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| Country name: | Mongolia (Local short form: Mongol Ulus) |
| Capital: | Ulaanbaatar (means Red Hero) |
| Size: | 610,740 square miles (1,566,000 square km) |
| Location: | Northern Asia, between China and Russia |
| Population: | 2.8 million |
| Languages: | Khalkh Mongolian (90%), Turkic, Russian |
| Religions: | Tibetan Buddhism (96%), Shamanism |
| Government: | Parliamentary Democracy |
| Climate: | Desert, continental (large daily and seasonal temperature changes) |
| Terrain: | Desert steppe, desert plains, grassy steppe, mountain |
| Mountain: | Forest, Taiga |
The Mongolian way of life is nomadic, and despite its increasing urbanization, the rural traditions live on. Even in the cities, most Mongolians live in a "ger," which is a large, white felt tent that can be moved easily, and has a universal layout. Food and Drink: Meat is the basis of the Mongolian diet, primarily beef and mutton. However, as with most countries, the diet depends on where you are and the time of year, although you will find a wide range of food in Ulaanbaatar, both local and international. The most important beverage is made from milk of mares and yaks (long-haired cattle). The very peculiarly tasting and also fatty tea, which is served and consumed at any time, is not sweet but salty. Mongolian vodka is excellent, as is the beer, although it is expensive. Religion: Buddhism was introduced into Mongolia in the fifteenth century but was later suppressed under the Communists. Nowadays Buddhism is undergoing a revival, but has to compete against the modern western religions too.
Lifestyle
The Mongols are shy by nature and often hide their confusion or embarrassment behind a smile. They do not like to talk about unpleasant things, as they believe such talk may invoke trouble. Foreign guests remark on Mongolian friendliness. The hard conditions of life, far from embittering them, gave rise to the long-standing traditions of friendliness and hospitality. In Mongolia it is not accepted to knock at the door of a ger or say, "Can I come in?" The guest as he approaches the ger is supposed to shout loudly, "Hold the dog!" ("Nokhoi Khori!" in Mongolian) even if there is no dog, for what he actually means is to let the host know that he is coming. To begin with, the men exchange snuff bottles. Never mind if you do not have one. You should accept the host's snuff bottle, take some snuff and return it. The bottle should never be returned with the lid tightly on. Then the hostess begins to serve tea, often made in the guest's presence. It is not acceptable to ask the guest outright where he comes from and for what purpose. He should say this himself at some point during the conversation or after asking the traditional questions about the weather, the cattle, etc. The hostess serves tea in a small bowl, holding it with both hands stretched out towards the guest, or with the right hand supporting the elbow with the left arm. The guest is supposed to accept the cup in the same fashion. It would be very proper to let down the sleeves for it is considered extremely impolite to expose your wrists.
History
Mongolia is two times larger than Turkey or 37 times larger than Switzerland, and three times the size of France, yet there are three times fewer people living there than in Switzerland - the population is under 3 million. In fact there are more Mongolians living outside Mongolia than in it. Ghengis Khan was the first to establish a united Mongolian State in the 13th century, and went on to build an empire which reached well into Europe. Since then, Mongolia has endured a series of notable eras, most recently the communist regime that held power from 1921 and managed to maintain dependency from the former Soviet Union. However, in the elections of 1996, democratic forces managed to gain power in parliament, and have been implementing a series of domestic reforms, to assist in Mongolia’s development. One of Mongolia’s most distinguishing features is its incredible geography. The forests, called Taiga, extend from Siberia to deep into the heart of Mongolia. The Gobi desert reaches from China into the south, and in the west, the mountains of the Altai influence the weather of the whole country. Most parts in Mongolia lie higher than 1000 m above sea level
Religion
Tibetan Buddhism is the most widely practiced religion. Aside from brief periods of Islam and Christianity, various forms of shamanism have been widely practiced throughout the history of what is now modern day Mongolia; as such beliefs were common among nomadic people in Asian history. Such beliefs gradually gave way to Tibetan Buddhism, but shamanism has left a mark on Mongolian religious culture. Indeed, some shamanistic practices and traditions are still practiced in rural areas. The percentage of religion; Buddhism: 47.3%, Atheism: 40.4%, Muslim: 6%, Shamanism: 4.2%, Christianity: 2.1%.
Food
The Mongolian diet really depends on where you are in Mongolia and what time of year it is. In the south a staple diet of mutton and camel with camel dairy products is the norm. However, in the Khangai Mountains, beef is more common. In the city of Ulaanbaatar, there is a much larger range of foods, for both Mongolian and Foreign people. The Mongolian climate means that the calorific intake needs to be higher in the winter months than in the summer. For this reason, herders will often eat boiled animal fat. Vegetables are a relatively recent addition to the Mongolian diet. In the past dairy products and undercooked meat compensated the vitamin shortage. Some dishes were seasoned with wild onions and garlic.
Mongolians believe that the most parts of their livestock can be eaten. Sheep are slaughtered by a traditional method, which allows the meat to stay clean, and which prevents heavy blood loss. A cut is made in the chest of the sheep and the heart artery is severed. The carcass is divided into several large parts – neck, brisket, ribs, blades, loin, rump and legs. Boned meat is used to make several dishes including bansh and buuz. In the countryside food tends to be cooked once a day, unless guests arrive. In the morning and afternoon, milk tea is drunk with Boortsog (butter biscuits fried in oil) and meat boiled the night before. Food is only cooked for summer. Most of the time it is boiled meat and broth to which noodles, rice or other groats are added to taste.
Foreigners who have visited Mongolia notice that Mongols always boil milk and never use it all by itself. They either dilute it with hot water to obtain the so-called khyaram or add it to tea. Salt and milk are indispensable components of Mongolian tea. Mongols use a variety of tea pressed into large cubes. This variety only grows in Central Asia and China
English Language Popularity in Mongolia
The Russian language remains the most widely spoken foreign language among elder people, but this is changing as English is gaining much more popularity than Russian among the youth. During the socialist time, the Russian language was taught from a very young age and almost everyone could speak fluent Russian but nowadays the roles of the languages are changing. In other words, English is getting extremely popular and Russian less so. People would rather choose English or maybe other languages including Japanese, German and so on.
English Language Learners
With 75% of Mongolia’s population under 35 years old, education is the foundation of Mongolia’s future. Reforms, streamlining, and repairs—mixed with ample optimism and dedication—are propelling the English language curriculum toward achieving its goal of education for all.
By school year 1999/2000, enrollment in English language classes had risen to over 90%. Rural areas, however, still lagged behind, with enrollment in two thirds of the districts lower than 80%. Since then, every school including high schools and universities began to teach English and it has become a compulsory subject.
Nowadays, everyone wants to study English however, unlike many nations, Mongolia is challenged with educating its boys, who only account for 40% of enrollment in upper secondary education. At higher education level, female students outnumber their male counterparts by over two to one. Therefore, if you visit English language schools in Mongolia, there are classes full of girls and only few boys. Boys usually study at technical universities and they do not really see English as their future career.
Mongolian students are very talented and enthusiastic about learning English, so it is easy to work with eager and self–motivated students. Generally, the written and reading skills of the students are pretty good because they write essays, do written exercises and read texts; however, because of the lack of native speaking teachers their speaking and listening skills leave room for improvement.
Final Words
If you would like to teach English in Mongolia, you will be welcomed by friendly and hospitable people of the eternal blue dome hanging over endless steppes who closely intertwined with the nature and unique nomadic culture. In this country, everyone knows the urgent need to master the global language which is why English teachers are also needed in language institutes, fashion design schools, business and technical schools. Most of your students here would have a strong grasp of the language giving you the chance for a fascinating experience.
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Mongolian Culture
In this web site we examine Mongolian culture and Mongolian history which have been shaped by the powerful
dynamics of an extreme climate, the Mongol people’s nomadic tribal heritage, their ability to adapt, and the
vision of Genghis Khan. Here the culture of Mongolia is described as homogeneous. 96% of Mongolia's population is Vajrayana Buddhists
in the Tibetan tradition. The official language, Khalkha Mongol, is spoken by 90% of the population. Mongolia
has its own ethnic group, which comprises 85% of the country's population.
Country Studies - Mongolia
In this web site, there are Mongolian Cultural Unity, and Mongol Identity. The result of Mongolia’s economic
development and urbanization was a population that was on the one hand, increasingly and unprecedentedly divided
by occupation, education, residence and membership in well-defined and fairly rigid status groups, but that was,
on the other hand, less clearly distinguished from that of other economically developed and urbanized countries.
And also there is a promotion of traditional festivals. Although the Buddhist church was suppressed in the 1930s,
much traditional custom and celebration survived in the 1980s, with either the encouragement or the acquiescence
of the government and the party. The Mongolian new year festival-- Tsagaan Sar (the White Month)--is celebrated
at the same time as the Chinese lunar new year, although contemporary Mongolians deny any Chinese origin or
influence. In the 1960s, the government designated it as Cattle Breeders' Day and stopped celebrating it as an
official holiday.
Introduction to Mongolian Art, Folk Tradition and
Here is an introduction to Mongolian art, folk tradition, and music (by D.Shandogdorj, P. Khorloo, and N.
Zantsannorow) introduced fine art, embroidery, painting, sculpture, Mongolian folklore traditions, Mongolian
heroic epics, Mongolian folk songs, Mongolia khoomi, and Mongolian folk instruments.
Mongolian conceptualizations
of overtone singing (xöömii)
Mongolian conceptualizations of overtone singing (xöömii)… (By Carola Pegg) Based on fieldwork in western
Mongolia during 1989 and 1990, this paper relates Mongolian xöömii or overtone singing to its social context
and to the cognitive world of the performers. It looks at secular performance contexts, theories of origin,
legendary/historical development, recent transformation into an art form, traditional training methods and
transmission, Mongolian classification of xöömii, and its relationship with nature and shamanism. A brief
overview is given of previous non Mongolian perspectives, which have either concentrated on acoustical and
physiological analysis of the sounds themselves or have made claims that overtone singing is a "magical
voice technique" causing spiritual and physical healing. The latter is contrasted with the Mongolian belief
that, although consumption of the sounds may be beneficial, the production of xöömii is potentially harmful to the body.
Sound Transformations – Overtone Singing
This web site looks at the overtone- singing in Mongolia. There are many different types of Mongolian overtone
singing (höömii), all of which involve the sounding of a fundamental drone while simultaneously producing
flute like notes in a series of chosen harmonics or partials of the fundamental. In most types, these high notes
form a melody. A third note is sometimes distinguished, in the pitch range between drone and melody (PCgg 1992).
Country Reports
In this web site you can get all information about Mongolia or any country you want. And there is information
about people, housing, fashion, socializing, recreation, economy, photo gallery, etc.
Mongolian Traditional Arts
During the long history of the Mongol Empire the Mongolian emperors displayed deep interest in the arts of the
many nations that comprised the Mongol domains. Mongolian royalty were great patrons of the arts and were
themselves catalysts for international artistic cross-pollination.
The Indo-Mongolian Society
There is an introduction about Mongolian Society and there are some scholars’ lectures about Mongolia.
Mongolia History
In this web site you will learn about Great Mongolian History. It is really very interesting. And also
you will know about Origins of the Mongols, the rise of Chinggis Khan, Mongolia- influence of tang China,
Mongolia is early wars in China, the last campaign of Chinggis Khan, and Mongolia- Subetei and the European
Expedition etc.
Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the United Nations - Doing Business with Mongolia
This web site is about doing business with Mongolia. Situated strategically between Russia and China,
Mongolia not only offers domestically a growing cosmopolitan market but also presents tremendous export
opportunities for foreign investors in a number of sectors.
infoplease - Mongolia
This web site gives the information about Mongolia. (geography, government, population, capital and cities,
language, economy summary, transportation, etc.).
Omniglot - Writing Systems and Languages of the World
This web site gives information about the Mongolian language, and writing system (alphabets, syllabic
alphabets, syllabaries, complex scripts, etc.).
Greenwich Mean Time – Mongolia Travel
There are some questions about travel to Mongolia (Where is Mongolia? What is the capital of Mongolia? What
is the official language of Mongolia? When are the public holidays in Mongolia? etc.).
WordQuests.com
This is a really interesting web site for English language in Mongolia. The Globalization of the English Language, Mongolian leaders believe that English is the key to economic progress, and James Brooke reported: Language is viewed as a ticket to the future in Mongolia and other countries.
One Stop English
English language learners are 70% of Mongolia’s population under 35 years old, and such education is the
foundation of Mongolia’s future. Reforms, streamlining, and repairs—mixed with ample optimism and dedication—are
propelling the English language curriculum toward achieving its goal of education for all.
By the school year 1999/2000, enrollment in English language classes had risen to over 90%. Rural areas, however,
still lagged behind, with enrollment in two thirds of the districts lower than 80%. Since then, every school
including high schools and universities began to teach English, and it has become a compulsory subject.
Nowadays, everyone wants to study English however, unlike many nations, Mongolia is challenged with educating its boys, who only account for 40% of enrollment in upper secondary education. At the higher education level, female students outnumber their male counterparts by over two to one. Therefore, if you visit English language schools in Mongolia, there are classes full of girls and only a few boys. Boys usually study at technical universities and they don’t really see English as part of their future career.
Discover Mongolia
This web quest is about Mongolian weather. You have to be careful if you visit or teach in Mongolia there are
two summer seasons and a long winter…summer season is really very nice but winter is very cold -30-45F, therefore
take warm cloths with you.
Discover Mongolia
This web site gives us some information about Nomad lifestyle in Mongolia. Mongolia is one of the nomad countries
in the world. Since the Hunnu Empire Mongolians raise their five domestic animals (they are sheep, horse, cow,
camel, and goat) in the broad region of forest, steppe and Gobi desert. Especially they respect their horses.
Mongolians see their horse as their best friend. (Discover Mongolia).
Asia Planet – Mongolian Lifestyle
The Mongols are shy by nature. They often hide their confusion or embarrassment behind a smile. Most of the
Mongols are taciturn, reticent, tolerant, and some people say, superstitious. There are many types of greeting
in the Mongolian language that is used depending on the situation and the time. The townsfolk usually
say "Sain bainuu?" which is equivalent to "How are you?" When you are talking to an
elderly person whom you know you are expected to add the respectful "guay" to his name, for instance,
Hasan-guay. Addressing a stranger who is older than you, say "Akh-aa" which can be translated as older
brother or uncle. Family Relations also have their ethics. We say for instance, "My Wife" and
the "Father of my children". One always has to use the correct form of address depending on the
person's age or position. Nobody will insist on the faultless observance of all the customs and rules but
learning at least some before a visit to Mongolia would please your hosts and allow you to get a real feel
of Mongolian culture. (Provided by, the Ministry of Tourism. Government of Mongolia)
Asia Planet – Mongolia Location
In this web site there are many useful links. For instance, it gives a lot of information about Ulaanbaatar
city (capital), history of Mongolia, accommodation, how to get around the city, and transportation, freight
forwarders, bookshops and libraries, services, internet cafes, banks and money changes in country, etc.
about.com Mongolia - Buddhism
Here, your will learn the religion in Mongolia. Mongolians have been Buddhists since the 16th century, when
the Mongolian king, Altan Khan, was converted by Tibetan lamas. In the pre-revolutionary period, Mongolia was
ruled by a series of Living Buddhas, or Jebtzun Damba. The eighth, and last, Jebtzun Damba was removed after
the communist takeover. Traditionally, monasteries were centres both of learning and of power. It's estimated
Mongolia had 100,000 monks, or lamas, in 1921 -- one third of the male population. In the 1930s, this power
became the focus of a ruthless series of purges that reached a climax in 1937. Most of the country's monasteries
were destroyed, and as many as 17,000 monks were killed.
Today, Mongolia is once again embracing its Buddhist heritage. Monasteries are being restored, and are once a gain crowded with worshippers. The Dalai Lama is an enormously popular figure and has visited the country several times. For many Mongolians, Buddhism is flavoured with traces of Shamanism, an even more ancient spirituality. Mongolia also has a significant Muslim community -- about 6 per cent of the population. These are mostly ethnic Kazakhs living in the far west of the country. The opening-up of the country has led to an influx of Christian missionaries, and this remains a source of some tension and debate.
Mongolia Politics
This web site gives information about Mongolian political structure. Seven decades of communist rule in
Mongolia began to crumble in 1990, when the collapse of the old Eastern Bloc brought the first pro-democracy
demonstrations. The ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, which had already initiated a Mongolian
version of glasnost, permitted the nation's first multiparty elections in July, 1990. Mongolia has a
parliamentary system of government, with a 76-seat legislature called the State Ikh Hural. The President,
directly elected for a four-year term, is second in authority to the legislature, but he appoints judges
and has the power of veto (which can be overturned by a 2/3 vote in parliament).
Foreign Book List For Sale by the Mongolia Society
This web page gives information about English books in Mongolia. There are many books for English learners.
Language Hat – English in Mongolia
This website is about people’s comments, how to teach English in Mongolia or how to learn English in this country.
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|
Information shown on this website is the result of a collaborative effort by Dr. Rod E. Case and the EDS491/691 Special Topics in Teaching English
as a Second Language Class, Wintermester, 2007. |
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