Benjamin Zephaniah: The British
Understanding the poem
1.Before we begin: a multicultural country
Britain is a multicultural country. What comes to mind when you hear the word multicultural? Make a mind map. If you do not know the word, look it up in a dictionary.
2.Before we begin II: vocabulary
Before we listen to the poem: there are quite a few words in the poem that might be new to you. Use a dictionary and find out the meaning of the following words. Make an English-Norwegian word list.
Immigration
Settle
Conquerors
Stir
Vigourously
Blend
Sprinkle
Melting pot
Simmer
Unity
Justice
Equality
Extra challenge: instead of translating the words into Norwegian, you could write an English explanation to each word.
3.Listening activity:
Watch the film clip and fill in the missing words.
The British
Take some Picts, Celts and Silures
And let them ______,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors. Fill in the gaps
Remove the ______after approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman ______to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and ______, then stir vigorously.Fill in the gaps
Mix some hot Chileans, cool/smooth Jamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese/Singalese,
Vietnamese and Sudanese. Choose the right word
Then take a mix/blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians
And Pakistanis,
Add to/Combine with some Guyanese
And turn up the heat. Choose the right word
Then sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians,
Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some
Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Norwegian, Japanese
And Palestinians
Then add all of them to the melting pot. Delete the extra words
Leave the ingredients to simmer.
As they mix and blend ______their languages to flourish
Binding them together with ______. Fill in the gaps
Allow time to be cool.
Add some unity, ______, and respect for the ______,
Serve with justice
And enjoy. Fill in the gaps
Note: All the ingredients are equally ______. Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter ______taste.
Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give ______and equality to all.
4.True or False?
Read the poem again and find out which of the statements below are true and false.
Extra challenge: rewrite the false statements so that they become correct.
The Celts were among the first people to settle in the British Isles.
The Vikings left Britain after about 400 years of occupation.
Immigration to Britain is new.
Britain has immigrants from all over the world.
This poem has the form of a food recipe.
5.Discuss
-What would you say this poem is about?
-What does the poem tell us about Britain and its history?
-What do you think Benjamin Zephaniah would like to say through this poem?
-Why do you think the poet chose to write the poem in the form of a food recipe?
6.Do some research I
Which different nationalities are mentioned in the poem? Look up where the different countries are located and place them on a map.
7.Do some research II
Find out more about the history of Britain and the different peoples who have settled there throughout history. Choose one people and find out more about their part in British history. Be prepared to present your findings in class.
8.Do some research III
Find out more about the poet Benjamin Zephaniah and his other poems. Choose one of his poems and present it in class. If you like, you could make a film clip version like the one you have seen of “The British”.
9.Write your own poem
What would this poem look like if the title is “The Norwegians”? Write your own version. What are the similarities and differences between immigration to Britain and Norway?
Hele diktet med alle ord:
Take some Picts, Celts and Silures
And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors. Fill in the gaps
Remove the Romansafter approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.Fill in the gaps
Mix some hot Chileans, coolJamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese
Vietnamese and Sudanese. Choose the right word
Then take a blendof Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians
And Pakistanis,
Combinewith some Guyanese
And turn up the heat. Choose the right word
Then sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians,
Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some
Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Norwegian, Japanese
And Palestinians
Then add all of them to the melting pot. Delete the extra words
Leave the ingredients to simmer.
As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourish
Binding them together with English. Fill in the gaps
Allow time to be cool.
Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future,
Serve with justice
And enjoy. Fill in the gaps
Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste.
Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all.
Gyldendal Undervisning 2015