INSEGNARE INGLESE, FRANCESE, ITALIANO E SPAGNOLO: UNITA' DIDATTICHE, IDEE, GIOCHI E MATERIALI: LESSON ON STEREOTYPES IN ENGLISH

Here some ideas:

ACTIVITY 1: THE SIMPSONS

On Youtube we can find many different episodes that we can exploit.
In some of them the Simpsons visit some foreign countries so each of these episodes teems with stereotypes.

First of all we can draw a spiderweb: "The Simpsons" We divide the class into groups and each group must describe one of the main characters physically and psychologically. One of the students goes to the board, the others have to agree first on one of the characters and then have to describe the character that must be drawn by the student.
The teacher divides the class into 4 groups and assigns one video per group.

1st video: The Simpsons in Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvMyczpgBZk

2nd video: The Simpsons in Brasil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsscaEd3TlE

3rd video: The Simpsons in Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cExJFLTSXeA

4th video: The Simpsons in Italy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uZyybrZNtw

Before watching these episodes, the teacher asks: "What are the possible stereotypes?" The students try to answer and then watch their video and check their ideas. They then have to try to guess the stereotypes contained in the other videos. 1 point for each good guess.

True/False exercise and cloze.

Each group has to write the script of some scenes of a new episode. The Simpsons have decided to visit a new country. Which stereotypes do they want to perpetuate through the episode?

Here Rachelle Meilleur offers some ideas for some of the episodes: http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Meilleur-Simpsons.html

ACTIVITY 2: STEREOTYPES ABOUT BRITISH PEOPLE

What are the most common stereotypes about British people?

Brainstorming.

Video:

Game: the class is divided into 2 groups. One group draws one of the stereotypes that have been depicted on the videos and the other group has to guess which one it is. The two groups then discuss about the stereotype. Do they agree?

Activity II: For each stereotype there will be 2 groups. One group will have to agree and the other one to disagree. Debate. Use of functional language.

ACTIVITY 3: WRITE AN ARTICLE IN ENGLISH

Web site National Stereotype: http://www.nationalstereotype.com/english-stereotypes/.
We could base our next activity on this article and ask the students to make a list of some of the stereotypes about their country. They should add to their article some pictures and put for each stereotype if it is a "FACT" or "FICTION" with a brief description. Discussion.

Game: The students could read their description and the other team could select TRUE or FALSE. If they opt for FALSE they should say why.

PROMPTS TO DISCUSS:

ITESLJ http://iteslj.org/questions/stereotypes.html
ESL DISCUSSIONS https://esldiscussions.com/s/stereotypes.html

"Cliché" VIDEO

The original video is in French but they have dubbed it also in English as it became very popular.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERD2TnMNH98

Here some ideas:

1. We ask our students to define the word "cliché". After a discussion the teacher reads the definition and asks the class if they agree or not.
2. The teacher shows to the students this image and asks them why this could be connected to the word "cliché". What are the clichés that have been represented in the video? Do the students agree?
3. The teacher asks the students to represent with drawings and captions THEIR idea of French people.
4. Ask the students to watch again the video and compile and draw up the table with relevant details.