Nationalities vs. Stereotypes

by

Javier Salazar


1. Objectives and Overview

Activity Overview:

Stereotypes are part of human nature ... and this in spite of the fact that they are among the many root causes of social problems such as racism, discrimination, xenophobia and even wars. There is a vast body of research in social psychology that suggests that “cognitive biases” determine how we perceive others that are labeled as the “Other” due to their preferences, interests, affiliations, gender/sexual orientation, ethnicity or nationality. In this sense, although cognitive biases constitute an important mechanism for humans to make sense of their environment (and the people that inhabit it) they inevitably lead to the formation of stereotypes. Even more, these stereotypes tend to be largely unconscious; in the sense that humans are usually unaware of how their own biases shape their perceptions of the “Other”. When it comes to learning a foreign language (and ultimately communicating with the “Other” through it) stereotype awareness becomes an essential element of true intercultural communication. In this activity, student will be “tricked” into making explicit the stereotypes they may (or may not) have of people from other nationalities, as a means to eliciting stereotype awareness.

General Learning Objectives:

  • to elicit awareness of the stereotypes students may have of people with other nationalities

Specific Learning Objectives (optional):

  • to identify differences in the meaning of words such as “nationality”, “ethnicity” and “affiliation”
  • to identify the information sources that contribute to the student’s own personal stereotype formation processes

Keywords:

stereotypes, surface culture, deep culture, intercultural awareness, communication- based activity

2. Activity Context

Activity context description

This activity was originally designed for an “Intercultural Communication” course for 1st year students at a university in Japan. Regardless, it can be applied to any SLA teaching context in which stereotype awareness would be required/desirable, from Junior/High School level and up. The second part of the activity though is very specifically geared towards SLA in Japan though. If you wish to apply this activity to any other non-Japanese context, some adjustments/adaptations are required.

Students

Suggested range of students:
1
2
3
4
5
10
15
20
30
40
50
75
100
Do students need to use a second language?
Yes
What is the second language?
English
Level(s) in target language:
Intermediate | CEFR B1 | IELTS 3.5-4.5 |TOEIC 500-700
Advanced-Intermediate | CEFR B2/C1 | IELTS 5.0-6.5 | TOEIC 700-900
Advanced | CEFR C1 / C2 | IELTS 7.0 + | TOEIC 900+
  • These levels are approximations 
Comments

The selection of the above minimum level of required English mastery stems from the fact that in order to carry-out this activity, students will need to hold semi-structured short conversations about their perceptions of people from foreign cultures. The author judges that, for example, in an EFL educational setting, at least a high CEFR A2 level (see Appendix) but better B2 is required in order to being able to carry on this task. However, if this activity is meant to be applied just for stereotype awareness, irrespective of it being in an SLA setting or not, then the above mastery level requirements do not apply as the activity can be done in the students’ L1.

3: Activity Duration

Estimated duration (multiple ranges possible):
1 - 1.5 hours
1.5 - 2 hours
How many sessions?
1
2
Any homework?
Optional



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