Is this us?

Watch the video and listen to the speakers' opinions about Slovenia and Slovenians. Read the statements below and choose the appropriate answer.

Read the statements below and choose the appropriate answer.

There are as many black people in Slovenia as in France. {False;True}
Even foreigners enjoy listening to Slovenian folk music. {False;True}
Slovenians are obsessed with cleanliness. {True;False}
Slovenians keep themselves to themselves. {False;True}
In Slovenia, more generations live under the same roof. {True;False}
Foreigners never "feel at home" in Slovenia. {False;True}
The Slovenians are used to speeding on narrow, windy roads. {True;False}
The Slovenians share characteristics of their neighbours. {True;False}
On Australian roads, there is always a shoulder to cry on
in case something happens to you. {False;True}

Listen to the speakers in the video again. In your notebook, correct the false statements from the exercise above. Do you agree with all of them? In pairs, discuss the topic and try to support your views.

Now, copy the grid below, then, read through the audio script and choose the speakers' views on Slovenians. Label them according to your opinion as positive, neutral, or negative. Fill them in the appropriate place on the grid.

AUDIO SCRIPT

SAMUEL

"My name is Samuel. I'm from France, 37 years old, I teach here in Slovenia.

... probably the most shocking thing was when I arrived in Slovenia was not seeing black people, maybe, different colours here in the population, it's something we're quite used to in France, and, of course, Slovenia is a multi-cultural society, but this (is) not something that's quite visible at first. The second shock was, and is still, definitely, shocking to me, is probably, the Slovene, typical Slovene folk music. Well, I was brought up in a completely different society, I am a different person. I think the gap between the person I am and the cultural environment makes it impossible for me to enjoy this type of music.

I think still most Slovene people are really open to foreigners, maybe it's because I'm French, but that's my experience. Well, there's something funny, this is a bit of a stereotype, but, the standard in cleanliness or the fact that I think as a Frenchman, the people, Slovene people are quite obsessed with things being clean, whereas we have a different, I think we have a different standard in France, but I've, I still, I'm very and I'm enjoying still a positive experience here because I think there's a huge difference in the way, social organisations, the society is organised, there's a bond, a feeling of being together in the Slovene society which is really strong, I guess.

... it's a bit weird, but you, ... people belong together, they like getting together, if it's a party or going to the restaurant, to the bar, there's a strong connection between people, they care for each other.

. . . the negative aspect, maybe was something I experienced as a young man ten years ago already, but ... it's the structure in the family, this is something still really weird to me that simple fact that you can find two generations or even three generations, or more, four, in the same house, is what, this was completely foreign to me."

LEA

"My name is Lea and I come from Australia.

So, when I first came to Slovenia, I came to Slovenia the first time in 2007, and, yeah, it was really different. I didn't know what to expect, it was very beautiful and green and mountainous. And, the people were very, very friendly, which was really lovely. I met lots of lovely people and they were so welcoming and, you know, everybody wanted to feed you, and everybody wanted to make sure that you had enough to eat and drink, and that you're happy and they wanted to show you all the beautiful things in Slovenia, ooooh . . . .

Of course, you know, when you're treated that well, you come back. So, yeah, I came back, and I ended up staying here, and now I live here.

But, as far as, you know, when I first arrived, there were some things that were different to Australia because I did grow up in Australia, we have to remember this. And one of them was, definitely, distances and driving. So on our excursions, our trips to various beautiful destinations in Slovenia, there were these narrow, windy (winding) roads. And, I remember thinking that these Slovenians drive so fast. And, there are, you know, where is this? No room for other cars. Anywhere. And, but somehow it seems to work. I come from Australia, the roads are long, they're wide, there's always a shoulder, which means that there is room on the side to pull over in case anything happens."

ANA

"Hi. My name is Ana and I'm from Slovenia. Slovenians are never on time. Slovenians are "cool." They are very multi-national, so we have a couple of characteristics of our surrounding countries."

POSITIVE	NEUTRAL	NEGATIVE

Check the possible answers below and compare them with your notes.

Your classmate has interviewed you about the video, but parts of the questions were erased. Read the given answers and fill in the gaps.

Where do the speakers come from ?
They come from France, Australia, and Slovenia.
Do all the speakers speak English ?
Yes, they all speak English well.
How do the Slovenians feel about themselves?
They feel they belong together.
How do the Slovenians drive ?
They drive fast.