Hate speech

Racist comments, “funny” memes, anonymous accounts… What is hate speech, why is there so much of it online, and how can we answer it? Three videos, three points of view: teenagers who live with it, a comedian who fights it with humour, and a researcher who studies it. Then a journalist's testimony, and it's your turn to design a counterspeech campaign.

Level B1/B2: each video has a general comprehension, then a more demanding detailed comprehension (B2).

These activities are designed to support teachers, who can include them in their own lesson sequences.

Step 1: teen voices (B1/B2)

Teenagers talk about the hate speech they see online every day.

• General comprehension What is hate speech? Where do they see it, why do people post it, and what do they do about it?
• Detailed comprehension (B2) Slur, marginalizing, own up to, get away with… catch the exact words and what they imply.
• The vocabulary list Offensive, derogatory, ableist, counterspeech… 50 words to talk about hate speech, with ▶ to listen.
• Listen and match Listen to the words and find their translation, theme by theme.
• Words and definitions (B2) No French this time: match each word with its English definition.

Step 2: comedy against hate (B1/B2)

Humza Arshad, a British Muslim comedian, answers stereotypes with humour.

• General comprehension Why did he start making videos, and why did the police want to work with him?
• Detailed comprehension (B2) “Plain terrorist number two”: irony, intentions and precise words.

Step 3: the expert's view (B2)

Erin Marie Saltman, a researcher in London, explains counterspeech.

• General comprehension Online or offline? What is counterspeech, and why isn't censorship enough?
• Detailed comprehension (B2) Grey area, rhetoric, undermining, symptom: the language of research.
• The interview: drag the words Watch again and put the missing words back in the interview.

Step 4: a testimony (B2)

Anita Sethi was racially abused on a train. She decided to speak up (The Guardian, 2019).

• Read the article A journalist tells her story, with the translation of the difficult words.
• Global comprehension What happened on the train, who helped her, and why did she write this article?
• Detailed comprehension (B2) Rosa Parks, gaslighting, “are you sure?”: implications, images and arguments, paragraph by paragraph.
• The words of justice and courage Convicted, evidence, held my ground, emboldened… complete 14 sentences.
• Your turn to write What would you have done on that train? Three topics, with a plan if you need it.

Step 5: your turn (B1/B2)

Compare the three points of view, then take action.

• Three points of view A teenager, a comedian or a researcher: who said it?
• Your counterspeech campaign Design a campaign that answers hate with something positive, then debate: report, ignore or answer?