Do you know what a stereotype is?
“A stereotype is a thought that can be adopted about specific types of individuals or certain ways of doing things. These thoughts or beliefs may or may not accurately reflect reality”
Take a look at the picture, we could extract some stereotypes:
Brazilians love football.
Fast food in the USA is everywhere.
China is the factory of the world.
Switzerland is famous for its clocks, France for its perfume and Germany for its cars.
Do these ideas accurately reflect reality? 😮
ACTIVITY 1:
Create brainstorming groups online (in the DOC LINK below) and come up with additional stereotypes you might have heard or thought about:
Help: Effective brainstorming in English
Do you agree with the stereotypes we said before? Maybe you do, because you don’t know these cultures very well, but what if we take a look to Spanish stereotypes?
Probably you don’t feel related at all with Spanish stereotypes. It is exactly what people from other cultures and ethnicities feel. Then, assumptions and stereotypes influence our attitudes and we may find that making a fair judgement about someone or something is difficult.
ACTIVITY 2:
Comment below the following, remember to support your answers:
What sort of problems can happen because of stereotypes? Kind of problems (help text)
Have you ever been the victim of a stereotype? How did it make you feel?
Do you think certain groups are more subject to stereotyping than others? If so, why?
Help: Expressing your opinion in English
Enjoy with this song about stereotypes (lyrics included):
Talking about interculturality 