British Culture Revealed
An insight into British everyday culture.
Americans have their hot dogs, Germans love their “currywurst”, but what have the Brits got?
Well, if you don’t know yet, there have been two top consecutive number one Christmas hits on the UK charts written by Mark Ian Hoyle, an English social media blogger, known by his Internet pseudonym, LadBaby.
He and his wife, Roxanne (or Rox, as her husband calls her), sing and perform a comedic parody that will definitely drive the message home. This feat of two back-to-back Christmas number ones hasn’t been achieved since the Spice Girls back in the 90’s!
Ladbaby, cleverly uses the melodies of two very well-known songs, “We Built this City on Rock n’ Roll and “I love Rock n’ Roll”, and change the words “rock n’ roll” into their beloved treat and voila – you’ve got “We’ve Built this City on Sausage Rolls” and “I love Sausage Rolls”.
By watching these music videos, as Brits, I hope you’ll enjoy it if you haven’t already seen it hundreds of times. As a British ex-pat – the song most likely will make you feel a bit nostalgic and homesick.
For me, as an (American) teacher – it’s a fun, way to bring some humour into a classroom online for students learning English.
But these songs are more than just funny. They also reveal a deep-seeded core value of the British people. What do I mean?
Well, it’s just one great example of how personally involved they can become in raising money for charities and do so in such clever, creative ways!
Check out this video, to see if you agree with me. Here’s the link to their first hit “We’ve built this city on sausage rolls”.
Before watching it, see if you can choose the right word to fill in the blank (You’ve got a 50/50 chance). And then listen to check your answers.
There is also a second exercise with 6 trivia questions (+ bonus question) that could just win you a pub quiz, too!
Last but not least, here’s a link to the charity they’re supporting, in case, you too, want to get into the donating spirit!
Are you ready now to dive into the British culture and language exercise?
Click the sausage roll to watch the video
Choose the Right Word
Watch this very playful music video and enjoy! Then, choose the right word to complete the lyrics of the song.
Hint: Many times you are given the choice between an American and British term. Most of the times, the answer is the British one! See if you know which is which.
English Pub Quiz
You may need to watch the video several times to get some of these questions right.
See how you do!
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