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Academic English

“Japanese Bamboo Artifacts”


Level Topic Speakers Length
Difficult Japanese Culture Man 01:42

Pre-Listening Exercise

What do you know about the bamboo tree, how it is grown, and what it is used for in different places around the world?

Listening Exercise

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)



Vocabulary and Sample Sentences

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the recording:

  • artifact (noun): a tool or other object used by people, particularly in the past
    – What kinds of artifacts did they discover yesterday in the cave?
  • portray (verb): describe in a particular way
    – This movie doesn’t portray the people of this culture in a positive light. That’s too bad.
  • versatile (adjective): having many uses
    – A smartphone is a very versatile piece of technology that can help you do many things.
  • frothy (adjective): very bubbly
    – I really enjoy this frothy hot chocolate.

Post-Listening Exercise

Talk about two specific cultural artifacts unique to your region of the world. What are they made of? How are they used and what significance do they have to the people of the area?

Online Investigation

Do research on one of these cultural artifacts or symbols. Report your findings to your friends or the class:

  • The Statue of Liberty
  • Coca Cola
  • the national flag of a country
  • wooden shoes in Holland
  • blue jeans
  • a hookah
  • chopsticks

Keep Learning With Related Language Activities


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