3. More matching (review)

* Place the cards containing halves of proverbs on a table. Each learner takes a turn to match them. A person who succeeds in matching a pair of proverbs takes another turn. Otherwise, it is the next learner's turn. The winner is the learner with the most pairs of completed proverbs.

* Here are some additional proverbs that teachers could use for the activities in this section:

• The fewer women, the less trouble. (Polish)
• Every woman would rather be handsome than good. (German)
• In books there are women who appear as jewels. (Chinese)
• Women always speak the truth, but not the whole truth. (Italian)
• A thousand men may live together in harmony, whereas two women are unable to do so although they be sisters. (Tamil)
• The righteous woman has only one husband. (Vietnamese)
• A good woman is worth, if she were sold, the fairest crown that is made of purest gold. (English)
• Everything goes to loose ends where there is no woman. (American)
• Lazy and silly women marry well. (Greek)
• Women and glass are always in danger. (Portuguese)
• If a woman is cold, it is her husband's fault. (Russian)
• Two old women and a goose make a market. (Slovakian)
• The man thinks he knows, but the woman knows better. (Hindustani)
• A man without a wife is a man without thoughts. (Finnish)

* As a contrast to the traditional proverbs, you might want to use some quotations from modern women. A good source for such quotations is An Uncommon Scold, compiled and arranged by Abby Adams.

• Plain women know more about men than beautiful ones do. (Katharine Hepburn)
• The more you love someone the more he wants from you and the less you have to give since you have already given him your love. (Nikki Giovanni)
• Marriage is a lottery in which men stake their liberty and women their happiness. (Virginie Des Rieux)
• Getting along with men is not what's truly important. The vital knowledge is how to get along with a man. One man. (Phyllis McGinley)
• When men reach their sixties and retire, they go to pieces. Women go right on cooking. (Gail Sheehy)
• Women speak because they wish to speak, whereas a man speaks only when driven to speak by something outside himself - like, for instance, he can't find any clean socks. (Jean Kerr)
• A man who is honest with himself wants a woman to be soft and feminine, careful of what she's saying and talk like a man. (Ann-Margret)
• A woman needs know but one man well, in order to understand all men; whereas a man may know all women and understand not one of them. (Helen Rowland)
• No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. (Eleanor Roosevelt)
• The loneliest woman in the world is the one without a close woman friend. (Toni Morrison)
• A happy woman has no cares at all; a cheerful woman has cares but doesn't let them get her down. (Beverly Sills)

4. Guided discussion and debriefing

* Some questions to consider after the activities with proverbs.

• Do you have similar or opposite sayings in your language?
• Are there other related proverbs that you have heard of?
• How are women, men and marriage portrayed?
• What do you think of these portrayals?
• Which ones do you agree or disagree with? Why?
• Do these sayings affect the way women and men are treated?
• Are these portrayals fair? Why or why not?
• How are men and women perceived?

5. Re-writing some proverbs.

* Create positive sayings about women from the negative ones.

6. Writing

* Some topics:

• Proverbs My Family Uses
• New Proverbs for New Women

Resources

(See the Bibliography for complete listings.)

Adams, Abby. An Uncommon Scold
Lewis, Vicky and Sue Habeshaw. 53 Interesting Ways to Promote Equal Opportunities in Education
Mieder, Wolfgang. The Prentice-Hall Encyclopedia of World Proverbs: A Treasury of Wit and Wisdom through the Ages
Wayman, Tom. Going for Coffee, Poetry on the Job
The Other Voice: 20th Century Women's Poetry in Translation