Critical Pedagogy: Stereotyping as Oppression

This chapter argues that stereotyping is a form of oppression that can be addressed in the foreign language classroom through Critical Pedagogy. Oppression can be defined as any form of social injustice, whereby people are inhibited to exercise their capacities and to express their needs, thoughts and feelings, with marginalisation, powerlessness, discrimination and othering being perhaps some of the most dangerous facets of oppression. The aim of this chapter is threefold. Firstly, theoretical constructs pertaining to stereotyping are defined with a view to developing a grammar of interculture to be applied in language teaching. Secondly, the focus shifts to reviewing the literature of empirical work on reducing stereotypes in the field of social psychology; and finally the chapter ends with a discussion of critical pedagogy as an approach to manage stereotypes in language and intercultural education.