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This activity aims to raise students’ awareness of other cultural stereotyping by examining their own culture and the stereotypes associated with it. This activity is an adaptation of Activity 44: Vox Pop in Dudeney, Hockly & Pegrum (2013: 284-288).
Before attempting this activity, you may want to point students to the Cultural and Intercultural literacy… what is it? page.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this activity, students will be able to:
- examine stereotypes
- produce a short vlog (video blog) giving their views on their own culture from the perspective of cultural insiders.
Technology requirements
- Internet-enabled student computers or mobile devices with a camera (one per student or student pair)
- Videosharing site (such as YouTube or Vimeo)
Procedure
Before class
Look for a video that looks at stereotypical perceptions of one of the cultures of the target language (alternatively you can choose the one provided in the Language Specific Content at the end of this activity).
In class
- Ask students to brainstorm words they associate with the target culture. Add their words to the board.
- In small groups, students should discuss in the target language what their representations are of what people from the target language eat and drink, how they dress, what sort of music they enjoy listening to, what the weather’s like, what they do for fun, what a typical person looks like etc. Pairs should note down key words for each of these categories.
- Show the video in the target language and ask students what they think the message of the video is. Conduct feedback.
- Put ‘students’ national culture(s)’ on the board (e.g. ‘Irish culture’, ‘Spanish culture’…) and ask students working in small groups to brainstorm words they associate with their own culture.
- Ask students for feedback. Add the brainstormed words to the board, asking why students chose each word. This should generate some discussion about whether the chosen words really reflect the students’ culture(s), or whether they are stereotypical perceptions associated with the country.
- Point out that outsiders’ and insiders’ view of a culture often differ. Ask students to work in small groups to discuss stereotypical perceptions of their culture (Food/Dress/Music/Weather/Entertainment/Physical appearance). Conduct feedback by asking students to share their keywords and explain their choices in the target language.
- Put students into groups of 3. Ensure that each group has access to a device with video-recording capacity. Ask students to record a short vlog which gives an insiders’ account of the student’s culture, by explaining what food they eat, how they dress, what music they typically listen to etc. Ask students to film each other within their group, giving their opinion on these topics. Students should first plan a storyboard of who is going to say what, and rehearse. Then the spoken clips can be recorded one after the other (by recording and stopping), without having to edit the videos.
- Students’ vlogs can be uploaded to a video-hosting site. These can then be shared with classmates, other classes, or the general public, depending on the privacy settings chosen.
After class
Ask students to prepare a visitor guide to their country. Cultural misunderstandings happen all the time, especially when visiting another country. This after class activity encourages students to think about their own country and produce a list of travel tips on a vlog or a wiki for foreign visitors (in the target language).
Related activities
| Context of use | Title | Related themes | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPD materials | |||
| Cultural and intercultural literacy, what is it? | EN, FR, GE, SP | ||
| Activities for the classroom | |||
| Examining Stereotypes | EN, FR | ||
| Travelling and Learning about other Cultures | EN | ||
| Independent learning | |||
| Cultural and intercultural literacy, what is it? | EN, FR, GE, SP | ||
Source/attribution: Digilanguages. Author: Johanna Keogh
Additional Content
Exposure to difference needs careful management and talking about any stereotypical perceptions can be difficult and sometimes seen as counterproductive by some students. Working with stereotypical perceptions of their own culture can help students better understand the distinction between outsiders’ and insiders’ view of a culture.
It is quite easy to find a stereotypical view of Irish culture, for eg. with this excerpt from the TV series Family Guy:
Une vidéo humoristique de Cédric Villain portant sur les clichés concernant les Français :
Le site de Cédric Villain où il explique ses intentions en réalisant cette vidéo.
