Secondary ESOL Links

Culture

• Asia Education Foundation

  Teaching resources, cultural information and useful links (Australian).

• Japan: Kids Web

  A fun site that introduces Japan to students from other countries. Sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• Korea for Kids

  Three interactive activities - numbers, words and virtual journey. Companion site to the Australian text book "Inside King Sejong's Gate".

• Te Ara - The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand

  Visit this new online encyclopaedia developed by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

• Treaty of Waitangi Te Tiriti o Waitangi

  Visit this website for a concise account of the Treaty of Waitangi and links to related resources (State Services Commission).

• Afghanistan Online

  General information and current events from Afghanistan.

• America in 'Critical Need' of Mandarin

  As the US wakes up to China's emerging status as an economic and strategic competitor, US parents -and the Pentagon - are urging their children to learn the Chinese language (Guardian Weekly).

• Animals Myths & Legends

  Myths and legends from Native American Indians, the Aboriginal Dreamtime, Korea, India and more.

• ArTok: Pacific Arts Online

  Explore the artistic diversity and cultural practices of Oceania. See and hear traditional music and dance, tapa, sculpture, body art, and performance. An ABC Online-Radio Australia initiative.

• Asia New Zealand Foundation

  Asia New Zealand Foundation is a non-profit, apolitical organisation that aims to promote greater understanding between New Zealand and its Asian neighbours.

• Asia Source

  Asian news from the Asia Society. For advanced students.

• AskAsia.org

  Classroom resources and cultural information. From the American Asia society.

• Bhutan

  Genral information and some teaching resources (from PBS).

• Burmese

  Links from the Yamada Language Center at the University of Oregon.

• Cambodia in Modern History: Beauty and Darkness

  Information on the recent history of Cambodia, particulary the Khmer Rouge period, including information about Cambodian refugees and immigrants abroad.

• China Culture

  A comprehensive site from the Ministry of Culture, P.R.China.

• China the Beautiful

  Learn about Chinese history, literature, calligraphy, paintings, culture and heritage. English and Chinese text. Links to maps and dictionaries.

• China Virtual Tour

  This site takes you along the route of an Australian teachers' study group tour. Each stop includes resources and a curriculum guide for primary and secondary school teachers.

• Chinese New Year Theme Page

  Links to a wide range of resources on Chinese New Year (from Teacher Planet).

• Chinese New Year, Chinese Calendar

  Make your own New Year poster.

• Chinese: Web-based Character Learning Exercises

• The Coombsweb: Asia-Pacific Research from The Australian National University

  Up-to-date information on current issues and includes a search engine to search the specialist sites on the region. Access to useful Asian Journals.

• Culture Shock: A Fish Out of Water

  An outline of the stages of adjustment to/rejection of a new culture (John's ESL Community).

• Defining Middle Eastern Boundaries: Lines in the Sand

  Summaries of Middle East history. Teachers' resources are available.

• Diversity Vs. White Privilege

  Christine Sleeter explains why multiculturalism is a struggle against racism, and must go beyond an appreciation of diversity (Rethinking Schools Online, 2001).

• Diwali - the Hindu New Year

  Read about Diwali, India's Festival of Lights, which marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year.

• The Earth Calendar

  Find holidays by country, religion or date.

• EthnoMed: Ethnic Medicine Information

  An American site with information about cultural beliefs, medical issues and other issues relevant to the health care of recent immigrants.

• Events Calendar

  Information on festivals and other multicultural events. You can add your own event. Downloadable as a poster. From the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Division.

• Fact Books

  Information on almost every country.

• Folk Tales from the United Arab Emirates

  From Abu Dhabi Women's College.

• Folktales from Around the World

  Folktales told by students from Laos.

• FreeBurma.org

  Information on political issues and ethnic minorities.

• India: Culturopedia

  Comprehensive cultural information.

• Indonesia

  From Lonely Planet.

• Korea at 50 -CNN Special

  Includes features on both South and North Korea, and a look back at the Korean War.

• Korea.net

  Current events. From the Korean Overseas Information Service.

• Korea: Grandfather's House

  Take a virtual tour of a traditional Korean house. Interactive activities for students. Includes teacher resources.

• LangMedia: The Five College Resource for the Study of World Languages

  Examples of authentic language spoken in the natural environment.

• Laos

  General infromation from the Lao embassy in Washington.

• Living Heritage: Tapa, a Tongan Treasure

  A collaborative project between the Tongan students at Marcellin College and students from Takuilau College in Lapaha to record the tapa making tradition.

• Malaysia: Culture And Information

  General information.

• The Middle East Network Information Centre

  Background information on Middle Eastern and Asian countries, from the University of Texas.

• Multicultural Awareness Activities

  Practical suggestions for assisting mainstream students to value diversity (Edchange Multicultural Pavilion).

• Muslim Women's League

  A nonprofit American Muslim organisation. Offers a range of information about Muslims and the roles and rights of women within Islam.

• The National Folk Museum of Korea

  Find out about Korean life and society here.

• New Taiwan, Ilha Formosa

  Taiwan's history, culture and political system from an independence movement perspective.

• Our Cultural Heritage

  Students from Marcelin College explore their cultural heritage

• Pacific Salutations

  Greetings and phrases in a number of Pasifika languages (Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs).

• The Power of Words

  Ten lessons that explore the uses of language to label ethnic groups, sexual minorities and genders. Although designed for the US, these could easily be adapted for New Zealand.

• Ramadan

  Learn all about Ramadan here.

• Say Hello to the World

  Learn about language and culture (the Internet Public Library, Kidspace).

• Somalia Watch

  Somali community profile.

• sPACIFICally PACIFIC Education

  sPACIFICally PACIFIC is a one-stop shop for advice and information for Pacific youth. Supports the Pasifika Education Plan.

• Sri Lanka

  General information from Travel Sri Lanka

• Stories to Read and Tell: Africa

  Stories, legends and folktales from Africa.

• Stories to Read and Tell: China

  Stories, legends and folktales from China.

• Stories to Read and Tell: Egypt

  Stories, legends and folktales from Egypt.

• Stories to Read and Tell: India

  Stories, legends and folktales from India.

• Taiwan

  From the Government Information Office, Republic of China.

• Vietnam

  Lesson plans and information on Vietnam from AusAID.

• Windows to the Universe - Mythology

  Read about the gods and goddesses of different cultures. Three levels of reading difficulty.

• Words Without Borders

  Aims to introduce western readers to other points of view. Examples of poetry from the Middle East, China and South America as well as both fiction and non-fiction works from the Korean peninsula, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and many other countries.

• The World Factbook

  CIA site with summarised economic and political information.