1. KRAVCHUK I.M.
Topic: “LIFE OF THE YOUTH”
Subtopic: “STEREOTYPES”
LEVEL –INTERMEDIATE
Objectives: to develop students’ skills and habits of prepared and unprepared
speech;
to teach students to express their opinion;
to develop students’ skills in reading;
to develop students’ skills in listening;
to develop students’ skills in writing;
to teach students to respect the traditions and culture of other countries;
to encourage students to understand the respect the traditions and
culture of our native country.
Materials and aids: recording of the song by Sting “An Englishman in New-
York”, a piece of background music, a tape-recorder, “Solutions - intermediate ”
coursebooks, pictures with the views of London Tube, people from different
countries, a box, badges with British and American flags, British and American
flags.
PROCEDURE
I. Greeting. Warming up.
T: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Today I invite you in the world of
stereotypes. We’ll find out what stereotypes are and what influence they have on
our lives. By the way, do you know - What is a stereotype?
Possible answers:
S1: In my opinion, it’s what we think about something.
S2: To my mind, it’s a reputation.
T: You are right. The English-English Dictionary says: “Stereotype is a fixed
idea of image that many people have about something or somebody, especially a
race, nationality or gender, which often is not true.”
Can you name some examples of general stereotypes?
Possible answers:
S1: All boys like to play football.
S2: All girls like to play with dolls.
S3: All teenagers like loud music.
T: Thank you. You are quite right. But remember not all boys like to play
football and not all teenagers listen to loud music and so on.
But today we’ll speak about stereotypes of different nations. You know, almost
every nation has a reputation of some kind. The French are reputed to be amorous,
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2. gay, fond of champagne. The Germans are dull, formal and punctual. The
Americans are talkative, energetic and vulgar. The British are cold and reserved.
Look at the board. You can see the well-known Eurojoke. Let’s complete it and try
to comment the most famous stereotypes.
Heaven is where the chefs are… (French)
The mechanics are….. (German)
The police are …. (English)
The lowers are…. (Italians)
And it’s all organized by the …. (Swiss)
Hell is where the chefs are …. (English)
The mechanics are….. (French)
The police are…. (German)
The lowers are…. (Swiss)
And it’s all organized by the …. (Italians)
Possible answers:
S1: Heaven is where the chefs are French, because French cuisine is famous all
over the world. For example French cookies are delicious.
S2: Heaven is where the mechanics are German. German cars are very popular.
They are economic and safe.
S3: Heaven is where the police are English. English are reputed to be cold,
reserved, rather obedient people.
S4: Heaven is where the lowers are Italians. People say that people from the
south are more energetic and emotional than people from the north. Federico
Fellini has made a film about a famous Italian lover Casanova.
S4: Heaven is where all is organized by the Swiss. And it’s not strange. We
know Swiss clocks which are always correct.
S5: On the other hand, Hell is where the chefs are English is true. English
cuisine is terrible. Fat dishes are not good for health.
S6: Hell is where the mechanics are French. In my opinion French cars are not
good. The French are more famous as champagne makers and fashion designers.
S7: Hell is where the police are German. The German are dull and punctual. If
someone breaks the law, German policeman can shoot this person.
S8: Hell is where the lowers are Swiss. To my mind, people from Switzerland
are punctual an like order in everything.
S9: Hell is where all is organized by the Italians. It’s known that Italians are
energetic, but they are not so organized as the German or the Swiss.
T: Thanks for your ideas. It was very interesting to learn about your
stereotypes and your explanations. Don’t waist time! Other interesting stereotypes
are waiting for you!
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3. II. Practice
a) Listening
-pre-listening task
T: In order to continue our work, let’s divide into two groups. You can see the
box with the badges. Take a badge from the box. Those who have got the badge
with British flag sit here, at the table where the British flag is on. Those who have
got the badge with the American flag, sit at the table where the American flag is
on. Choose the leader of your group. Every group has a task.
(Students take their seats and choose leaders)
Group number 1- What stereotypes about the British do you know?
Group number 2 - What stereotypes about the Americans do you know?
Use the expressions: I think …..
To my mind ….
In my opinion ….
It seems to me ….
(Students exchange their opinions using the expressions)
Possible answers
Group 1
S1: In my opinion British are reserved and they behave politely
S2: I think British people don’t like to invite strangers to their houses. They
meet them in the pubs
S3: It seems to me most of the Britains live in the cottages
S4: To my mind there are many aristocrats in Britain
S5: I’m sure all British like to drink tea. They have 5-o’clock tea every day
S6: The British are obedient. They do not cry in the streets.
Group 2
S1: I know Americans like fast food. They go to McDonald’s very often and
suffer from obesity.
S2: To my mind Americans are ill-bred They put their legs on the table while
sitting at the table.
S3: It seems to me Americans are very friendly. They always smile.
S4: In my opinion they are very vulgar. They speak loudly and laugh loudly. It’s
not polite.
S5: I think many Americans have guns. It’s legal in the USA to have guns
S6: To my mind many Americans drink whisky with soda and coffee.
S7: In my opinion Americans are always in a hurry.
T. Very well, it was interesting to learn about your stereotypes about the British
and Americans. But what do the British thing about this? Let’s listen to the song by
Sting “An Englishman in New-York” and find out.
Group 1- Write down facts about the Englishman in New-York
Group 2- Write down facts about the Americans.
Be ready to express your ideas.
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4. -listening
(Students listen to the song and do the tasks)
I don't drink coffee I take tea my dear
I like my toast done on the side
And you can hear it in my accent when I talk
I'm an Englishman in New York
See me walking down Fifth Avenue
A walking cane here at my side
I take it everywhere I walk
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
-post-listening
Group 1:
An Englishman in New York drinks tea. He likes his toast done on the side. An
Englishman in New York talks with the accent. When he walks, he takes a
walking cane.
Group 2:
A person from New-York likes coffee. This person likes toasts done on the both
sides. A person from New-York speaks without special British accent. This person
doesn’t take a walking cane when he walks.
T: Do our stereotypes coincide with the stereotypes mentioned by Sting?
Possible answers
S1: To my mind they partly coincide. Everybody knows that Englishmen like
tea. On the other hand Americans like coffee.
S2: We have forgotten to mention about British pronunciation. It’s rather
specific.
S3: I can say that these two nations are quite different.
T: It’s great. According to the song, Sing was an alien, he was a legal alien, he
was an Englishman in New York.
b) Reading
T: Now I invite you to visit London. You’ll meet different people, read about
their ideas. You can compare their stereotypes with your own and find out if they
are different or similar.
-pre-reading (Jigsaw Reading)
T: Group 1 – Read about Sam and Amir who were born in London. Be ready to
tell your friends about their ideas.
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5. Group 2 – Read the comment to the photo and ideas of Joanna, who is living
in London for a year. Be ready to air your views.
Group 1
Look at the people in the photograph. They are sitting close together on an
underground train, but they aren't smiling or talking to each other. This is how the
world usually sees Londoners: quiet, reserved, unfriendly. But how accurate is this
impression? We asked three residents of London to give their opinions.
Joanna, age 19, Polish, living in London for a year.
'”I think Londoners are really cold and unfriendly. People here don't chat - they
don't say hello to their neighbours, and some of them wouldn't ever recognize their
neighbours in the street. I find it difficult to make friends here. In fact, I spend
most of my time with Poles, not English people. People claim that the English are
nice when you get to know them, but how can you get to know them when they’re
so uncommunicative?”
Group 2
Sam, age 18, British, born in London.
“I don't think Londoners are particularly miserable- in fact, we like a good joke.
But we’re probably a bit gloomy and pessimistic. When it comes to sport, for
example, we cheer on the British competitors and teams, but we aren't really
surprised when they lose. We accept under-achievement as the norm. I think
Americans are different: they expect to win.”
Amir, age 17, British, born in London, Pakistani parents.
“London is a truly multicultural city. I think it's true to say that more than one in
three of the city's population belong to an ethnic minority group, and you can hear
about 300 different
languages here. New people are arriving all the time, so the city is changing day by
day. It's a very competitive, fast-moving place. Most Londoners are focused, and
aren’t afraid of work - they know what they want and how to get it!”
- post-reading task
Answer the questions
Group 1
- Who has the most positive view of Londoners?
- Are Londoners particularly miserable? Why not?
- What way do most Londoners behave today?
- What is London population today?
Group 2
- Who has the most negative view of Londoners?
- How does the world usually see Londoners?
- How accurate is this impression?
- Is it difficult to find friends in London?
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6. Both groups
Match the opinions about Londoners with the three people. Write S (Sam),
J(Joanna), A (Amir).(Exercise 3, page 6)
1 They aren't very welcoming.
2 They work very hard.
3 They don't talk to each other very much.
4 They've got a good sense of humour.
5 They're ambitious.
6 They aren't optimistic.
Key: 1-J; 2-A; 3-J; 4- S; 5-A; 6-S
c) Speaking
T: And now, knowing much about stereotypes, -How would you describe
people from your own town (group 1); from another country, you know (group 2).
Exercise 6 in your books will help you. Choose adjectives from the box or your
own ideas and make notes. Be ready to express your ideas. Try to prove them.
Friendly/unfriendly optimistic/pessimistic serious/funn
Talkative/quiet hard-working/lazy rude/polite
Ambitious/unambitious relaxed/tense mean/generous
Reliable/unreliable arrogant/modest
Possible answers:
S1: Our group has made a decision to speak about Ukrainians. We are
wellcomed nation. We are happy to meet guests. We greet them with bread and
salt. Ukrainian people are friendly. In spite of the hardships of our life we are
friendly and optimistic. Since time immemorial Ukrainians has been known as
hard-working, generous and reliable people. They are brave and honest, ready for
self-sacrifice. Moreover, Ukrainian language is one of the most melodic languages
in the world.
T: It’s great. As I see you are proud of being Ukrainians. And What about
Rivnevites? How can you describe them?
S2: Speaking about Rivnevites I can say that majority of people are friendly and
optimistic. But we live in the small town, there is no possibity to get a good-payed
job, and that’s why many people are pessimistic and rude. They have no aim in
their life. They try to survive and take care of their families. As a result they are
ambitious, mean and dull. Unstable economic situation makes an influence on
nation’s character. People become angry, unfriendly, unreliable and lazy.
T: Oh, you are so pessimistic. Try to be more optimistic and remember- your
future depends on you. Future reputation of our nation is your behaviour, your
character and your manners. Don’t forget “manners make the man” and in our case
manners form the reputation of our nation, the stereotype of Ukrainians.
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7. III. Summing up. Home Assignment.
T: It’s a pity, but time flies and our today’s lesson is over. I hope you have learnt
much about stereotypes and their influence on people.
Your work today was good, your marks are …
Your hometask will be to read a story about British teenagers abroad and to find
out the stereotypes of different countries, mentioned in the text. In your
Workbooks exercises 2 and 3 page 6.
Let’s finish our work with the second part of the song by Sting “An Englishman in
New-York” and remember “manners make the man”
If ‘manners maketh man’ as someone said
Then he's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety
You could end up as the only one
Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society
At night a candle's brighter than the sun
Takes more than combat gear to make a man
Takes more than license for a gun
Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can
A gentleman will walk but never run
If ‘manners maketh man’ as someone said
Then he's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
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