This task aims to have students explore and reflect on stereotypes. The task begins with students listening to Chimamanda Adichie' s very popular TED talk, students are then asked to write their own ' single story' and share this with their peers.
Though the talk is actually in English, it has been translated into many different languages so could actually be used in lingua franca or bilingual exchanges which involve languages other than English.
Teacher trainees design an intercultural activity that allows their learners to learn more about their partners in a telecollaborative project.
This task is part of a larger task sequence aimed at exploring cross-disciplinary subjects of social sciences, language and intercultural awareness.
In this activity, students are expected to not only demonstrate that they have assimilated new knowledge, they are asked ‘ to do something with it’ . Working in virtual teams, the students are responsible for creating a plan of action that addresses a social and/or cultural issue.
This task sequence is designed for average to high level language learners (B2 minimum) studying cross-curricular social sciences and languages, with a focus on intercultural aspects of society. It aims to help students debunk myths and stereo-types associated with citizenship rights and immigration. The project helps students compare and contrast the immigration process in different countries and to come to an understanding of what it means to ‘ become a citizen’ (versus being born into ‘ full’ citizenship rights). It begins with a frame-work made up of different levels of learning. At this stage, the students have already worked together on small tasks and know each other (see task database for ideas on getting to know each other if students are new to the exchange).
Level 1 – information gathering
Level 2 – looking at the perspectives of the ‘ other’
Level 3 – acting on this new knowledge and understanding for social action
This task is about stereotypes, and makes use of the online resource ' Mapping stereotypes' by the artist Yanko Tsvetkov.