Transcending the classroom: (de)stigmatising foreign cultures through foreign language teaching

Abstract

Using intergroup contact and stigma management communication theories, this work examines the effect of cultural teaching and learning in Spanish language classes on cultural stigma, social distance, and ethnocentrism. Additionally, this study examines how individuals respond to positive and negative messages about foreigners. Survey results indicate cultural integration in the foreign language classroom was associated with increased cultural knowledge and, indirectly, decreased cultural stigma and social distance toward those from foreign cultures. The findings of this study extend prior intergroup contact work by demonstrating the potential for exposure to a culture, rather than its members, to decrease stigma.