American Learners of French and their Stereotypes of the French Language and People: A Survey and its Implications for Teaching

This article examines in what ways Americans learners in an introductory French course essentialized the French language and the French people. It compares the participants’ essentializations with images and impressions of the French people and French culture evoked in American autobiographical, journalistic, and scholarly writings. Teaching practices incorporating the study of stereotypes and cultural assumptions derived from the study’s results are also discussed.