US culture: learn about politics in America!
How much do you know about politics in America?
Do you know what the Senate is? What about the House of Representatives? There are often stories in the news about politics in America. So, this video will teach you some words so you can talk about it.
In this short video lesson on US culture, you’ll learn about politics in America.
You’ll also learn some useful words for talking about this topic. After watching the video, try our little quiz below to see how much you can remember. Happy learning!
Level: Pre-Intermediate to Upper Intermediate (A2-B2)
Video: YES!
CLICK HERE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO
Vocabulary
Here are some useful words that appear in the video.
A party
A political group: “She’s in the Liberal Party.”
An election
If there’s an “election”, people vote to choose someone for a political or official job: “There’s an election next month.”
A general election
An election in which the people living in a country choose the national government: “He can’t vote in the general election.”
A branch
A “branch” of an organisation is one part of it: “There are three branches of the government.”
Court
A place where there are trials (legal processes) to decide if someone is innocent or guilty: “There isn’t enough evidence, so the case won’t go to court.”
A term
A “term” is a period of time that something happens for: “The president’s term ends next month.”
A representative
Someone who speaks or does something officially for another group of people: “Our company has representatives in six of the biggest cities.”
Made up of
If A is “made up of” different things, A is formed of those things: “The team is made up of six people.”
Video
You’re going to watch a video with someone talking about politics in the U.S. Watch it once and answer the questions below. Remember, the first time, you should watch the video from start to finish without stopping and try to understand as much as possible. After that, watch it again, but this time you can pause or stop it wherever you like. [answers below]
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How many states are there in the United States?
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What’s the capital of the United States?
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How many branches of government are there?
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What are the names of the two houses in Congress?
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How many representatives are there from each state in the Senate?
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Which two states does the speaker mention that don’t have 800,000 citizens?
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How long is the term for the president?
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How long is the term for a senator in the Senate?
Speaking
Now talk about this topic with a friend or classmate. Make notes and try to use as much of the new language as you can.
Video script
Politics in the United States
Hi, I’m Grace, and today I will be talking to you about the government of the United States. In the United States, we have what’s called a republican democracy. As you might know, the United States is made up of 50 states and a couple territories. Each state sends representatives to our capital, Washington D.C.
Elections!
We have two elections every year. In the spring, we have what is called a “primary,” where we choose from a group of candidates in the same party which one of those will proceed to the general election, which is held on the first Tuesday of every November.
The three branches!
The government is made up of three branches: the executive, the judicial, and the legislative.
The executive is the president, the judicial is the courts, and the legislative is our two houses in Congress… that is the House of Representatives in the lower, lower house and the Senate in the Upper House. The Senate includes two representatives from every one of the 50 states; and the House of Representatives includes enough representatives from every state to represent 800,000 people. Each state gets at least one representative, even if they don’t have 800,000 citizens in the state. This happens in states like Alaska and North Dakota.
Terms!
Presidential terms last four years. Terms for the House of Representatives last 2 years. Terms for the Senate lasts 6 years. And terms for the governorship, which is like the president of the state, also lasts 4 years.
Answers
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ANSWERS: Video quiz
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How many states are there in the United States? There are 50 states
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What’s the capital of the United States? Washington D.C.
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How many branches of government are there? Three
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What are the names of the two houses in Congress? the House of Representatives and the Senate
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How many representatives are there from each state in the Senate? Two
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Which two states does the speaker mention that don’t have 800,000 citizens? Alaska and North Dakota
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How long is the term for the president? Four years
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How long is the term for a senator in the Senate? Six years
