Abstract
The present study examined how American learners of French perceived the influence of instruction on their existing stereotypes about the French people to determine the effects of these stereotypes on their language learning and cultural openness. During a semester, 22 undergraduate students, all native English speakers enrolled in 4 sections of first‐semester French at a large Midwestern university were interviewed 3 times via Instant Messenger. The data analysis revealed that, for some participants, the information received during instruction was selectively interpreted (Barna, 1998; Bennett, 1998) through the lenses of beliefs and images present in their habitus (Bourdieu, 1982), with as a result the reinforcement of preexisting stereotypes and impressions. This article focuses on 3 participants who, at some point during the semester, identified a stereotype about the French people and how they believed their instructor or the instructional material participated in its reinforcement.
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