EC120_Guide.pdf

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 120

TOPICS

Men and “dumb blondes,” the Rotary Club, grade versus score, how do I get to

versus where do I find, my friend versus a friend of mine

_____________

GLOSSARY

headline – the title of an article in a newspaper or newsmagazine, written in text

that has larger letters than does the text of the article

* Today’s newspaper had a front-page headline about the government scandal.

in the presence of (someone or something) – with someone or something else

nearby; with someone else watching

* They were married in the presence of their closest relatives and friends.

to fall – to decrease; to decline; to become less

* Do you think the price of oil will continue to rise, or will it fall?

to mimic – to copy; to imitate; to do or say something just like another person is

doing or saying it

* Ingrid is tired of her brother mimicking everything that she does.

stereotype – an idea that one has about a group of people, even if that idea isn’t

necessarily true

* Some Americans believe the stereotype that everyone from that country are

good at math.

to perpetuate – to make something continue for a long time; to make a belief or

opinion continue over a long period of time

* Some Elvis fan clubs perpetuate the myth that Elvis Presley is still alive.

service club – an organization of people who believe in the importance of

leadership and community service and often organize events and raise money to

help other people in the community

* Tricia is a member of a service club that feeds the homeless every Saturday

afternoon.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 120

humanitarian – helping other people; interested in making other people’s lives

better and more fair

* They are sending food and money to Appalachia as part of a humanitarian aid

project.

to rotate – to change among many places or things; to go from one to the next

and then returning to the first and starting again

* They rotate their meetings so that each member hosts the meeting at his or her

home twice a year.

motto – a phrase that identifies an organization or institution and expresses an

important value

* The motto of the United States, “In God we trust,” is written on the country’s

money.

ambassador – a person who is a country’s official representative in another

country

* Who is the Nepalese ambassador to the United States?

score – the number of points that one receives on an exam or homework

assignment

* We need to get a score of at least 65 out of 100 points to pass the exam.

grade – a letter (A, B, C, D or F) given on an exam, homework assignment, or

course to show how well one has done

* You need 90-100% of the points to get an A, 80-89% for a B, 70-79% for a C,

and 60-69% for a D. Anything less than 59% is an F.

how do I get to – a phrase used to mean, “How can I get to…?” or “Where

is…?”

* How do I get to the nearest subway station?

where do I find – a phrase used to mean, “Where can I find…?” or “Where is…”

* Excuse me. Where do I find the nearest pharmacy?

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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 120

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

The Dumb-Blonde Stereotype in the Media

Many Americans believe in a “dumb-blonde stereotype,” which is the idea that

women with “blonde” (yellow- or light-colored) hair are not intelligent and do

stupid things. There are many jokes about dumb blondes in “popular culture”

(the things that most people participate in) and also in the “media” (television,

movies, songs, etc.).

For example, Marilyn Monroe was a famous American actress who was in many

popular movies in the 1950s. She was beautiful and very “sexy” (attractive), and

she also had blonde hair. Many people assume that she was a dumb blonde –

someone with a pretty face, but no “substance” (intelligence and an interesting

personality). This probably was not a fair “assessment” (evaluation), but the

“notion” (idea) that blondes are “space cadets” (people who are not intelligent

and cannot think deeply or seriously) is “pervasive” (common and deep-rooted) in

American society.

Farrah Fawcett is an American actress who became very popular in the 1970s

and 1980s. Like Marilyn Monroe, she was blonde and was seen as a “sex

symbol” (a woman who is viewed as a sexual object more than as an intelligent

and interesting person). Likewise, Pamela Anderson is a Canadian American

actress who is known as a dumb blonde. All three of these women are attractive

and sexy, and for those reasons many people “assume” (believe that something

is true without knowing the facts) that they are stupid.

Like all other stereotypes, the dumb-blonde stereotype is “unfair” (not giving

equal treatment to all people). “Consequently” (as a result), many blonde-haired

women fight against that stereotype, working hard to show that they are

intelligent and “capable” (able to do things well).

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 120

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 120.

This is the English Café episode 120. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming

to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles,

California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. Download a Learning Guide for this episode, an

8 to 10 page guide we provide for all of our current episodes that gives you some

additional help in improving your English. You can also take a look at our ESL

Podcast Store, which has some additional premium courses you might be

interested in.

In this Café, we’re going to talk about a recent study I read about in the

newspaper, a research study about how blondes can make men stupid. We’re

also going to talk about a famous organization in the United States called the

“Rotary Club,” what it is and who belongs to it. As always, we’ll answer a few of

your questions. Let’s get started.

Our first topic is a story that I read in the newspaper a few weeks ago. This was

a story that appeared in The Wall Street Journal newspaper, the financial

newspaper in the United States – the largest financial newspaper. It’s actually

about a story that appeared in another newspaper, The Sunday Times of

London.

The name of the “headline,” the title of the story is “Blondes might be smart, but

they make men dumb.” Apparently, there was a study – a research scientific

study published in The Journal of Experimental Psychology , which discovered

that when men are “in the presence of” – meaning they’re in the same room or

they’re looking at pictures of a woman who is “blonde,” who has light yellow hair

– that they become more stupid.

What they did in this study is they showed men pictures of blonde women – and

of women with dark hair, I’m guessing – and they, after showing them the

pictures, tested them – gave them a mental test to see how well they could

perform, and they found that when they looked at the pictures of the blonde

women their scores fell. When we say the “scores fall,” we mean they decline;

you could also say they “drop” (drop).

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 120

According to the author of the study, a Professor Meyer at the University of Paris

(Meyer), the men in the study (quote) “mimic the unconscious stereotype of the

dumb blonde” (unquote). “To mimic” (mimic) means to copy or to behave like

someone else is behaving. So, when he says the men “mimic the unconscious

stereotype,” he’s saying that they behave just like this idea – this stereotype that

men have of blondes, or that people have of blonde women. When we say

something is a “stereotype,” we mean that everyone thinks it’s true, or many

people think it’s true, but it isn’t necessarily true; it’s not necessarily based on any

fact. Stereotypes are usually wrong, and they’re considered a negative thing.

When someone says there are stereotypes about this type of person – this group

of people, it’s usually a negative association, some sort of negative

characteristic. Well, for blonde women there is a negative stereotype, a

stereotype that they are not very intelligent. In fact, there are lots of jokes about

blondes called “dumb blonde jokes.”

Well, what happened in this study is that the men did worse on these mental

tests after they saw pictures of blonde women, and the reason is because the

men seemed to be reacting to the stereotype: because the women are blonde,

they behave differently. I’m not sure if this is true or not – certainly it is not true

that all blondes are stupid, or even most blondes are any stupider or dumber

than any other hair color – but it does talk about the importance of stereotypes

and how they affect your behavior. If you think a certain thing about a different

group, you may behave differently toward that group. For example other studies,

scientific research has found that when people talk to the “elderly,” that is, people

who are older, they tend to talk more slowly and walk more slowly, even though

many elderly – many older people can understand just fine, can walk at a normal

speed.

There are some cases where you do want to change your behavior. If you are

talking to someone who doesn’t speak your language very well, you may slow

down, use easier vocabulary. That’s not a stereotype, that’s what you might call

an “accommodation” to help that person, because it really is true they will

understand better if you slow down. However, many people use this stereotype

incorrectly when they see someone – especially here in the United States – who

looks different – who perhaps isn’t white, who looks like they might be from

another country – many people assume that they don’t speak English well, and

so they start behaving differently. Of course, you cannot make assumptions

about people’s English proficiency based on how they look.

This whole notion of stereotypes and how it affects behavior is very interesting,

and there’s been several studies about this topic in the research. This is the

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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