ISSUE
Cultural
Stereotypes About Americans
ACTION 1
Answer a quiz and check your knowledge about American culture
http://fr.slideshare.net/eloizasss/american-quiz-36896009
(or copy the key-words " slideshare eloizasss american quiz"
ACTION2
Discover and think
Make a wordle
or a mindmap
with all the words you associate with « Americans ».
Use one of
these tutorials.
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| Sébastien's Mindmap on "Americans" |
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| Mattéo's Mindmap on "Americans" |
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| Margot's Mindmap on "Americans" |
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| Marine's Mindmap on Americans |
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| Céline's Mindmap on Americans |
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| Célia's Mindmap on Americans |
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| Dior'a Mindmap on Americans |
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| Sylvie 's Mindmap on Ameicans |
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| Arthur's Mindmap on Americans |
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| Lucie's Mindmap on Americans |
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| Nour's Mindmap on Americans |
ACTION3
Read, think and tick
This is a list of
cultural stereotypes compiled in the late 1990s by Spanish high school students
between 15-21 years of age who had never been to the U.S. nor had any American
friends, as circulated to an international education e-mail list.
Which, if any, are
"accurate descriptions" of American culture? Which may particularly
reflect how the Spanish students perceived American culture as being different
from their own ?
TOPIC A ?
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FALSE
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TRUE
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NONSENSE
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NO IDEA
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Most
Americans are very tall with blue eyes and blond hair.
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All
American men are as handsome as movie stars.
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Men in
the U.S. have muscular builds; they resemble Arnold Schwarzenegger or
Sylvester Stallone. America men like to wear short, sleeveless T-shirts to
show off their physiques.
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American
women are either unusually fat or unusually thin, never of normal build.
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Women
in the U.S. wear a lot of make-up.
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Americans
wear very bright colors and mixed patterns, and they wear summer clothes even
in the winter. They have no sense of style.
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The
typical American "native dress" is jeans, cowboy boots, and a
cowboy hat.
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TOPIC B ?
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FALSE
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TRUE
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NONSENSE
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NO IDEA
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Americans
spend almost all day at work; they have very little free time.
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Although
they are extremely punctual and efficient in their jobs, Americans don't
consider their work important; family comes first.
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The
first two things an American wants to discuss are salary and age.
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The two
favorite leisure-time activities in the U.S. are movies and rodeos.
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oung
people usually just take walks for fun, because they're not allowed to drink
or go to discos.
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TOPIC C ?
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FALSE
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TRUE
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NONSENSE
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NO IDEA
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Most
Americans live either in skyscrapers or on farms.
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In big
cities everyone has a large car like a Cadillac, but outside of cities people
usually travel on horseback.
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Americans
divorce repeatedly and have very complicated private lives.
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In
marriages in the U.S., the wife always dominates.
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American cities are so
dangerous that a person has a good chance of being killed in the street;
therefore, American men either know kung-fu or carry a gun.
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TOPIC D ?
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FALSE
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TRUE
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NONSENSE
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NO IDEA
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Americans
eat almost nothing but hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, and Coke.
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Americans
generally eat fast food Monday through Saturday, but never on Sunday.
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American
men are always drinking beer, even at breakfast.
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American
breakfasts are huge. A typical one might consist of eggs, toast, bacon, and
pancakes with peanut butter.
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TOPIC E ?
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FALSE
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TRUE
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NONSENSE
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NO IDEA
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Americans
speak very quickly and very loudly. They use their hands a lot, often
gesturing in an exaggerated way when they talk. Their strange intonation
makes their speech sound like singing.
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American
English is extremely difficult to understand because people speak as if they
were chewing gum.
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The
typical American is very rude, often putting his feet on a desk or table and
frequently belching in public. He yawns a lot, never trying to hide it. In
international affairs as in personal life, Americans do whatever they want
and don't care what other people think.
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ACTION4
Some striking results!
TOPIC A
A majority of us think that...
"The
typical American "native dress" is jeans, cowboy boots, and a
cowboy hat. "
TOPIC C
Some of us think that...
" Most
Americans live either in skyscrapers or on farms."
We believe that...
" In big
cities everyone has a large car like a Cadillac, but outside of cities people
usually travel on horseback."
We have a rather mixed feelings about the fact that...
" American cities are so
dangerous that a person has a good chance of being killed in the street;
therefore, American men either know kung-fu or carry a gun."
TOPIC D
We rather think that...
" Americans
eat almost nothing but hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, and Coke."
Many of us don't really think that...
" American
men are always drinking beer, even at breakfast."
We are a lot to think that...
" American
breakfasts are huge. A typical one might consist of eggs,
toast, bacon, and
pancakes with peanut butter."
TOPIC E
We really think that...
" Americans
speak very quickly and very loudly.
They use their hands a lot, often
gesturing in an exaggerated way when they talk.
Their strange intonation
makes their speech sound like singing."
We daresay that...
" American
English is extremely difficult to understand
because people speak as if they
were chewing gum."
We have no idea about the fact that...
" The
typical American is very rude, often putting his feet on a desk or table and
frequently belching in public. He yawns a lot, never trying to hide it. In
international affairs as in personal life, Americans do whatever they want
and don't care what other people think.'
ACTION5
Think, speak and check
Give your definition of a stereotype.
Then check your answer in an online-dictionary.
