A A GENERAL ISSUES

Stereotypes
Lesson code: 113X-K7U9-E33H PRE-INTERMEDIATE

1 Warm up
What stereotypes do you know about Britain?

2 Key words
Match the words to their meaning and complete the sentences below.

1. an expat a. a line of people who are waiting

2. cuisine b. a person who lives in a foreign country
3. a survey c. a set of questions with a choice of answers, designed to get
information about something
4. sarcastic d. a style of cooking
5. good manners e. ironic or critical
6. a queue f. polite behaviour

1. John has . He always opens doors for other people.

2. According to the , most people agree with the government's decision.
3. I really like Italian . I eat pizza and pasta every week.
4. He said, "You are a very good tennis player." But it wasn't a compliment -- he was being
.
5. Maria is living in London at the moment. She's a Spanish .
6. I don't like checking in at airports because I usually have to wait in a for a long time.

3 Find the information

Read the article on the next page about a survey of expats living in Britain. Complete the statements.

1. About 30% do not like living in Britain, mainly because of the weather, culture and cuisine.
2. do not like the British people.
3. think that British people drink a lot of tea.
4. really dislike the drinking culture in Britain.
5. appreciate the British ability to wait in queues.
6. have a better opinion of Britain than before.

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 Stereotypes
A A A A GENERAL ISSUES

British culture revealed

(according to expats living in Britain)

British people drink too much, have a terrible sense half said our best trait is our good manners, and our
of humour and the weather is awful -- according to special ability to wait in queues was appreciated by
a survey of foreign expats who live in Britain. 40 per cent of the expats. Also, 61 per cent of the
people who didn't like Britain said their opinion of
About 30 per cent of the expats said that they did not the people and place was better than before.
like living in Britain, mainly because of the weather,
the culture and the cuisine. And around a quarter of Liam Clifford, from GlobalVisas.com, the website
the expats didn't really like the British people. that conducted the research, said: "Moving to a new
country is very challenging.
The survey was conducted by a website that tries to
help people with visa applications. More than 1,400 "Maybe you think that you know everything about a
expats from different parts of the world were asked place from your holidays there, but actually living in
questions. Over half of them said that the behaviour a country is completely different.
of British people agreed with their
international stereotype, but `only' 41 per cent "There are stereotypes about many nationalities.
agreed with the famous British preference for But, historically, so many countries have been
drinking lots of tea. influenced by Britain, so the stereotypes about
British people are very well-known.
For 42 per cent of the expats, the excessive drinking
culture was the worst British trait. Many others "However, the survey shows that opinions improve
mostly disliked our sarcastic sense of humour. after living here, in most cases. This is good to see."

But despite the negative things, most expats said

that generally speaking they liked the British. Nearly Adapted from The Independent, by Adam Withnall,
28 August 2013

4 Checking understanding
Answer the questions below.

1. What stereotypes about British people does the article mention?

2. What did the expats dislike about Britain?
3. What did the expats like about British people?
4. Why are stereotypes about British people well-known all over the world?
5. Why is Liam Clifford positive about the survey results?

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 Stereotypes
A A A A GENERAL ISSUES

5 Grammar -- Passive voice

Compare active and passive structures.

Active: British people drink too much. Passive: The survey was conducted by a website.
In the active sentence, the subject (British people) causes an action (drink).
In the passive sentence, we say what happens to the subject (the survey). The cause of the action (a
website) is not the focus of the sentence.
The passive is formed with the verb be (is/are/was/were etc.) + past participle (e.g. conducted)
For a list of irregular past participle forms, go to https://www.linguahouse.com/learning-
english/general-english/english-irregular-verbs or use your mobile device to scan the code
below:

If we want to say who or what causes the action in a passive sentence, we use by:
The letter was posted by her father. He was hit by a motorbike.

Find more examples of the passive in the article.

6 Verbs in the passive

Complete the sentences using one of these verbs in the correct form:

break clean invite lose make teach write

1. The sauce this morning from fresh tomatoes and red wine.
2. I didn't see you at the party because I .
3. The office every morning, before the workers arrive.
4. I don't know when the book .
5. John French at school when he was a child.
6. I can't find my keys anywhere. I think they .
7. I'm afraid we can't watch the football match today. The television .

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 Stereotypes
A A A A GENERAL ISSUES

7 Active or passive?
Complete the sentences with the verbs in the correct form (active or passive):

1. This photo (take) while I was relaxing on the beach.

2. I can't get in the house. The door (lock)!
3. Mr Smith (close) his shop every day at 5pm.
4. Can I borrow some money from you? My wallet (steal) this morning.
5. Somebody (steal) my wallet while I was at the bar. I'm never going back there again!
6. I liked your old Facebook profile picture. Why (you/change/it)?
7. Alan (drive) everywhere. He loves his new car.
8. The president (drive) everywhere. He has his own private chauffeur.

8 Questions with the passive

Write questions using the passive.
When / the television / invent? When was the television invented?
1. When / the first website / build? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
2. When / the telephone / invent? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
3. How often / the Olympics / hold? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
4. When / the first car / make? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
5. When /America / discover? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
6. Which leader / show / on Indian banknotes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
Now try to guess the answers to the questions or work with a partner and ask/answer the questions.
Compare your answers to the correct answers on the next page. How close were you?

9 Talking point
Discuss any of the questions below:

1. What are the stereotypes about people from your country?

2. How true are stereotypes?

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 Stereotypes
A A A A GENERAL ISSUES

1. The first website was built in 1991.

2. The telephone was invented in 1876.
3. The Olympics are held every 4 years.
4. The first car was made in 1886.
5. America was discovered in 1492.
6. Gandhi is shown on Indian banknotes.

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 Stereotypes - Key
A A A A GENERAL ISSUES

1- Warm up

Encourage things like: `It rains all the time', `British people drink tea all day', `they have a sarcastic sense of
humour', etc.

2- Key words

Have students look up the meaning of the words, translate them or give examples. Students can work individually
and check in pairs. Go through the answers.

1. b 2. d 3. c 4. e 5. f 6. a

1. good manners 2. survey 3. cuisine

4. sarcastic 5. expat 6. queue

3- Find the information

2. 25% 3. 41% 4. 42% 5. 40% 6. 61%

4- Checking understanding

1. terrible/sarcastic sense of humour, drinking alcohol, drinking tea

2. the weather, culture and cuisine
3. good manners, ability to queue
4. because of Britain's past influence
5. The opinion of British people improves after time.

5- Grammar -- Passive voice

Go through the presentation of the passive voice. Examples from the text: `were asked questions' (P3), `was
appreciated by 40 per cent of the expats' (P5), `so many countries have been influenced by Britain' (P8)

6- Verbs in the passive

1. was made 2. wasn't invited 3. is cleaned 4. was written

5. was taught 6. are lost 7. is broken

7- Active or passive?

1. was taken 2. is locked 3. closes 4. was stolen

5. stole 6. did you change it/have7. drives 8. is driven
you changed it

8- Questions with the passive

1. When was the first website built? 2. When was the telephone invented?
3. How often are the Olympics held?4. When was the first car made?
5. When was America found? 6. Which leader is shown on Indian banknotes?

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