Prime Time 7/8, Language in Use, Arbeitsheft

Ethnic and cultural diversity Bias and stereotyping Lazy. Seductive. Intelligent. Used to describe individuals, these adjectives pose no particular problem. Used to describe groups of people, however, they may constitute stereotypes. Stereotypes are qualities assigned to groups of people related to their race, nationality or sexual orientation. Because they generalise groups of people in manners that lead to discrimination and ignore the diversity within groups, stereotypes should be avoided. Both negative and positive stereotypes exist, but even the latter do harm. That’s because all stereotypes are limiting and leave little to no room for individuality. Perhaps a child belongs to a racial group known for being highly intelligent. This particular child, however, suffers from a learning disability and struggles to keep up with his classmates in school. Because his teacher believes in the stereotype that this child is supposed to excel in class because “his people” are highly intelligent, she might assume that his poor marks are because he’s lazy. (Nadra Kareem Nittle, About.com ; adapted and abridged) a) Below you will find a number of stereotypes. Sort them into one of the four categories: age, culture, gender and other. 1 2. Virtually every American is obese and dim-witted. 4. Asian people are always good at maths. 6. Basically, no politician thinks of the benefit of society. 7. It’s normal for children to hate healthy food. 1. Absolutely all teenagers are rebels. 3. Elderly people frequently forget where they have put their glasses. 8. Most librarians are elderly women with glasses. 5. Generally speaking, men are messy and unclean. 9. Girls are almost never good at sports. 10. Men are usually stronger than women. 11. Punks are definitely a menace to society. 12. There is no doubt that all English people only drink tea. Age Culture Gender Other 1 b) Study the examples in detail and find out which particular words or phrases are used to turn these sentences into stereotypes. c) Go online and collect more phrases to express generalisations. 44 Ethnic and cultural diversity 9 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv