Unit 1.

Topic: Describe a childhood memory

Goals:
- talk about a personal memory;
- evoke the feelings and moods of a past event.

Presenter: associate professor, docent Aigul Zhoroeva

• Most of us have treasured memories of the events that shaped our lives
as a child. Or do we? Controversial new research claims that those
recollections may be as real as fairytales. Leading psychologist Elizabeth
Loftus, of the University of California, believes your memories are more
likely to be dreamlike reconstructions of stories told by your parents.
When we think we are reminiscing, we are simply ‘rewriting' our
memory to suit ourselves. She adds: "Our biases, expectations and past
knowledge are all used in the filling-in process, leading to distortions of
what we remember.” She maintains there is no evidence that perfect
memories are stored by individuals. In one study, volunteers were asked
to read about events that happened to them as children. One of these
was made up - a shopping trip when they were five, in which they got
lost and were rescued by an elderly person. Later, some participants
recalled the event in detail, with self assurance and emotion. You could
argue that these people might have genuinely lost their mum in a shop
at some point during childhood.
• 1 Why do we choose to 'rewrite our memories'?
• 2 What would you say is the 'filling -in process'?
• 3 What do the anecdotes about the shopping trip and wedding
reveal?
• A How are these findings shown to be important in later life?
• A a Look at the article.
• 1 What synonym s can you find for remember and memory? How are
they different in meaning?
• 2 'One 4 0 -year-old man distinctly remembers ...'. What other
adverbs could collocate with remember?
• b Look at the script for 1.2 on p146. Explain the expressions in bold
using remember. 'Jog my memory' means something makes or helps
me to remember.
But Loftus later carried out similar studies where the fake event was an attack
by a vicious animal, or being responsible for knocking over a punch bowl at a
family wedding and spilling it all over the bride. The results were the same. Dr
Jaime Quintanilla, professor of psychiatry at the Texas School of Medicine,
agrees that our earliest recollections are far from accurate and often complete
distortions or figments of our imagination. He says: "It's a proven fact that
young children take fragments of experience and build them into distorted
memories. For example, one 40-year-old man distinctly remembers his parents
once punished him by refusing to buy him shoes. In fact, when he was three, he
cut his foot on a piece of glass and developed a nasty infection. For two weeks,
he was confined to the house in his socks so his wound would heal. When he
wanted to go out, he was told he couldn't, because he had no shoes. 'These
false suggestions about childhood events can profoundly change people's
attitudes and behaviour in adulthood.
• Discuss these questions.
• 1. Do you have a clear idea of your earliest memory?
What do you think it might be?
• 2. Do you think this memory is your own, or was it told to
you by family or friends?
• 3. Why do you think this memory stayed? How did you feel
about what happened?
• Do you agree that we tend to distorture earliest
memories?
 Target activity
• LISTENING Describe a childhood memory
1 a. What images of childhood does the photo bring to mind?
b. Which moments can you most easily recall from your childhood? holidays /
journeys, moving house, your grandparents, a new school, your best friend, a
particular day/place.
c. What helps trigger that memory: an image? a feeling? a smell?
2 a. List. 1.3. Listen to Andrew, Julia and Ben describing their memories. Which
topics in 1b do they talk about?
b. Listen again. Try to 'picture' the scenes the speakers describe.
1. What images stand out? Make notes.
2. What feelings or moods are associated with each description? Note adjectives
and nouns.
3. Why is the memory still significant for each speaker?
a. Look at the script on p146. Divide each memory into four different sections:
• focusing on time and place. • describing background/participants.
• relating a sequence of events. • giving an evaluation.
b. You can use different expressions to structure your memory. Complete gaps:
Focusing on time and place Describing background / participants
• I remember 1______ I was little ... • I 8____ just started
• I remember 2______ to the primary school. •I
beach ... • The thing I 3_____ must 9____about four years old.
remember is ... • One of my • We 10_____ in a kind of forested
4____ memories is ... area. • She 11_____
getting married.
• We 12____ stay in a cottage ...
Relating a sequence of events Giving an evaluation
• 5____ we got tow ards • 13______ back now on
the coast... • We 're this occasion ...
6_____ really close friends ... • That's a 14________ of meeting someone.
* 7 __ the time we arrived ... • ...has just 15 ________ with me forever.

c. Why is would used so frequently in Andrew's story?

 Talk about a childhood memory
• 1. Think of a significant childhood event from which you learned
something. Decide how you w ant to tell it.
• 2. Divide the memory into four clear sections. Choose expressions
from 3b to help you.
• 3. Tell your story. Listen to each other's memories and talk about
what personal significance they still have.
• 4. Talk about the differences and similarities between your stories.
 Across cultures. Attitudes to children
• These photos accompany a feature about Norway called Babyland.
1. What do you think the photos show?
2. What do you think the feature will say about Norwegian society?
• Babyland
• According to the UN's Human Development Index, Norway is the
best place to live on the planet. It certainly seems to be one of the
best places to be a baby. In contrast to most European countries, the
Norwegian birth rate is a healthy 1.9. Norway's reputation as a child-
friendly society is partially founded on a succession of government
initiatives to improve parents' rights and economic circumstances.
Maternity leave is 42 weeks with full pay, and paternity leave is four
weeks. There is financial support for those who choose to look after
their children rather than return to the workplace. And the baby
industry is booming, giving birth to a plethora of new activities :
baby-massage, baby-cinema, baby 'n ' book days at the library, even
baby-au-lait (a term for breastfeeding -friendly cafes).
• Talk about whether your country is 'child-friendly'.
• 1. How much support is there for mothers or fathers and babies?
• 2. What facilities are there for small children?
• 3. How safe is it for children?
• 4. What are people's attitudes towards children? Do they tend to:
• ignore them?
• make a fuss?
• expect them to behave well?
• disapprove?
• 5. Is it considered important to have children?
Do most people want to have them?
Has this changed in recent years?
H/W pp.12-13-14-15