The Internet TESL Journal
Teaching Awareness of Stereotyping
Asako Kajiura Goodmacher
Introduction
As technology develops, the number of situations of communicating with people
from different countries has been increasing. In many fields, learning a
non-native language is one of the requirements to be successful. A number of
people throughout the world learn English because English is becoming an
international language. Language is an important tool of communication. However,
mastering a non-native language is not enough to became a skillful communicator;
we need to learn and improve other intercultural communication skills.
In order to have successful intercultural communication, it is essential that
communicators avoid incorrect stereotyping. Incorrect stereotyping tends to
appear in the communication between two or more people who are physically
different, for example "interracial communication." Unfortunately, the difference
in physical appearance often provokes unfavorable and inaccurate presuppositions
of other people. This could hinder further potential communication. Any new
impression which does not match stereotypical ideas is discarded.
Family, friends, and education provide us with in-group reference to other
cultural groups, out-group people. Mass media can especially foster negative
stereotypes of out-group people. One of many intercultural communication skills
is to be critical of information sources. The following activities can develop
students' awareness of stereotyping and develop students' skills in understanding
culture. These activities are designed for intermediate and advanced-level
students, but they can be adapted for other levels.
Preparation
Collect many photos of people which do not show their occupations: a picture of
a black accountant who looks like a basketball player, a female leader of a
country students are not familiar with. It is not necessary to find many
pictures, but more than four would be ideal in order to have good ethnic
diversity. You can find these pictures in your personal photo albums and
magazines.
Write three or four sentences which indicate "likely" occupations of the person
in each photograph. For example, using a photograph of Sandra Day O'Connor, who
is a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. I wrote the following sentences from which
students had to choose which sentence they thought to be most likely:
- She is a high school teacher who was awarded best teacher of 1995 in the
United States.
- She is a Supreme Court Justice of the United States of America who has dealt
with difficult cases like the death penalty, abortion, and affirmative action.
- She is a home economist, who is a regular writer for a monthly house-keeping
and gardening magazine. She writes on how to grow a healthy garden in the back
yard of small homes.
These sentences should be written to fit the level of your class.
Classroom Procedures
Activity 1
A teacher must preteach vocabulary that students may not understand. Then, hand
out the exercise sheet to students for them to work on individually. Limit the
amount of time they work on the exercise. The amount of time depends upon the
number of pictures. The time should be only enough for the students to make rapid
answers because stereotyping occurs in the first impression of pictures. It is
important that the teacher does not provide a definition of stereotyping before
this exercise, so students do not have any assumptions about what effects the
teacher is trying to produce out of this class exercise.
After students have responded to the questions, the teacher gives them answers.
According to my experience, most students answers are incorrect, as a result of
relying on their stereotypes. Through this exercise, students become aware of
their stereotypes. Finally, the teacher presents students with a definition of
stereotyping, "A rigid mental image that summarizes whatever is believed to be
typical about a group" (Robertson 1987). The teacher should mention influences
from stereotyping in communication among different group people. Negative
stereotypical ideas of other groups prevent effective communication which lead to
prejudice and discrimination against those groups.
Next, divide students into small groups. Assign each group a specific photo.
Have them discuss their stereotypes of the group that the person in the photo
belongs to. A spokesperson in each group presents their findings.
Activity 2
Keep students in small groups. Distribute one English magazine for each group.
Let students examine advertisements in the magazines. Students are asked to find
a couple of advertisements which contain stereotyping ideas of gender, ethnic
group, social status, and so on. Give a different student a chance to be
spokesperson and another different student a chance to be a note taker. Then let
students answer questions in regard to each advertisement. For example;
- What stereotypes can you find in the advertisement?
- Does the advertisement contain specific information about the products?
- Is the stereotyping image positive or negative for the group?
- How are the stereotypes used for marketing purposes?
Conclusion
Teachers can use these materials not only to provide students chances to learn
English, but also to develop students awareness of their stereotyping. Because
these activities are eye-opening for students, they participate well.
The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. II, No. 8, July
1996
http://iteslj.org/