Introduction

A British life nowaday is different. Many couples are having a divorce in their
marriage. It is beacuse there is no harmonic relationship between them. Year by year the
divorces has increased in Britain. So, they choose to live together without getting married. In
this paper will be explained about British at Home, how their family is, what their activitiy is,
what the problem is, how their home is, and why is the britain called animal lover?
Actually, the Britain has changed and the biggest change has been caused by divorce.
There are 310.000 marriages a yar, but 161.000 divorces. The number of singl-parents
families in Britain is increasing this is mainly due to more marriages ending in divorce, but
some women are also choosing to have children as lone parents without being married so
they are cohabiting at present.
The house in Britain has a variety from a detached house the most expensive to a flat
the lowest price. The detached house that is usually located in remotest part of the country, so
the best choice is for a semi detached house for them, but for tourists the flat is economical
choice and good for them.
There are many television programmes which are show all about animal. From the
animal activity, wildlife, sick animal, wasted animal, animal home, activity of animal doctors
in Britain. There is a pet in nearly 50% of the 24.2 million homes in Britain. They keep some
7.7 million cats, 6.6 million dogs, one million budgerigars, 18 million goldfish and many
more.

Content
1. Family Life
The family in Britain is changing. The once typical British family headed by two
parents has undergone substantial changes during the twentieth century. In particular there
has been a rise in the number of single-person households, which increased from 18 to 29 per
cent of all households between 1971 and 2002. By the year 2020, it is estimated that there
will be more single people than married people. Fifty years ago this would have been socially
unacceptable in Britain.
In the past, people got married and stayed married. Divorce was very difficult,
expensive and took a long time. Today, people's views on marriage are changing. Many
couples, mostly in their twenties or thirties, live together (cohabit) without getting married.
Only about 60% of these couples will eventually get married. People get married at alater age
now and many women do not want to have any children immediately. They prefer to do well
at their job first. So they often decide not to have baby until they are in their late thirties, or
even forties.
In the past, people married before they had children, but now about 40% of children
in Britain are born to unmarried (cohabiting) parents. In 2000, around a quarter of unmarried
people between the ages of 16 and 59 were cohabiting in Great Britain. Cohabiting couples
are also starting families without first being married. Before 1960 this was very unusual, but
in 2001 around 23 per cent of births in the UK were to cohabiting couples.
A popular british newspaper described Britain as the divorce capital of Europe.
There are 310.000 marriages a yar, but 161.000 divorces. The number of singl-parents
families in Britain is increasing this is mainly due to more marriages ending in divorce, but
some women are also choosing to have children as lone parents without being married. Single
parents are usually divorced woman (2/3) or woman who have never married (1/3). The
government gives help to single parents, but money can still be a problem. And studies show
that, in general, children are happier and more successful in traditional two-parents family.
On average 2.4 people live as a family in one home Britain. This is smaller than most
other European countries. About 65% of people over the age of 65 live alon. When children

grow up, they usually leave their parents home for university or work. After they buy their
own home, their parents do not usually come and live with them.
In order to come closer to british family life, below is a diary which is written by an
English boy :
Hi, my name is Craig. I am English because I was born in England, but I am also
British because England is part of Great Britain and is in the UK.
I live in a typical English family. I have a father, mother and a sister and we all live together
in our house in a town in the south east corner of England. At the back of our house we have
our garden where I play with my sister.
My family has a car, a computer, a colour telly with dvd, a washing machine, dishwasher and
a cat. Mum and dad both have mobile phones and I am hoping to get one soon.
The day starts at about 7 o'clock when Dad and mum get up. My sister and I usually watch
telly in our pyjamas (night clothes) until breakfast. We have breakfast at 8 o' clock. I like to
eat Rice Krispies (cereal) and jam on toast. I also drink a glass of milk. My mum usually only
has toast, a class of orange juice and a cup of coffee. Dad likes to have a fried breakfast
consisting of baked beans, bacon, tomatoes,mushrooms, two eggs and a sausage (see photo
below) .
After breakfast, my sister and I, put on our school uniform. I wear grey trousers, a white shirt
and a blue sweat shirt.
We all leave the house by 8.30. Dad goes to work. He works with computers. Mum, my sister
and I walk to school. My mum then catches a bus to her work place. She works in a different
school as a learning support assistant.
I take a packed lunch to school, which contains things like sandwiches, fruit and a bag of
crisps. Sometimes my friends and I swap our food.
My favourite subjects at school are science and history. My favourite topic in history is
learning about the ancient Egyptians. I also enjoy PE (Physical Education) lessons - we play
football, netball, cricket and sometimes we go cross-country running.
Mum picks up from school at 3:15. Sometimes we go down town to the shops and, if we are
really lucky, mum will buy us a McDonalds Happy Meal. However, most days we will go
straight home and my sister and I watch the telly, play on our Wii, or play on the computer.
Dad usually gets home about 6 o'clock. We eat together at about 6.30. My favourite meal a
fish finger with peas and chips. I also like pizza which we have very often.
I have to help mum wash up (wash the dishes) when I have eaten. I also have to tidy my
bedroom.
In the evenings, I usually do my homework before watching more telly. Mum helps me with
my homework. My family likes to watch Eastenders, and Coronation Street ( English soap
operas).

I am a Cub Scout and my sister is a Brownie. On Mondays, I go to cubs whilst my sister goes
to Brownies. I also go to Karate on Thursdays and my sister goes to Ballet on Wednesdays.
I love cubs especially when we go camping (see picture) . I like building fires and cooking on
them. It is good fun sleeping in the tents too. We usually go camping about twice a year.
I enjoy playing on my computer and skate boarding. I have a pet rabbit called Sooty. I bet
you can guess what colour it is? Black of course.
Every Saturday, my family and I, go into town to the open market. People sell vegetables,
clothes, toys, posters, and nearly anything else out on the street. Mum buys her fruit and
vegetables there. I enjoy just wandering looking at all the things for sale, hoping my parents
will buy me something. Sometimes I am lucky.

I love my family very much.

II. Housing

Almost everybody in Britain dreams of living in a detached house; that is a house

which is a separate building. The saying, An English mans home is his castle is wellknown. An English mans home is his castle? Well, not quite, its official that British homes
are the smallest in Europe, in fact they are downright pokey, with only an average usable
floor space of 76m sq according to a new report by Bradford & Bingley. The Italians lead the
rest of Europe with the most space an average of 92 square metres per dwelling, over a fifth
larger than us Brits enjoy. This statement is an illustration the desire for privacy and the
importance attached to ownership which seem to be at heart of the British attitude to housing.
The report undertaken by the Centre for Economics & Business Research for
Bradford & Bingley compares the UK property market to Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
It reveals British living space per home is 12 percent smaller than the average Spanish home,
14 percent smaller than in Germany and 16 percent smaller than in France.
Moreover, the gap between the UK and the continent is widening with new homes in
France, Germany and Spain getting bigger. On average, newly built homes in France and
Germany have over 100m2 of usable floor space, while in Spain modern homes have 95m2. In
Britain, new homes remain the same size as existing properties at 76m2.
Houses, not flats !
A large, detached house not only ensures privacy. It is also a status symbol. At the
extreme and of the scale there is the aristocratic stately home set in acres of garden. Of
course, such a house is an unrealistic dream for most people. But even a small detached
house, surrounded by garden, gives the required suggestion of rural life which is dear to the
hearts of many British people. Most people would be happy to live in a cottage, and if this is
a thatched cottage, reminiscent of a pre-industrial age, so much the better.
Most people try to avoid living in blocks of flats ( what the Americans call apartment
blocks). Flats, they feel, provide the least amount of privacy. With a few exception, mostly
in certain locations in central London, flats are the cheapest kind of home. The people who
live in them are those who cannot afford to live anywhere else. Many british people living in
a flat often feels cut off from the world all those floors up. They missed the neighbourliness.
They could not keep a watchful eye on their children playingdown there in those lovely green
spaces.

1. The most desirable home: a detached house

The traditional building materials of brickes { the walls } and slate { the floor }. The
suggestion of a largefront garden with a tree and bushes, evoking only the countryside
but also giving greater privacy. The garden is hidden ( on the left ) discretely away, so that
it is not too obvious and does not spoil the rural feeling.
2. Second best: a semi detached house
Detached house is usually located in remotest part of the country, and are very
expensive for many people. So the next best is a semi detached house . one building
with two separete householdes. Each house is a mirror of the other, inside and out. These
house can be found in the suburbs of the cities and outskrits of towns all over Britain.
3. An exception: the town house
These homes can be found in the inner areas of mots cities, are an exception to the
general pattern. There is great variety regarding both design and use. They often have
three or more floors, perhaps including a basementor semi basement. Although usually
they are terraced, those that are well preserved and in a good area may be thought
highly desirable.
4. Less desirable: a trraced
This kind of house usually has no way through to the back except through the house
itself. Each house in the row is joined to the next one (houses at the end of the row are a
bit more desirable-they are the most like a semi detached). They usually have two floors,
with two bed room up strairs. Some have garden back and front, others only back or front
and others no garden at all.
5. The least desirable: a flat
Not having a separate entrance to the outside world does not suit British tastes. Although it is densely populated, Britain has the second lowest proportion of flat dwellers
in the EU.
These figures are more surprising when the types of properties are taken into account as
over four-fifths of British households prefer to live in a house. The report reveals that 82
percent of British families live in a house and only 15 percent live in a flat. This is in stark

contrast to families on continental Europe where flats are more popular. In Spain, Italy and
Germany more than 50 percent of families live in a flat and France is not far behind with 41
percent. Yet almost bizarrely the average British family home has the least usable living space
of the countries surveyed.
Nickie Aiken of Bradford & Bingley Estate Agents commented on the findings: "It is
interesting that the UK is trailing the continent in terms of living space, particularly when you
take the fact that we tend to live in houses rather than flats into account. Quality of life is not
only about income and spending, comfort is a core component. Hopefully the Government is
aware of these figures as it tackles the increasing demand for new housing in the UK."
Owning your own property is popular to differing degrees and despite the widely held
perception to the contrary, Britons aren't Europe's most prolific homeowners. The Spanish
(80%) own more of their homes than the Brits and Italians (69%). The French (54%) and
Germans (43%) own less.
Despite the right to buy initiatives of the Thatcher governments, Britain still has the
highest number of 'social housing', namely council or housing association dwellings (22%).
France has the second highest provision of social housing with 18% living in social owned
homes. Whilst Spain barely has a social sector at all with only 1%.
Compared to our counterparts on the continent, the UK has the least developed rental
sector with less than 1 in 10 (9%) British homes being rented privately. This contrasts sharply
with the staggering 46% in Germany - over five times the UK level. This news is surprising
given the recent surge in popularity of buy to let mortgages in the UK.
There are marked differences between the residential property prices in the five countries
and the types of homes people can purchase. For 60,000 a homeowner could buy a semidetached home in the north of England, a rural home in Italy, a villa in Spain or an apartment
in a French ski resort.

The Most Popular Pets in Britain

Fish
26.6 million
Cat
7.7 million
Dog
6.7 million
Rabbit
1.5 million
Budgerigar 1.5 million
Hamster
1.0 million
Guinea pig 0.8 million

Despite the reverence they tend to feel for home.

British people have little deep-rooted attachment to their
house as an objects, or to the land in which it stands. It is the

abstract idea of home which is important not the building. For British people houses themselves are
just investments. A house will be sold when the time and price is right and its occupiers will move
into some other house which they will then turn into home- a home which they will love just as
much as they did the previous one. Thus comes the statement, A home is where the heart lays.

III. Animal lovers

If you go for a walk a friend, dont say a word for hours; if you go out for a walk with your dog,
keep chatting to him. George Mikes, How to be an Alien.
The British are traditionally animal lovers. This is clear from the large number of animal
programmes on TV. There are programmes about widlife in Britain and other countries, and about pets
at home. There are programmes like Animal Hospital about sick animals and the working lives of
animal doctors. Some programmes try to find new homes for unwanted or homeless animals. British
families love to watch those programmes.
There is a pet in nearly 50% of the 24.2 million homes in Britain. It is excessive and only can
happen in Britain that in January 13th 2000 a rat made a train late (in Britain). An SSPCA (a group
that helps animals ) was called to Stirling station because passengers were worried about a large white
rat on the line. Three trains passed over it, but the rat was unhurt. The Scottish railway company,
Scotrail,closed the line. Then the passengers watched as the officer carefully caught the rat.
Britain is famous for being a nation of animal lovers, and many people in Britain keep pets.
More than 50 percent of British families own a pet. We keep some 7.7 million cats, 6.6 million dogs,
one million budgerigars and 18 million goldfish. And we are increasingly adopting exotic creatures
such as small farm animals, snakes, tropical fish, and spiders; an estimated 2,000 households now
have reptiles. The rank of the most popular Pets in Britain is shown on the table.

Battersea Dogs Home

Battersea Dogs Home in London is a very famous home for unwanted dogs and cats. It was
started in 1860 by Mrs. Mary Tealby, because she was worried about all the homelles animals on the
streets of London. The home has taken in 2.734.386 dogs. Since 1883, it has taken in cats too. In
1999, nearly 14.000 dogsz and cats came to the home. By the end of the year, homes were found for
65% of these. The home even has its own magazine, Paws.

Cruft Dog Show

Cruft is a very popular dog show that takes place in Britain very March. It was started
byCharlest Cruft in 1891 as a way of selling a kind of dog food! For many years it was held in
London, nut in 1991 it moved to Birmingham. This year 25.000 dogs are taking part in Crufts. Over
100.000 people visit Crufts each year.

CONCLUSIONS
The changes of Britain affects to the life of their family, from the harmonious family
to the less harmonic family. It is all because an increase of the divorce values in Britain.
There will be more single people than married people because they to scare with the marriage

which is produce the divorces. Moreover, they can stay and live together in a house without a
marriage. These are the points that we can take :
-

In particular there has been a rise in the number of single-person households,

which increased from 18 to 29 percent of all households between 1971 and 2002.

In the past, people got married and stayed married. Today, people live together
(cohabit) without getting married.

In the past, people married before they had children, but now about 40% of
children in Britain are born to unmarried (cohabiting) parents.

According to a popular British newspaper, Britain as the divorce capital of

Europe. There are 310.000 marriages a year, but 161.000 divorces.

Talking about a house, most people want to have a detached house. The house that has
one building and one family, but actually this house is more expensive than other because a
privacy is needed. British living space per home is 12 percent smaller than the average
Spanish home, 14 percent smaller than in Germany and 16 percent smaller than in France.
There are kinds of British house, the fisrt is The most desirable home: a detached house,
Second best: a semi detached house, An exception: the town house, An exception: the town
house, Less desirable: a trraced, The least desirable: a flat.
In the Britain mostly people have a pet. The most popular pets in Britain are fish that
has 26.6 million scores, cat 7.7 million, dog 6.7 millon, rabbit 1.5 million, budgerigar 1.5
million, hamster 1.0 million and guinea pig 0.8 million. The fact that is shows Britain is the
animal lover is from the large number of animal programmes on TV. There are programmes
about wildlife, pets at home, animal hospital about sick animals and the working lives of
animal doctors like Battersea Dogs Home and Cruft Dog Show. We thought, it is more better
than a serial drama that has a lot of negative effects in our country.

Bibliography

(n.d.).
News about Britain. (2013). Retrieved November 25, 2014, from BBC Learning
English: http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Barrow, M. (2013). family in england. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from
woodland: http://resources.woodland-junior.kent.sch.uk
Hartoyo. (2010). British Studies. Semarang: Pelita Insani.
Mahapatra, S. (n.d.). Changing Values and Norms of the British Family. Retrieved
November 25, 2014, from Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/
nuvesempi. (n.d.). life. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from unifi:
http://www.cla.unifi.it/

BRITISH AT HOME

Arrangged to Fullfil British Studies Assignment

Lecturer : Fauzi Miftakh, S.Pd

By : Group 1
Riga Karamudi ( 162 )
Alfi Hasanah (252 )
Fitria Anggraini (170 )
Muji Rahayu (152)
Nida Hasanah (158)
Karmi (157)
Mutiara Septiani (150)

English Education Department

Faculty of Teachers Training and Education
University State of Singaperbangsa Karawang
2014