Nick: This is London and behind me are the Houses of Parliament. Parts of these buildings are more than nine hundred years old. This is where the laws of the UK are debated and created.
The United Kingdom is actually made up of four different countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each nation has its own culture and heritage.
The population of England is around fifty million people. The English are known for drinking tea, the Queen and talking about the weather.
But what are we really like?
Priest: The English are a tolerant people.
Woman 1 : They’re just enchanting.
Woman 2 : The English people are very nice.
Woman 3 : They’re so polite and so friendly.
Nick: Scotland is in the north of Britain. Just over five million people live there.
It’s been part of the UK since 1707. Edinburgh is the capital city and home to the Scottish Parliament. The Parliament building is a work of art in itself!
Scotland has some unique customs: wearing tartan kilts…. playing the bagpipes…. and tossing the caber – a very large post.
For over sixty years, The Edinburgh Festival has celebrated art, theatre and culture.
Wales is on the western edge of Britain.
It also used to be a separate country but has been part of the UK for over four hundred years.
Nearly three million people live in Wales.
One of its symbols is a red dragon, found on the national flag. The Welsh Parliament is in the capital city, Cardiff. The Welsh are proud to have their language and twenty per cent of the people speak Cymraeg. Most signs are in English and Welsh.
Singing is an important tradition in Wales. People working in coal mines in Wales originally formed male-only choirs, they are still popular today.
Old Welsh Man: Well, I joined the choir because I met a couple of students – Welsh boys – they brought me here – love singing – I’m in the choir.
Young Welsh Man: The choir sings in Welsh so you have to be willing to try and pronounce the language but you definitely don’t have to be Welsh to be a member of the choir.
Nick: Northern Ireland is also part of the United Kingdom. The country is home to just under two million people. The capital is Belfast and for many years, Northern Ireland was a place of conflict.
This beautiful country was considered a dangerous place to visit. The troubles lasted until recent years when the peace process brought both sides together. Now, both sides share power in the Northern Ireland assembly.
The flag most often used for Northern Ireland shows the red hand, a symbol with a long history in this part of Ireland, and a crown which shows links to the rest of the UK.
The culture in Northern Ireland is rich in myth and legend.
One story says that the rocks forming the Giant’s Causeway were thrown there by an Irish giant during a fight with a Scottish giant. Irish dancing is popular in Northern and Southern Ireland and has been exported around the world.
Irish Dancer: Irish dancing is special because you have to have good posture, arms by your side and crossed feet. I love Irish dancing because it’s great exercise and a lot of fun.
Nick: The four countries of the UK have different traditions. But those differences are also strengths and make the UK what it is today.
Comments
i've never been to the United Kingdom but i like to visit someday i am really interested in London ( london eye tour , london bridge , double decker, the taxi over there , telephone box .....etc )
I want to take part in Global Changemakers 2012 and appear in London...................It has always been my dream to be in London..............................
Hi Peri, Great idea to take part in Global Changemakers 2012, Good luck. Hope your dream comes true!
Simon (LearnEnglish Teens Team)
I would like too.
Thank you very much.I'll do my best...............
I do too misscool. I really want to sit on a double-decker bus someday.
I interesting in visiting old buildings and famous landmarks. I really like to visit the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and London Eyes very much.
I am happy because it is a BBC video and I was able to understand everything :) I've already visited England and I would like to visit Ireland, Scotland and Wales. I like discovering new cultures and I hope that one day I will visit these countries :-)
I've never been to the UK but I like to visit it someday. This video helps me to enlarge my knowledge. Thank you!
I really want to visit England, and (honestly) I would live there all my life...Yeah, English history is a real passion of mine
I have always wanted to visit and study in the UK,hope someday my dream will com true.
UK - that's admirable...I'd like to be a student of Royal Collegue Of MUsic. It interests me so much....)
Hello myownd1 and everyone else who wrote about wanting to study in the UK! That's a great dream and it would be an unforgettable experience. What would you want to study? I'm sure you can make it come true! Go go go!
Jonathan (LearnEnglish Teens Team)
My dream is to visit London and I hope someday my dream came true!!!
Well my Aunt is in London but I've never been to london Its my dream to visit London!!! I love London!!
Hey,I'm from Bosnia and Herzegovina,and It's very nice country,but London is my dream.My dream is,that I study in London.But how? :*
Hi Bosnianchild, You can do it! The first step is to improve all your English skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and maybe you could go to a British university in the future! There are many students from all over the world studying in the UK! Hope this website helps you!
Simon (LearnEnglish Teens Team)
i heard a lot of thing about Lon Don. Lon Don is very wonderfull . i hope in the future i can come there to visit whole famous place.
I have been to England. It was five years ago, and this year I won a contest for knowing English. The grand prize was a trip to England for two weeks, you only had to buy plane tickets. But they are really expensive... I couldn't go this year. I'd LOVE to study in England. My dream is to study at Oxford University... I hope that someday my dream will come true, because I'd like to live and study in England! :)
Though,I've never been to UK............ I'm an 'Anglophile'! I'd really be honoured to be a student at the 'Cambridge University':-)
I've never been in UK but my dream is to study in Cambridge. We have a Welsh teacher in our school, and he told us a lot about the UK. We learned a lot about UK in our world geography classes, and I know quite lot about it. I really want to visit London, and I hope I will..
I would like to go to Scotland and Northern Ireland.But I like England and Wales too.There are four beautiful countries .
I have neer been to uk but want to go there it is my dream.i hope i'll be there soon...
Interesting film !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Like to learn about the UK.
I've never been in the United Kindom but I would really like to visit it. I can even say that it's my dream because I'm really interested in traditions and history of this amazing country!
i wish i will be in UK oneday....my dream..!!!
no i like so much to go in UK
I haven't been to UK yet,but I'd like to go there
I've been to London and Oxford. I was enchanted when saw that splendid cities, the nature, people.. And the best part was when I could actually hear the real British accent. I like it so much and I think that American English can't compare with British accent, it's so sophisticated and I'd like to have such an accent. I've got a friend from England and her accent is wonderful, clear and it's a pleasantry to listen to her.