Page 31 - Grasp English C1 (Student Book)

History | Oral tradition

A. Read the text about oral tradition. Fill in the blanks 1-5 with the sentences below.
a. Moreover, many of the younger generation regard the tales of the older generation
as redundant in a fast-changing world.
b. All kinds of information can be transmitted this way: religion, law, geographical information,
cultural ideals, wisdom or stories.
c. Later in America, African slaves would encode information about escape routes northward
into their spiritual songs.
d. Other mnemonic devices, such as alliteration and repetition were also used to help the speaker
remember details.

e. The culture had many stories, many with a social, moral or environmental message.

B. Read the text again and answer the questions.

1. Define oral tradition.
2. What sort of information was passed on by oral tradition?
Give examples from different countries.
3. In what forms was information passed on? Give
examples from different countries.

4. What techniques were used to ensure that information
was passed on accurately?

C. Discuss the following questions in pairs and groups.

1. What sort of information has been passed on to you
through oral tradition?

2. Do you think that information passed on by oral
tradition is reliable?
3. Do you think oral tradition helps to build cultural unity
and cohesion in a group?
4. Is oral tradition relevant in the age of information and
the Internet?

D. Alone or in groups, identify a story or information which was once passed on through oral tradition in
your country or a country of interest to you.
Consider: myths and legends, stories with morals, religious stories

Either: prepare a play where you pass on this story to your class through oral tradition
or: research how this story was passed on from one generation to the next and how the story evolved
over time.

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