Unit 3 · Travel & Experience · Lesson 12
Culture Shock
Learn how to talk about cultural differences without sounding judgemental. Practise sharper comparison and hedging language so you can describe the gap between 'home' and 'here' with nuance.
Warm-up · §1
5 minGet talking
What's the first thing that felt 'weird' to you in another country? Why?
Have you ever come home and felt your own country was 'weird' for a few days?
Describe one cultural habit (greeting, eating, queueing…) that took you time to get used to.
Grammar focus · §2
8–10 minComparing cultures — comparatives, hedging and respectful generalisation
Quick rule
Compare clearly, hedge the generalisation: 'tend to', 'in general', 'it seems' + comparative structure.
Pattern builder
Soft generalisation
People tend to + verb / In general,…
e.g. People here tend to greet strangers more than at home.
Strong comparative
far / much + comparative + than
e.g. It's far more relaxed than I expected.
Equal/unequal
nowhere near as + adj + as
e.g. It's nowhere near as formal as the brochure suggested.
Hedge a claim
It seems / appears (to me) that…
e.g. It seems to me that punctuality matters less here.
Compare
| Stereotype (avoid) | B2 hedged version | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Germans are cold. | Germans tend to be more reserved with strangers, in my experience. | Hedged + personal frame |
| Spanish people are always late. | Timing seems to be more flexible than in the UK. | Compares behaviour, not people |
| Japanese are quiet. | Conversations in public tend to be quieter than I'm used to. | Describes a tendency, not a trait |
Examples
- →
People in the north tend to be a bit more reserved than in the south.
- →
Meetings here are far less formal than I'd expected.
- →
Italians, in general, are nowhere near as time-strict as Germans.
- →
It seems to be more common to eat dinner late.
- →
The work culture is much more relationship-based than back home.
Common mistakes
Italians are more louder.
✓ Italians tend to be louder, in general.
Drop double comparative; add hedge.
It is not as much formal like home.
✓ It's nowhere near as formal as back home.
'as … as' not 'as … like'.
Natural English
Add 'in my experience' or 'from what I've seen' once or twice — it makes any cultural comparison sound thoughtful instead of judgmental.
Deep dive (full explanation)
Talking about cultures at B2 means avoiding two traps: (1) flat stereotypes ('All Italians are loud') and (2) over-cautious vagueness ('Maybe in some places possibly…'). The B2 move is to hedge the generalisation with 'tend to', 'in general', 'it seems', and to compare using clearer comparative structures: 'far more direct than', 'nowhere near as formal as', 'much less time-conscious than'. This lets you describe a real difference without claiming it's true of every individual.
Question 1.Most natural B2 way to make a cultural comparison:
Question 2.Work meetings here are ___ as formal as I'd expected.
Question 3.People here ___ to eat dinner much later.
Question 4.It's ___ relaxed than my hometown.
Question 5.___, punctuality matters less in social settings.
Build the sentence → spot the natural chunks → say it aloud → reply like a real conversation.
1.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
2.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
3.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
Quick check 1.Most natural B2 way to make a cultural comparison:
Quick check 2.Work meetings here are ___ as formal as I'd expected.
Vocabulary · §3
5–7 minWords & phrases to own
culture shock
the disorientation of being in a very different culture.
to settle in
to get comfortable in a new place.
to fit in
to feel like you belong in a group.
to get used to (sth)
to become accustomed to something.
an unwritten rule
a social rule that isn't said openly but everyone follows.
a faux pas
a social mistake (often without meaning to).
to come across as (rude / friendly)
to give a certain impression.
small talk
polite, light conversation.
personal space
the comfortable distance between you and others.
reverse culture shock
the strange feeling of returning home after being abroad.
Activate it now
Talk about real moments — that's when this vocabulary finally clicks.
- Make it yours#1
Tell a 30-second story about a small faux pas you (or someone you know) made abroad.
a faux pasto come across as (rude / friendly) - Complete#2
Finish: 'The hardest thing to get used to was ___ because ___.'
to get used to (sth) - Discuss#3
Name one unwritten rule in your country that visitors usually miss.
an unwritten rule - Your view#4
Agree or disagree: 'Reverse culture shock is harder than the original culture shock.'
reverse culture shock - Rank#5
Rank what helps you settle in fastest: language, food, friends, routine, work.
to settle into fit in - Quick write#6
Write 2 sentences about how 'personal space' differs between two cultures you know.
personal space
Pronunciation · §4
3–4 minStress for contrast — 'far MORE / nowhere NEAR'
When you make a comparison, English speakers stress the contrast word, not the adjective. 'It's FAR more relaxed' (not 'it's far more RE-laxed'). 'NOWHERE near as formal' (not 'nowhere near as FOR-mal'). Stressing the comparison signal is what makes you sound confident, not the noun.
- It's FAR more re-LAXED than I ex-PEC-ted.
- It's NO-where near as FOR-mal as home.
- MUCH more relationship-BASED.
- A LITTLE bit MORE re-served, in GENeral.
Reading · §5
8–10 minThe Six Months Nobody Warns You About
Listen to the passage
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Most articles about culture shock describe a curve: excitement, frustration, adjustment, acceptance. What they rarely mention is the seventh month — the one where you stop noticing the difference, and then, on a Tuesday, it hits you that you've changed. It usually happens in something tiny. You queue without thinking. You hold the door a little less. You start saying 'sorry' when someone bumps into you. The version of you who got off the plane would not recognise your default behaviour now. This is the part nobody warns you about: culture shock isn't really about the place you've moved to. It's about the slow rewiring of your own habits, and the strange grief of realising that some part of your old self has quietly slipped out the back door. Most long-term travellers report the same thing: by the time you fully fit in somewhere new, going home feels stranger than arriving did. Friends use phrases that sound slightly off. Familiar food tastes too sweet, or too salty, or just too much. People back home want the highlight reel; you want to explain a small moment with a stranger on a Tuesday afternoon that changed everything. Reverse culture shock is the real one. The first culture shock teaches you that the world is bigger than home. The second one teaches you that you are bigger than home, too.
Question 1.What does the writer say is missing from typical culture shock descriptions?
Question 2.What is the writer's main point about culture shock?
Question 3.What does the writer say about reverse culture shock?
Question 4.What do friends at home want to hear, according to the writer?
Q1.The writer says you stop noticing the difference after the first week.
Q2.The writer believes culture shock is mostly about the new place itself.
Q3.Familiar food at home can taste strange after long travel.
Q4.Reverse culture shock teaches you that you are bigger than home, too.
Listening · §6
8–10 minA returning student talking to her tutor about reverse culture shock (about 1:40)
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Show transcript
Tutor:So — six months in Tokyo. How does it feel being back?
Maya:Strange. Not bad. Just… my own city feels nowhere near as quiet as it used to.
Tutor:Can you give me an example?
Maya:On the train this morning. People were talking on the phone, eating, laughing loudly. In Tokyo, I'd got used to almost total silence on the train. Now my own city sounds, I don't know, intense.
Tutor:Reverse culture shock — classic.
Maya:And I keep bowing slightly when I say thank you. People look at me like I'm being weird.
Tutor:Did you fit in by the end?
Maya:I wouldn't say I fitted in — that's a strong word. But I'd settled in. I knew the unwritten rules. I didn't make faux pas anymore. Or fewer, anyway.
Tutor:What surprised you most when you got home?
Maya:How fast people want the highlight reel. 'Was it amazing?' 'Yes!' And then the conversation moves on. But the real stuff was tiny — a conversation with my landlady in broken Japanese on a Tuesday. You can't fit that in 30 seconds.
Tutor:It sounds like it changed you.
Maya:It did. Quietly. That's the bit nobody warns you about.
Question 1.What feels strange to Maya about her own city now?
Question 2.What habit did she pick up in Tokyo?
Question 3.Did Maya feel she 'fitted in' in Tokyo?
Question 4.What does she say about people back home?
Exam skills · §7
5 minStrategy focus — Hedge generalisations, keep comparisons sharp
Task
Whenever you talk about a culture, listeners notice two things instantly: are your comparisons clear, and are you avoiding flat stereotypes? B2 speakers pass this test with two small habits — soften the generalisation, sharpen the comparative.
Strategy
Soften with 'tend to', 'in general', 'in my experience', 'it seems'. Sharpen with 'far more', 'nowhere near as… as', 'much less'. Add one personal moment ('On my first day…') so your point lands as observation, not judgement.
Example
From what I've seen, work culture here tends to be far more relationship-based than back home. On my first day, I expected to start with tasks, but we spent an hour just having coffee together. It's nowhere near as transactional as I'd imagined.
Practice · §8
8–10 minFill in the blank
Question 1.People here ___ to be a bit more reserved than back home.
Question 2.It's ___ near as formal as I'd expected.
Question 3.I'm still getting ___ to the way people queue here.
Question 4.In ___, dinner here is much later than at home.
Question 5.It seems ___ me that small talk matters more here.
Question 6.I'm trying not to come ___ as rude.
Q1.Soft generalisation: 'People here ___ to greet strangers more often.'
Q2.Strong comparative: 'It's ___ more relaxed than I'd thought.'
Q3.Equal/unequal: 'It's nowhere ___ as strict as the rules suggest.'
Writing · §9
5 minPut it in writing
Your task
Write a 130–170 word reflection titled 'The Thing I Found Hardest to Get Used To'. Use AT LEAST one 'tend to', one 'nowhere near as… as', one 'in my experience', and three vocab items from this lesson.
Your answer
Show model answer
The thing I found hardest to get used to in Madrid wasn't the language — it was dinner time. In my experience, people in Spain tend to eat much later than I'd ever imagined: eight, nine, sometimes ten at night. For the first month, I'd come home from work hungry at six and have to wait, hungrier and hungrier, until my flatmates were ready to think about food. I also made a small faux pas in my first week. I sat down to eat alone at seven, in a restaurant that was clearly setting up for the evening. The waiter was kind but mildly amused. It's nowhere near as time-strict a culture as I'd come from, and I had to settle in by slowing down. Six months later, I find myself eating at nine without thinking about it. I'm not sure I fit in yet, but I've started to belong to the rhythm.
Speaking · §10
10–15 minMake it a real conversation
ROLEPLAY — The Culture Interview. Imagine you've just returned from six months abroad. Your partner is a journalist. They ask: 'What was the hardest cultural thing to get used to? What's one thing you wish people back home understood about that place?' Answer in full, hedged comparisons. Then swap.
Useful phrases
- • In my experience…
- • People there tend to…
- • It was nowhere near as ___ as I'd expected.
- • The unwritten rule was…
- • I made a bit of a faux pas when…
- • It took me about ___ to settle in.
- • I wouldn't say I fitted in, but I'd…
- FriendHow was the move?
- You_______________
- FriendWhat was the hardest thing?
- You_______________
- FriendDo you fit in now?
- You_______________
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Optional teacher-led activities for live classes. ~22 min total
Homework · §11
Take-homeTake it home
Write 150 words: 'A small cultural difference that surprised me.' Use 'tend to', 'in general' and 'nowhere near as'.
Record a 90-second voice note about a faux pas you (or a friend) once made abroad.
Write one true sentence using each of: culture shock, settle in, fit in, faux pas, unwritten rule, reverse culture shock.
Find a short blog post about culture shock online. Note three hedged generalisations the writer uses.
Recap · §12
2–3 minWhat you've learned
- You can compare cultures clearly with 'far more', 'nowhere near as… as' and 'much less'.
- You can soften generalisations with 'tend to', 'in general', 'in my experience'.
- You can name stages of cultural adjustment with the right vocabulary (settle in, fit in, faux pas, unwritten rule).
- You can talk about reverse culture shock as a real, slow change.
- You can stress contrast words ('FAR more', 'NOWHERE near') to sound confident.