PAPER

English Culture in ELT

“CHARLIE CHAPLIN”
Lecturer: Rita Hartati, S.S., M.Hum

Group 1:
Dandy Yunus Hutabarat 2212421007
Delina Henvony F Purba 2213121065
Gracias Marcellyne Sihaloho 2213121019
Muhammad Fadhillah Daffa 2213121042
Rian Arjuna 2213321005
Salsabil 2211121013

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS

MEDAN STATE UNIVERSITY

FEBRUARY 2023
 FOREWORD

Praise the author prays to God Almighty who has bestowed His blessings and grace so that
the author can complete the paper report with the title “Charlie Chaplin”. This assignment was
made to fulfill for the “English Culture in ELT” course.

The author would like to thank Ma’am Rita Hartati, S.S., M.Hum. as a lecturer in the English
Culture in ELT course who has guided the making of this paper. In this assignment report, the
writer realizes that there are still many shortcomings and it is still far from being perfect, both in
terms of word choice and in terms of preparation.

It is the author’s desire to make this report a worthy reading material for all of you. So that
readers can know more about English Culture in ELT. The author expects constructive criticism
and suggestions from readers so that in the future the writer can correct his mistakes. Finally, the
author as the compiler would like to thank you very much for your willingness to read this paper
and hopefully it can add information and insight for the readers.

Medan, February 20th, 2023

Writer

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD ...............................................................................................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................... iii
CHAPTER I BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER II DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................... 2
2.1 Why Charlie Chaplin? ................................................................................................................... 2
2.2 Charlie Chaplin’s Biography ......................................................................................................... 2
2.3 Charlie Chaplin’s Career ............................................................................................................... 3
2.4 Charlie Chaplin’s Work ................................................................................................................. 5
2.5 Charlie Chaplin’s Achievements ................................................................................................... 5
2.6 Interesting Facts ............................................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER III CLOSING ........................................................................................................................... 8
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................ 9

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 CHAPTER I

BACKGROUND

Language learning is an active process that begins at birth and continues throughout life.
There are several ways to learn a language. Not only knowing the vocabulary of the language, but
learning culture can also develop the ability to know the vocabulary and also how to think and
speak correctly. Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions
of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called “the
way of life for an entire society”. As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion,
rituals, art. norms of behaviour, such as law and morality, and systems of belief. Culture is essential
to learning a language well enough to communicate with natives.

Understanding the culture is like having a context that allows us to give the right meaning
to each new word we learn. The more we know about our sociocultural background, the easier it
is to engage and learn new words, expressions and ways of speaking. When we know more about
the people we are talking to, we have a greater chance of saying the right words at the right time.
There are concepts we can express in English, but we couldn’t say in any other language with a
word-to-word translation. By understanding cultural differences while learning a language, we’ll
find new ways to express these things. Culture is essential when studying languages. Because
understanding cultural background–art, literature, lifestyle– helps we reach language proficiency
and really live the language while we learn. Otherwise, we may as well just stick to a garbled
machine translation and staring at people in books.
That’s the way it is with learning English, we need to know the culture of the country.
What are the icons of the country, and what is the history that makes these icons become
synonymous with the country of England. In this paper, we will discuss one of the figures from
England, namely Charlie Caplin. He is a very famous comedian, and has received many awards
during his career. By getting to know the history of Charlie Caplin, we hope to be able to see how
his habits and how he built his career and became a legend to the world.

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 CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

2.1 Why Charlie Chaplin?

Our group chose Charlie chaplin because of several factors. The first factor is Sir Charles
Spencer Chaplin KBE as known as Charlie Chaplin was one of the greatest and widely loved silent
movie stars. From “Easy Street” (1917) to “Modern Times” (1936), he made many of the funniest
and most popular films of his time. He was best known for his character, the naive and lovable
Little Tramp. The second factor is Charlie chaplin is one of the most famous people in the world
especially in the UK he is also one of the most influential figures in the world especially in the
field of acting arts.

Another factor that made us choose charlie chaplin in this paper is because it affects the culture
that exists in the UK until now, so many things that are still related to charlie chaplin that exist in
the UK, for example films inspired by the film Charlie Chaplin or even inspired by the life story
of a Charlie Chaplin himself. Fashion culture also some of the fashion designers or models also
design and wear clothes inspired by a charlie chaplin.
The title obtained by charlie chaplin also really caught our attention, namely KBE which is
behind the name charlie chaplin. According to wikipedia KBE is the Star of the British Empire or
the Order of the British Empire is an order of knights of the United Kingdom country/kingdom
given for dedication to the arts and sciences, charitable work, and community service. This order
began to be granted from June 4, 1917 by King George V. This order consisted of five levels
intended for civilians and the military. The recommendation to obtain the grace of this order
originally came from submissions made by the British government, the Commonwealth of Natural
Territories, and the Indian-based Viceroy. The submission of recipients of this order is still
ongoing today from the Commonwealth Countries participating in recommending recipients of
merit and honour in the United Kingdom. Many commonwealth countries later replaced the
awarding of this order with the type of award made by the commonwealth states themselves.
2.2 Charlie Chaplin’s Biography
Charles Spencer Chaplin or commonly known as Charlie Chaplin, is a comedian with a unique
character with a distinctive mustache, a tuxedo suit, a magician’s hat, and also a wooden stick in
his hand. He is the son of the couple Hannah Hall and Charles Chaplin Sr. Little Chaplin was born
in Walworth, London, England on April 16th, 1889. His parents were artists, his mother was a
famous actress and singer known by the stage name Lily Harley, while his father was a popular
singer. Chaplin has a half-brother named Sydney John Hill who was the son of Hannah before his
marriage to Chaplin Sr.
Charlie Chaplin early in his life has got trouble and poverty. In 1891 his parents separated but
did not divorce. Chaplin lived with his mother and brother in the London district of Kennington.
While living there they had no income apart from babysitting activities and making clothes for the

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church near where they lived. The situation worsened, and Hannah suffered from mental illness
and psychosis as a result of her syphilis infection and malnutrition. This resulted in Chaplin and
his brother having to be sent twice to the workhouse, Lamberth Workhouse.
On September 15th 1898, Hannah was admitted to the Cane Hill mental hospital in the City of
Sussex for two months, during which time Chaplin and Sydney lived with Chaplin Sr. Who lives
with his 4th years old son, and Louise, his girlfriend. Charles Sr. was an alcoholic so Chaplin and
Sydney’s life with him was so bad that it resulted in getting a visit from the National Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Chaplin’s father died two years later on May 9th, 1901, at
the age of 38 from cirrhosis of the liver and inflammation.
At the age of 14 years, Chaplin lived in his house for several days while looking for food alone
while waiting for Sydney who had joined the navy two years earlier and sailed on the ship
Kinfairns Castle from March 24th, 1903 until he returned home. During that time, Hannah was
still being treated and her condition was getting better. However, on March 6th, 1905, Hannah’s
illness returned and never recovered, Chaplin wrote “There is nothing we can do but accept the
fate of the poor mother”, Hannah remained in care until her death on August 28th, 1928.
Behind his success, Chaplin had a love life that included controversy. Starting from his first
marriage was in 1918 with Mildred Harris who was then 16 years old unfortunately, this marriage
only lasted for two years. His second wife Lillita Louise MacMurray was known by the name Lita
Grey. When he married Lita Gray, he was also 16 years old, and Chaplin was 35 years old. This
marriage only lasted three years, and in 1927 they officially divorced. Then, in 1936 Chaplin
married Paulette Goddard who was 22 years old and they separated in 1942. The end of Chaplin’s
romance ended with Oona O’Neill, they married in 1943, when O’Neill was 18 years old. Together
with O’Neill, they have eight children.

By October 1977, Chaplin’s health was failing and he was beginning to require intensive care.
Early in the morning of December 25th, 1977 on Christmas Day, Chaplin died at his home after
suffering a stroke in his sleep at the age of 88th. On December 27th, Chaplin was buried in the
Corsier-sur-Vevey cemetery which was held privately and in a small Anglican ceremony, at his
request. Unfortunately, his body was stolen which resulted in his body being laid to rest again in
the Corsier cemetery with the addition of concrete.

2.3 Charlie Chaplin’s Career

At the beginning of Charlie Chaplin’s career, he officially became an entertainer by joining a
tap-dancing group known as the Eight Lancashire Lads in 1899. He becomes a comedic actor in
1903. Chaplin registered with a theatrical agency and began working as a comedic actor in plays
such as “Jim, a Romance of Cockayne” and “Sherlock Holmes”.
In 1906, he joins Casey’s Circus, where he refines his comedy act and is well received. At the
close of this engagement, Charlie started a career as a comedian in vaudeville, which eventually
took him to the United States in 1910 as a featured player with the Fred Karno Company.

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 In 1910, Chaplin toured with Karno (he toured with American vaudeville acts). He signs with
the Keystone Company on December 13, 1913 (Chaplin was becoming increasingly popular as he
was perfecting his comedy acts). He became so well known that theaters would sell out weeks in
advance. Mack Sennett, “The King of Comedy” and founder of the Keystone Company, offered
Chaplin a contract. Chaplin accepted the contract in December 1913, which was the starting point
of Chaplin’s success in Hollywood. Chaplin initially accepted, but later evolved, the basic
Keystone-style slapstick comedy.
Charlie Chaplin switched to Essanay Studios in 1915 and switched again in 1916 to Mutual
Film Corporation, and his brother took his place at Keystone as their leading comedian. The iconic
look of Charlie Chaplin, with his bowler hat, baggy pants, endearing little mustache, exaggerated
shuffling walk, and cane, that people have known until now is actually the signature character of
one of his movies with the title “The Tramp”. The Tramp is a silent film starring Chaplin, which
Chaplin wrote and directed in 1915.
Chaplin’s popularity was through the roof as songs were written about him, he was featured in
cartoons and comic strips, and shops overflowed with the Tramp’s merchandise. Chaplin was a
millionaire with Mutual Company, earning $670,000 per year. The following year, Charlie was
even more in demand and signed with the Mutual Film Corporation for a much larger sum to make
12 two-reel comedies. These include “The Floorwalker”, “The Fireman”, “The Vagabond”, “One
A.M.”, “The Count”, “The Pawnshop”, “Behind the Screen”, “The Rink”, “Easy Street” (heralded
as his greatest production up to that time), “The Cure”, “The Immigrant”, and “The Adventurer”.
When Chaplin’s contract with Mutual expired in 1917, he decided to become an independent
producer in order to have more freedom and leisure in making his films. To that end, he busied
himself with the construction of his own studios. This plant was situated in the heart of the
residential section of Hollywood at La Brea Avenue.
In early 1918, Chaplin joined the first national exhibitors' circuit; his film under this
organization was “A Dog’s Life”. “Shoulder Arms” released in 1918 at a most opportune time,
proved a veritable mirthquake at the box office and added enormously to Chaplin’s popularity. He
followed "Shoulder Arms" with “Sunnyside” and “A Day’s Pleasure”, both released in 1919. In
1919, Chaplin co-founded United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and D. W.
Griffith. Each of them held a 20% stake, and their lawyer, William Gibbs McAdoo, held the last
20%. This joint venture allowed the filmmakers abundant freedom within the developing
Hollywood Studio System.
Under his arrangement with United Artist, Chaplin made eight pictures, each of feature length,
in the following order: “A woman of Paris” (1923), “The Gold Rush” (1925), “The Circus” (1928),
“City Lights” (1931), “Modern Times” (1936), “The Great Dictator” (1940), “Monsieur Verdoux”
(1947), “Limelight” (1952), “A King in New York” (1957), and “A Countess from Hong Kong”
(1966).

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 Chaplin’s versatility extended to writing, music, and sports. He was the author of at least four
books: “My Trip Abroad”, “A Comedian Sees the World”, “My Autobiography”, and “My Life in
Pictures”, as well as all of his scripts. An accomplished musician, though self-taught, he played a
variety of instruments with equal skill and facility (playing the violin and cello left-handed). He
was also a composer, having written and published many songs, among them: “Sing a Song”;
“With You Dear in Bombay”, and “There’s Always One You Can’t Forget”, “Smile”, “Eternally”,
“You Are My Song”, as well as the soundtracks for all his films. Charles Chaplin was one of the
rare comedians who not only financed and produced all his films (with the exception of “A
Countess from Hong Kong”), but was the author, actor, director, and soundtrack composer of them
as well.

2.4 Charlie Chaplin’s Work

Chaplin co-founded United Artists (UA) in 1919, giving him complete control over his films.
The Kid (1921) was his first feature-length film, and it was followed by A Woman of Paris (1923),
The Gold Rush (1925), and The Circus (1928). In the 1930s, Chaplin refused to make sound films,
instead becoming a producer on the dialogue-free films City Lights (1931) and Modern Times
(1936). Chaplin's films then became increasingly political. The Great Dictator (1940), his first
sound film, satirized Adolf Hitler. Charlie Chaplin’s Filmography:

• The Kid (1921)

• A Woman of Paris (1923)
• The Gold Rush (1925)
• The Circus (1928)
• City Lights (1931)
• Modern Times (1936)
• The Great Dictator (1940)
• Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
• Limelight (1952)
• A King in New York (1957)
• A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)
2.5 Charlie Chaplin’s Achievements
Chaplin won many awards and honors during his lifetime, including:

• He was further nominated in the Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture (as
producer) categories for “The Great Dictator” and grabbed newk Film Critics Circle Award
for Best Actor in 1940.
• He received another Best Scenario nomination (1947) and won the Bodil Award for Best
American Film (1949) and Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Film (1953) for “Monsieur
Verdoux”.
• In 1962, he was awarded an honorary degree Doctor of Letters by the University of Oxford
and Durham University.

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 • In 1925, Chaplin won the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film of the Year for “A Woman
of Paris” and Kinema Junpo Award for Best Foreign Language Film for his films entitled
"Monsieur Verdoux" (1953) and "The Great Dictator" (1961).
• In 1965, Chaplin and Ingmar Bergman win Erasmus Prize.
• In 1971, he was made a Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour at the
Cannes Film Festival.
• On May 12, 1971, he was awarded the medal for Commander of the Order of the National
Legion of Honor by the then-French Minister of Culture, Jacques Duhamel.
• In 1972, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences offered Chaplin an Honorary
Award which Robinson saw as a sign that America "wanted to make amends".
• In the film industry, Chaplin achieved Golden Lion which was the main award of the
Venice Film Festival in 1972, and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from Lincoln
Center Film Society.
• Chaplin was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1972, which was initially
withheld due to his political beliefs.
• Chaplin received three Academy Awards: an Academy Honorary Award for skill and
intelligence in acting, writing, directing, and production on the film “The Circus" (1929),
a second Honorary Award given for outstanding contributions he made to filmmaking
became the art form of the century" in 1972, and an Academy Award for Best Music
(Original Score) for his film "Limelight" in 1973.
• In 1974, Chaplin achieved Jussi Award for Best Foreign Filmmaker for his films “The
Great Dictator” and “Modern Times”.
• In the 1975 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of
the British Empire (KBE).
• In 1976, Chaplin won the award British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
Fellowship.
• Six of Chaplin's films have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by
the United States Library of Congress: The Immigrant (1917), The Kid (1921), The Gold
Rush (1925), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), and The Great Dictator (1940).
2.6 Interesting Facts
1. He became richer than the president of the United States
During this time, the president of the United States was paid $75,000 per year. In 1916,
after Chaplin signed a contract with the Mutual Film Corporation of New York, his salary
increased to $670,000.
2. He never became a citizen of the United States
Chaplin never became an American citizen, despite having lived in the United States for
almost 40 years. After the movie Modern Times, he gained a reputation as a communist
sympathiser. In 1952, the U.S. government revoked his permit, meaning Chaplin was not
allowed to return to the United States after a holiday to England. As a result, Chaplin moved

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 to Switzerland, where he spent the rest of his life. He only returned to the United States in
1972, to accept his honorary Oscar.
3. There is an asteroid called Charlie Chaplin
When Lyudmila Karachkina discovered a main-belt asteroid on the 4th October 1981, four
years after the death of the actor, she decided to call it 3623 Chaplin. Not many actors can
say they have had the same honour!
4. Charlie Chaplin in Java and Bali
In February 1932, Charlie departed Switzerland and travelled via the Suez Canal to
Singapore and Jakarta. The trip was a personal vacation arranged by Cook, a travel agent.
He travelled in Java via train and car, and the most essential part of the trip was to visit
Bali.
5. Chaplin’s coffin and body were stolen in an extortion plot
According to Chaplin’s wishes, a small and private Anglican funeral ceremony was held
on 27th December in a local cemetery in the Swiss village of Corsier-sur-Vevey. Two
months after his tragic demise, the villagers discovered that his grave was empty and his
coffin was missing. The robbers dug up Chaplin’s grave and dragged it over a considerable
distance to their vehicle, leaving the residents of the village confused and horrified at this
atrocity.

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 CHAPTER III

CLOSING

Charlie Caplin was an extraordinary figure in building a career, and had the courage to try.
With the confidence he built, it led him to success.

“My pain may be the reason for somebody’s laugh. But my laugh must never be the reason for
somebody’s pain”

- Charlie Chaplin

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Charlie Caplin. Retrieved from https://www.charliechaplin.com/en/articles/21-overview-of-his-

life

Data Fakta. “Tragis! PETI MATINYA DICURI! Inilah Biografi dan Fakta Menarik Komedian
Charlie Chaplin” Youtube, diunggah oleh Data Fakta, 3 Februari 2021,
https://youtu.be/Aj4zo0eX8-M
Is Understanding Culture Essential to Learning a Language? (2017, November 21). Retrieved
from CLEAR WORDS TRANSLATIONS:
http://clearwordstranslations.com/language/es/learning-a-
language/#:~:text=Culture%20is%20essential%20when%20studying,staring%20at%20peo
ple%20in%20books.

Life & Career of Charlie Chaplin. Retrieved from https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/life-of-

charlie-chaplin

Wikipedia. 2022. Charlie Chaplin. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin

What is Culture. (2016, May 3). Retrieved from Cultural Awareness:
http://clearwordstranslations.com/language/es/learning-a-
language/#:~:text=Culture%20is%20essential%20when%20studying,staring%20at%20peo
ple%20in%20books.