that the national borders will vanish in some time, and it will be a more open world and society. 

If you take an education as for example a nurse abroad, you will not be accepted in Norway. This could be a problem for students studying in other countries. Norway is too strict, so you need to study in Norway as well. This can be a problem for future workers. Norway somehow believe that you have to follow the Norwegian curriculum to be able to get a job in the country (in some cases). Personally I think this is unnecessary and you should be able to study in any country that you would like, and still get she same job as if you studied in Norway. 

Group 3, Ramiza-Rabab-Trym

This group showed an interesting and funny video about the stereotypical Norwegian person, that you can see here. They also talked a bit about the traditions that we have here. I personally think that they presented Norway in a good manner, and showed the best and most beloved sides of our country.

I took down a few facts about typical norwegian things, happenings, inventions and activities!

Pinnekjøtt

In Norway pinnekjøtt or Stick Meat is associated with the celebration of christmas. It's a main course dinner dish of lamb and is a beloved festive dish. The dish is rapidly gaining popularity in other parts of the world as well and is usually served with potatoes and mashed rutabaga. 

Bunad 
The bunad is a traditional costume of Norway and it is worn by both men and women. Today the bound is worn for celebration of weddings, baptism, the 17th of May and so on. The bound is very precious to the Norwegians and are very expensive. The dear clothing peace has a lot of embroidery and silver or gold jewellery pieces. 

Brunost
Brunost is a famous and tasty cheese that Norway is famous for. The cheese is found in almost every household in Norway and was invented by Anne Hov in 1880. What makes brunost different from regular cheese is that the cheese is mixed with creme and has a sweet caramelised flavour. 

Cabin trips
In Norway it's very common to own a cabin. Because Norwegians are so national romantic and in love with their mountains, fjords and nature in general, the cabins are commonly found in the mountains. Norwegian families go to their cabins in weekends or holidays. On these trips they like to go skiing, eat packed lunches, hiking, watch movies and play games. 

Cheese slicer/Ostehøvel
The cheese slicer is a Norwegian invention created by Thor Bjorklund in Lillehammer in 1925. The invention has been slightly modernised, but still works the same.

- Eivor