In general the British have a reputation for being very polite and quite traditional, and to a certain extent

this is quite true. Of course, as in any society there are some people who choose not to be respectful, but in general Brits are fairly polite. It is normal in Britain to hear people saying please and thank you a lot, and also to refrain from reacting angrily in situations where people brought up in other cultures might be more forward in airing their opinions!

Another aspect of politeness is the way that British people are taught to queue. British people queue for everything in public, and any attempt to queue jump will be considered very rude. Any queue jumpers would most likely be asked to move to the back to wait their turn.

The way that British people speak and the language that we use is also considered quite polite. The language that many people use, including lots of phrases like please, thank you, pardon or excuse me and would you mind certainly back this up, but the stereotype that all British people speak the Queens English is most definitely not true! There are some people who use Received Pronunciation (the accent of Standard English in England), but the majority of people around the country speak with a regional accent and use a dialect that wouldnt be considered as Queens English. Over the last couple of decades there have been sustained efforts to promote the use of regional accents in the British media, specifically to try to reflect a more accurate picture of the Britain of today. The BBC, one of Britains oldest and most renowned establishments, now has presenters who originate from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as people who come from areas like Yorkshire and the North East who speak with very specific regional accents.

Although in general the British are portrayed as quite a polite and traditional race, they are also famed for their sense of humour. Its true that humour is a really important part of the British culture, and comedy shows and acts in Britain are very popular. Its a specific type of humour that British people appreciate though, which is usually based on sarcasm and irony. This is quite different to the humour in other cultures and can sometimes take a while for foreigners to appreciate!

Free time
The British local pub is famous the world over, and today it still plays an important role in small communities especially. Often, villagers or townspeople will have one favourite pub where they go regularly to socialise with friends and neighbours, and it is normal at the weekends or in the evenings for people to go to the pub for a drink or two. In general, British people do drink quite a lot of alcohol in comparison to other European cultures, where the consumption of alcohol is perhaps more common as an accompaniment to a meal than as a stand-alone activity. Another stereotype about British culture is that we all love football and cricket. Its definitely true that both of these sports are really popular in terms of both playing and spectating, but its not exclusively these which are followed. Rugby is also very popular in Britain, as are tennis, horse racing and Formula 1 motor racing. Lots of sport is shown on British tv, especially at the weekends, and many people attend sporting events on a regular basis too. Sport is definitely an important part of British culture, and will often form the basis of conversations between new acquaintances especially amongst men. One of the first questions you may be asked is what football team you support, so make sure you have your answer ready! Cactus offers English language courses in over 30 locations across the UK, covering England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A variety of courses are available to cater to all ages, levels, interests and budgets, and accommodation can be arranged alongside your course too. All schools offer a comprehensive range of activities and excursions to enable you to make the most out of your stay, meet other students and practise your English. And if you need to understand the British way of life, business environments, or how to work with individuals from other cultures, Cactus also offers half-day and one-day Cross Cultural training courses. These will help open your eyes to a better understanding of the people you live and work with.

A study ( unclear where this information has come from) shows that Americans and Southeast Asians are the people who believe more in these stereotypes. Stereotypes are used as mental shortcuts to classify people quickly. They are usually wrong, dangerous, and be the basis for prejudice. This essay will try to look at some of the common stereotypes. Spain is the European country after France that has the most tourism. When the Spanish government had tourist campaigns in other countries in the past, they showed the sunshine, the beaches, flamenco dancing, and bullfighting. This may have helped create some of the stereotypes about Spain. Today Spain needs a new image, to show how modern and progressive it is. They need to develop a national brand that is closer to reality. Let us look at some stereotypes. 1. The Spanish are lazy and love to sleep the siesta. In the European Union, the Spanish have the longest working hours and they work very hard. You do not get to have the (once) 9th highest GDP in the world by being lazy. Yes, the Spanish like to sleep the siesta, but only about 20% of them can do so, and those are the retired and the ones who live in small rural towns. The population of Spain is concentrated now in big and medium sized cities. Many people now live in the suburbs, quite far from where they work, and do not have time to go home for lunch, what with the traffic. So they cannot sleep the siesta. They probably sleep the siesta on weekends, when they can. Health authorities say that it is healthy to sleep the siesta, so that the body can recover during the day. The siesta was much more of an occurance in the past, especially in the south of Spain, because of the heat. Now air conditioning is everywhere and this has changed many things. The Spanish also have less vacation than their other European counterparts. The Spanish also sleep less than other Europeans. 2. Spain is the land of sunshine and beaches. This is true. Spain has more sunshine than the rest of Europe because it is at the southern tip of Europe. Yet its geography is very varied. There are the central plateau, the Mediterranean coast, the Atlantic coast, and the Pyrenees. In the north there is less sun than in the south and in the central plateau it can get very cold in winter. The sun is predominant along the Mediterranean and in the south, in Andalusia. Of course the north can be colder and has more rain throughout the year than the south. The beaches in Spain have a very wide variety, from the Mediterranean to the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands to the waves along the North coast. So this stereotype is true. Some beaches are monitored on a daily basis and there are high standards of cleanliness required to have the European Blue Flag, the sign of quality. 3. Spain is the land of bullfights. The bullfight is no longer considered a sport in Spain, but is described as a cultural tradition. Yes, there are bullfights in Spain, but their popularity is decreasing every

year. Today only 25% of the population supports bullfighting and young people prefer going to football (futbol) games. The majority of people who go to bullfights are middle aged and older people. In some communities, bullfights are no longer allowed. This tradition is entering a crisis because fewer people attend the bullfights every year. There is now a growing and progressive majority that wants to get rid of the bullfight because it considers the bullfight as something cruel, something that is irrelevant to modern life. Time will tell! There are powerful economic forces that want to keep the bullfights alive. There are rich groups that grow the bulls for the bullfights. A popular bullfighter in Spain has been reported to make more than 5,000,000 euros a year. The owners of the bullrings want to keep the bullfights. Many politicians want the bullfights, especially if their communities enjoy the bullfights. Time will tell! 4. Spain is the land of flamenco. It is said that the majority of the population do not know how to dance flamenco. Flamenco has its stronghold in Andalusia, especially in Seville. Flamenco is not an easy dance, and one has to go to dance school to learn it. Flamenco dancers are very dedicated people because of the difficulty of the dance, and it requires constant practice. Every region of Spain has its traditional dance, but definitely the flamenco is the most dramatic dance. The gypsies of Andalusia were and are the stars and experts of this dance. There are famous flamenco schools in Spain now that attract a large number of foreigners from Europe, the Americas, and the Orient. 5. All Spanish people have dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin. This stereotype is not true. Remember that the Vandals stayed in Spain for a short period, and the Visigoths stayed in Spain for centuries. These two tribes were Germanic tribes and they left their genes in Spain. Today there are many fair skinned people with light colored eyes and natural blond hair. It is said that the Celts, left Norht west Spain for Ireland, Wales and evertually Scotland. The dark skin is not natural, and people who live in the South or along the Mediterranean coast may have a deep tan, but that is because they may spend a lot of time outdoors while the sun is shining. Also among all of the Spanish, a deep tan is a status symbol, meaning that one has the time and money to be vacationing on the beach. 6. Spain is the land of paella and sangria. Yes, this is true. The Spanish love paella and in almost every part of Spain one can find some sort of paella in the restaurants. In many parts of Spain, when people go out to the countryside to partake of nature, instead of a barbecue, they will cook a paella. The paella has many different forms and the most famous one is the paella Valenciana, originally from Valencia. If one goes to Valencia, one can try the many different forms of paella. There is one that looks black, because it is made with little squids and their ink makes the paella look black. The sangria is not so popular with the Spaniards, as it is with tourists. The Spanish prefer to drink good red wine from nationally famous DOs. Red wine is drank with everything in Spain. In other countries there are rules, such as that with fish one drinks white wine, but in Spain they prefer to drink red wine.

Wine making is one of the principal industries in many parts of Spain, such as in La Rioja. Spanish wines have found favor in many foreign countries because they have very good quality at very reasonable prices. Spanish wines have won prizes over famous wines from other European countries. The Spanish winemakers are modernizing their wine making facilities and planting better varieties of wine. In the south of Spain, such as in Jerez, they produce sherry ( a fortifide wine). 7. Spain is the land of fiestas. Yes, this is true. Every city, town and village has a fiesta once a year. Many times it is to honor their patron saint. People in Spain like to have fun and the fiesta is the time to have it. This is the reason that many foreigners come to visit Spain, to see and enjoy the fiesta. Most of the fiestas are very colorful events, when the Spanish put on the costumes of their region and cook the food their region is famous for. 8. The Spanish love their ham. This is true. The most appreciated ham among the Spanish is the pata negra from the province of Huelva. The pigs from this region have black hooves, and that is the meaning of pata negra. The pigs eat acorns in oak forests. The acorns have very high contents of antioxidants, so the ham from these pigs are quite lean and healthy. Scientific studies have shown that eating this type of ham will lower ones cholesterol. The ham has a slightly nutty taste and is considered a gourmet item in Spain. Many other people in the world have visited Spain and tried the ham and now have a taste for it. Spain is about to start exporting this ham to all parts of the world. One Spanish company has won approval to sell its ham to the U.S., a very big potential market. Spain is also trying to sell ham to China, a country that loves pork products. 9. The Spanish men are latin lovers. The majority of Spanish men do not meet the stereotype of the latin lover. However the latin lover is alive and well in Spain. One just has to look at national TV, which loves to report on the exploits of many famous playboys. These playboys are tall, not necessarily dark, but all of them are very handsome and very macho. They are armed with huge amounts of charm, are very entertaining, and are very experienced in the arts of seduction. Their victims are young beautiful women, many who have money. So these men are like bees, pollinating as many flowers as possible. However the Don Juan types are not good husband material, because once they conquer someone, they lose interest and look for another. Many foreign women succumb to these men, to their later anguish and regret. Because of the mixture of races, one can say that the genes Spanish have are very strong and vibrant, and they produce very beautiful women and handsome men. One has to just sit at a sidewalk caf and observe the people passing by to see some physically very beautiful people passing by. This is one of the joys of visiting Spain! 10. Conclusions There is much more to Spain than what the stereotypes paint. Spain is a modern, industrialized country, with a high economic growth rate. The Spanish are determined to improve their standards of living. They also want to project a new

image to the rest of the world because some of the stereotypes about them are negative and are not true. They will keep the positive stereotypes.