United States Essentials: Geography, History, Culture, Education

United States: Key Facts & Cultural Insights

The head of state and of the government is the President of the United States. The capital is Washington D.C. The USA occupies all the territory of North America, between Mexico and Canada, as well as the peninsula of Alaska and the island of Hawaii. This makes a total of 9.5 million km² and a population of some 300 million inhabitants.

Geographical Framework of the USA

The geographical characteristics of the USA are diverse due to its vast size. Three zones must be distinguished:

• The continental zone, where different geophysical regions are observed.
• Alaska, formed by a mountainous region.
• The Hawaiian Islands, which are of volcanic formation.

The most important river is the Mississippi.

Historical Framework of the USA

On the 4th of July in 1776, the independence of the USA was declared. George Washington was the first president of the USA. An economic catastrophe devastated the USA in 1929: the stock market crash (known as Black Tuesday).

Cultural Background of the USA

Americans of Anglo-Saxon descent comprise 45% of the total population. Americans share certain common traits:

• They have great vitality and enthusiasm.
• They are intensely patriotic.

National holidays include:

• Independence Day: the 4th of July
• Thanksgiving Day: the fourth Thursday in November
• Halloween
• Christmas

Didactic Application of USA Aspects

This section outlines the didactic application of the most significant geographical, historical, and cultural aspects of the United States.

Objectives for Learning

The objectives refer to distinct aspects of communicative competence; for example, comprehension and expression of messages, reading, and the development of communication strategies.

Core Content Areas

The contents of our area refer to four concrete fields:

• Listening and speaking
• Reading and writing
• Language Knowledge
• Sociocultural aspects and intercultural awareness

Regarding the last one, these, connected with communicative situations, are the object of learning in this stage.

Methodological Guidelines

Some general guidelines that touch upon the relationship between the two fields are now presented:

• The use of the foreign language as a vehicle of communication, accepting the corresponding social norms.
• Promoting international relations through European Programmes of International Cooperation in Education.
• Creating communication contexts where the most relevant cultural features appear.

Evaluation Criteria

There are some socio-cultural aspects in our legislation:

• To show interest and curiosity for learning the foreign language and to recognize linguistic diversity as an enriching element.
• To identify some features, customs, and traditions of countries where the foreign language is spoken.