Stereotypes about Americans

Какие стереотипы существуют об Американцах? Они толстые, любят фаст-фуд и тупые. В видео разбираемся: что из этого факт, а что — миф. Подойдет для уровней от B1+ и тем про культуру

Before watching

1. What is a stereotype? Can you give an example of a stereotype about a nationality?
2. What words come to mind when you think of Americans? Are they positive, negative or neutral?
3. Where do you think your ideas about other countries come from: films, news, social media, travel, school?

ССЫЛКА НА YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCTTc_2W7rA

While watching

True / False / Not stated

1. According to the World Health Organization, the USA was the most obese nation in the world in 2015. ____
2. Reports suggest that Americans do very little exercise. ____
3. Chomsky says Americans avoid international affairs because they feel they can’t change anything. ____
4. In 2016, nearly two thirds of Americans did not own a passport. ____
5. Younger Americans watch more TV than older Americans. ____
6. Stephen Fry visited every state in the USA while making his TV programme. ____
7. Stephen Fry admired Americans’ friendliness and positive outlook. ____
8. A Gallup poll found that most Americans want handguns to be banned. ____

Numbers and facts

Match each figure from the video (1–8) with what it refers to (A–H). Write the letter in the gap.

1. 16th ____
2. 64% ____
3. 4.3 hours ____
4. 112.6 ____
5. 52% ____
6. 53% ____
7. 70% ____
8. nearly half a million ____

• A. the share of Americans who said they felt extremely proud to be American in 2003
• B. the number of guns per 100 citizens
• C. the number of people who have died from drug overdoses in the US since 2000
• D. the share of Americans without a passport in 2016
• E. the share of Americans who support stricter gun control
• F. the average time an American spends watching TV per day
• G. the USA’s position on the list of the world’s most obese countries
• H. the share of Americans who said they felt extremely proud to be American in 2016

Follow-up (pairs): Choose two of these figures. Do they support or weaken the stereotype they are linked to? Explain why, using This suggests that…, This doesn’t necessarily mean… or The figures are partly misleading because….

Vocabulary in context

These words and phrases appear in the video. Match each one (1–10) with its definition (A–J).

1. oversimplified ____
2. brash ____
3. avid ____
4. prohibitively (expensive) ____
5. trivial ____
6. extol ____
7. undermine ____
8. go against the grain ____
9. melting pot ____
10. snootiness ____

• A. to praise something or someone very enthusiastically
• B. so high that most people cannot afford it
• C. confident in a loud, impolite or too direct way
• D. not important or serious
• E. very keen and enthusiastic about an activity
• F. a place where people of many different cultures live together and mix
• G. to make something gradually weaker or less effective
• H. described as simpler than it really is
• I. an attitude of thinking you are better than other people
• J. to be different from what is normal or expected

After watching

Discuss in small groups (8–10 minutes), then share your ideas with the class.

1. Which stereotype in the video surprised you most, and why?
2. The video says 64% of Americans don’t own a passport, then asks whether they need one in such a large country. What is your opinion?
3. The video argues that statistics can support a stereotype only in part. Choose one example and explain why.
4. Is there a stereotype about your own country that is partly true? What is true, and what is an oversimplification?
5. Can a positive stereotype (for example, «Americans are optimistic») still be harmful?
6. How do social media and TV shape the way we see other nationalities?

Answer keys

Exercise 1

1. F: it was the most obese Western nation, but only 16th in the world (Nauru was first).
2. F: reports suggest Americans actually exercise a lot.
3. T
4. T (64% do not own a passport).
5. F: the older generation watches more TV than the younger one.
6. NS (the video only says he travelled around the USA).
7. T
8. F: 76% said handguns should not be banned for everyone; 23% said they should.

Exercise 2

1-G, 2-D, 3-F, 4-B, 5-E, 6-H, 7-A, 8-C

Exercise 3

1-H, 2-C, 3-E, 4-B, 5-D, 6-A, 7-G, 8-J, 9-F, 10-I

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