Welcome to our free lesson the cultural iceberg to give you practise for the IB English Language B exam. This is just one of the many lessons available to reinforce your learning so you feel confident when the IB English Language B exam day arrives. Our lessons are centred around five prescribed themes; identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization and sharing the planet. These themes are featured in the reading, writing, speaking and listening parts of the exam.
The Cultural Iceberg: Listening Practice
You are going to watch a video explaining the theory and model of the cultural iceberg.
Listen to Abidemi talking about how being from Nigeria made her different and interesting at the same time. Answer the questions below.
This activitiy was adapted from a resource from ello.org.
Every language has a few words or phrases that may be misunderstood. Here are a few that you may find useful to add to your vocabulary.
boot – the “boot” is the compartment at the back of the car known as the “trunk” in American English
budge up – an informal way of asking someone to make room where they are sitting for you to sit down, too, would be asking them to “budge up.”
miffed – slightly irritated or annoyed.
splash out – to “splash out” means spending significant amounts of money on a particular item or event
take the mickey – to “take the Mickey” means to take liberties at the expense of others — and can be used in both a lighthearted and an irritated fashion.
You can find more British phrases here.
Here are the keywords and phrases covered in this lesson:
- the analogy of culture
- classroom experience
- concepts of time
- cultural differences
- cultural iceberg
- explicit manifestations
- grown accustomed
- immersed
- implicit manifestations
- the tip of the iceberg
- visible
This topic provides students with an opportunity to discover their interests, values, belief and culture.
This topic provides students with an opportunity to consider how events which take place impact an individual's life.
This topic provides students with an opportunity to explore the sciences, technology and creativity.
This topic provides students with an opportunity to explore the way in which groups of people organise themselves through common systems or interests.
This topic provides students with an opportunity to look at the challenges and opportunities faced by individuals and communities in the modern world.
Here are some helpful exercises, providing word retention focussing on the English that you need to use to communicate successfully in your community.
- Home Vocabulary Exercise 1
- Home Vocabulary Exercise 2
- Home Vocabulary Exercise 3
- British and American English Vocabulary Exercise 1
- British and American English Vocabulary Exercise 2
- British and American English Vocabulary Exercise 3
- Newspaper Vocabulary Exercise
- Business Vocabulary Exercise
- Irregular Plural Nouns
- Motion
- Belief and Identity
- Success and Failure
- Work and Jobs
Here are some grammar exercise which give you the practice to be confident in communicating in English at this advanced level.
Here are some crossword puzzles that give you a way to think about how to spell and link words correctly to complete the task.
Here are some word searches that provide an excellent way to help to reinforce spellings in your mind.
- World Citizens Word Search
- English for Art Word Search
- Love Word Search
- Bank Account Word Search
- Organs Word Search
- City Life Word Search
- Plant Cells Word Search
- Environment Word Search
- Metaphorical Language Word Search
- House and Home Word Search
- Feelings Word Search
- Newspaper Word Search
- Places Word Search
- Future Jobs Word Search
- Education Word Search
- People Power Word Search
- Speech Word Search
- News Report Word Search
- Migration
- Motion
- Belief and Identity
- Success and Failure
- Work and Jobs
Doing puzzles like the ones we have on this site will be useful for you as you try to retain new words in a different language.
We also provide free resources across the full range of levels to provide the tools to communicate in English well.
Elementary | Pre-Intermediate | Intermediate | Upper Intermediate | Advanced