Breaking Down Stereotypes in Spanish Class

Breaking down stereotypes is a fun first week of school activity for your World Language students.

Step 1: Think about common stereotypes.

• Ask students to think about stereotypes they may have heard about people from various Spanish-speaking countries. Don’t have students say them out loud or make a list. This could be offensive to other students in class.

Step 2: Talk about your own personal experiences.

It’s important to mention people you’ve met or places you’ve traveled to contradict common stereotypes. Usually, this will get your students to begin developing an interest in learning more about the country and its people.

• Collect images, advertisements, and newspaper articles pertaining to the country you’re studying.  Variation:  Ask students to find resources for homework for the discussion.
• Use these to fuel the discussion with your students. Talk about perspectives and how media doesn’t always present the truth.  A great way to get your students engaged and using their brains right off the bat!

Helpful Resources for Breaking Down Stereotypes

Want an easy way to share culture from all the Spanish-speaking countries or French-speaking countries? Check out:

101 Hispanic Video Clips
101 Francophone Video Clips
Full Year of Hispanic Culture
Full Year of Francophone Culture

If you are looking for more ideas to teach your students culture, you may be interested in engaging lesson plans about famous Hispanics and famous Francophones.

Perhaps you want authentic Mexican photos for discussions or decorations. Or maybe you want to teach your Spanish students about the real Mexico. In that case, check out my Mexican PowerPoint.

So excited to collaborate with other World Language teachers!  Would love to hear how you teach about breaking down stereotypes in your language classrooms!

Also, hope to see you in our World Language Cafe Facebook Group. It’s an online teachers’ lounge for sharing ideas, humor, and all things languages.