What is culture?
When designing country tasks, think of the cognitive processes involved
I Myanmar Geography and Basic Facts
Myanmar area
Listen and fill in the blanks
- Total: sq km
- Land: sq km
- Water: sq km
Which has a larger area, Myanmar or Japan?
Myanmar Climate
- June to September is summer, it is
- December to April is winter, it is
Myanmar terrain
Look at the above picture and try to complete the following facts about Myanmar terrain.
Myanmar has central l_ w _ _ _ ds ringed by steep rugged h_ _ _ _ _ _ _ s
- Agricultural land: _____%
- (Agricultural land = Arable land, permanent crops, permanent pasture)
- Forest: _______ %
- Other: ______
- (Other = urban, roads, wasteland)
(19.2%, 32.6%, 48.2% )
Economy
GDP – per capita (PPP): 一人当たりの国内総生産額
Listen and fill in the numbers. (Skill: understanding numbers)
$_______ (2017 est.)→ 42,700 (2017 est.)
$_______ (2016 est.) → 41,900 (2016 est.)
$_______ (2015 est.) → Japan: 41,500 (2015 est.)
GDP – composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 24.8%
industry: 35.4%
services: 39.9% (2017 est.)
Agriculture – products:
Confirm unknown words with a friend
rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts; sugarcane; fish and fish products; hardwood
Industries:
agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; oil and natural gas; garments; jade and gems
Industrial production growth rate:
9.6% (2017 est.)
Does this seem high? Which countries might be higher, which might be lower?_Guess and then look at the country comparison to the world
Labor force:
22.3 million (2017 est.)
Labor force – by occupation:
How does this compare to Japan or your country?
agriculture: 70%
industry: 7%
services: 23%
People
(Skill: understanding numbers)
Population:__________________
Ethnic groups: Burman (Bamar) 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Languages: Burmese (official)
Note: minority ethnic groups use their own languages
Religions: Buddhist 87.9%, Christian 6.2%, Muslim 4.3%, Animist 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, other 0.2%, none 0.1%
Age structure
Look at the population pyramid and write the approximate
0-14 years:______% (male ____________/female ___________)
15-24 years: ______% (male __________/female ___________)
25-54 years: _______% (male ___________/female ___________)
55-64 years: ________% (male ____________/female __________)
65 years and over: 5.53% (male 1,327,811/female 1,718,739)
II Myanmar Products and Practices
Longyi (paso)
People in Myanmar continue to wear traditional dress.
Males
The paso, or male longyi (a longyi being a ____________ tied with a front ____________) is the primary piece of clothing worn by males.
Are the following true or false?
- Colours are largely a matter of personal taste, but can also reflect ethnicity. Different ethnic groups have their own colours and patterns – Mon men wear a pink-red paso, for example.
- For men, the longyi is usually patterned with checks and stripes.
- Recently, young people wear longyi with solid colours.
- Younger men usually wear the longyi higher because it hides their stomach.
- A knot should be (very) roughly the size of a tennis ball. A knot that is too large or small betrays an ill-fitting longyi.
- Unlike Western neck ties, there is more or less one standard knot tying technique.
(Cognitive process: inferring)
Females
For women, traditional dress consists of a longyi and a short waist length blouse.
Are the following true or false?
- The knot in a women’s longyi can be bigger than a man’s.
- Men and women have to constantly retie their longyi
- Women’s longyi are typically sewn in a circular pattern.
How to tie a Longyi
III National Values (Rudkin & Erba, 2018)
Listen and fill in the blanks. Below is Japan’s scores. Do you think Myanmar is higher or lower than Japan?
Power distance = 68
Suggesting that they accept and expect that power is distributed u_________ .
Masculinity: 25
Myanmar culture is more feminine, suggesting that quality of l_________ and he_____________ are more valued than c___________ and success.
Individualism: 23
This suggests that people perceive themselves and act predominantly as members of a g_ _ _ p or c _ _ _ _ _ _ _ y.
This suggests that their daily life is guided by spoken and unspoken social rules which help maintain h________y and order.
Answers
IV Global Issues and/or Daily Life
Should we use Burma or Myanmar?
- Who changed Burma’s name to Myanmar?
- What do the Burmese call the majority ethnic group?
- Where did the name Burma come from?
- Why did the State Law and Order Restoration Council change the name?
- Why was their rationale questioned?
- Who uses Myanmar and who uses Burma?
- Which name should you use?