1 In pairs, complete the quiz.
What do you know about
JORDANIAN EMBROIDERY?
1. What material is the embroidered dress, the thaob, made from?
a. silk b. wool c. plants
2. Which of the following is not used to embroider the thaob?
a. cotton b. wood c. precious stones
3. For how long have people worn the thaob in Jordan?
a. about 300 years b. about 3,000 years C. since 3000 BCE
4. When do women wear the thaob today?
a. every day b. for cultural events c. they don't wear them any more
5. Where can you buy Jordanian embroidery today?
a. online b. in handicraft stalls c. both a and b
Answers Students’ own answers
2 10.3 Listen to a radio programme about Jordanian embroidery and check your answers to the quiz questions in Exercise 1.
Answers 1 a 2 b 3 b 4 b 5 c
3 10.3 Listen to the programme again and complete the sentences. Use no more than three words in each gap.
1 Embroidery has always been very important in Jordanian culture and traditionally has been .............
2 Thousands of years ago, people wearing similar clothes then to the traditional clothes they wear today...............
3 The thaob is made from silk and is ..............
4 Traditionally, the threads were coloured with natural dyes from plants, although today, coloured threads .............
5 Decorative designs on the thaob may feature plants, geometric shapes ............
6 The patterns and colours of the thaob di er from region to region so that people can tell where the wearer .............
7 Today it is usually only worn by women for cultural events such as weddings and................
8 Modern clothes designers want to keep the heritage of the thaob alive by using traditional embroidery designs in other products such as on placemats, cushions, ...............
Answers 1 made by women 2 might have been 3 usually black 4 are often imported 5 or birds 6 comes from 7 national festivals 8 bags and purses
4 Read these extracts from the recording and match the highlighted words with their definitions.
1 The thaob is made from silk and is usually black.
2 The silk is embroidered with threads of wool or cotton.
3 They also sometimes use other materials such as metal or precious stones.
4 Traditionally, the threads were coloured with natural dyes from plants.
5 Decorative designs on the thaob may feature plants, geometric shapes or birds.
6 Modern clothes designers want to keep the heritage of the thaob alive by using traditional embroidery designs in other products.
a having regular lines or shape.
b soft cloth made from something produced by a silk worm.
c things you can use to change the colour of clothes.
d traditional beliefs and ideas that have been in a society for a long time.
e long, thin strings of material.
f valuable jewels such as diamonds.
Answers 1 b 2 e 3 f 4 c 5 a 6 d
5 SPEAKING Describe a cultural event in which people were wearing traditional clothes. Describe the clothing using some of the words from Exercise 4.
Answers Students’ own answers
6 REFLECT | Culture Modern Jordanian embroiders are promoting modern embroidery designs online. Do you think traditional crafts should develop like this? Or should we never change traditional designs? Why?
Answers Students’ own answers
