La présentation

Pistes de recherche

La notion « Espaces et échanges » est souvent la notion la moins évidente à traiter surtout à cause de la difficulté à la définir. Il faut donc préciser ce que vous entendez par « espaces ».

Vous pouvez traiter des espaces réels et des espaces virtuels : un sujet qui nous touche de plus en plus au quotidien (les différentes méthodes de communication, de socialisation).

Vous pouvez explorer l’idée de voyage et ce qu’elle peut apporter aux voyageurs, ainsi qu’aux personnes rencontrées sur le chemin (la fameuse « année de césure »).

Autre angle pertinent : l’immigration. À la une de tous les journaux, l’immigration clandestine ou légale est un sujet auquel nous sommes confrontés tous les jours et les réactions diffèrent d’un pays à l’autre.

Les États-Unis et le Royaume-Uni attirent de nombreux immigrants mais la réalité de leur vie est bien différente de leurs rêves. Les réactions à leur encontre peuvent susciter une étude plus approfondie de l’histoire de l’immigration.

Vocabulaire utile

An issue (une question, un problème) an awareness campaign (une campagne de sensibilisation) to launch (lancer) to be wary of (se méfier de) to fit in (s’intégrer) a scrounger (un profiteur, un parasite) to assume (supposer).

Les documents évoqués

Un article de The Economist : www.economist.com/news/britain/21631076-rather-lot-according-new-piece-research-what-have-immigrants-ever-done-us

La campagne du JCWI : www.iamanimmigrant.net/i-am-immigrant-poster-campaign

Un article de The Independant : www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/ten-things-that-immigration-has-done-for-britain-9839549.html

Une chronologie : www.projectbritain.com/multiculture.html

L’entretien

Vocabulaire utile

An illegal immigrant (un immigré clandestin) to cross the Channel / a border (traverser la Manche / une frontière) a foreigner (un étranger) to flee (fuir) overseas (à l’étranger) brain drain (la fuite des cerveaux).

Correction

Pistes pour l’oral

PRÉSENTATION

Introduction

“PESKY immigrants. They move to Britain, taking jobs, scrounging welfare benefits, straining health services, overrunning local schools and occupying state-subsidised housing.” This is a how an article from The Economist Magazine opens a topic about the importance of immigrants to the UK. Today we are becoming more and more wary of “foreigners” taking over, immigration policies are becoming stricter and this topic was one of the main issues in the American and European elections.

In fact, immigration is the most obvious way to deal with the notion of Spaces and Exchanges: the idea of movement between countries that leads to exchange between the existing population and the new arrivals.

We may wonder why we should change our attitudes towards immigrants. How far have immigrants moved away from the stereotype of being scroungers and to what extent are they actually an essential part of a country’s economy

I will begin by giving some examples as to how immigrants are seen in today’s society before moving on to the fact that immigration has always been an integral part of the UK and finally going on to consider why immigration has suddenly become such a big issue.

Fighting stereotypes

We studied an awareness campaign launched in 2013 by The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) which shows different people making a difference to Britain. These posters were devised to help immigrants fit in and to change people’s attitudes towards them by showing what diverse and important roles they play in society.

The campaign’s main aim is to fight stereotypes and make people aware of how important immigrants are in our society. We went on to talk about which of us came from immigrant families – in our class there are 11 different origins so we can see this is also a personal issue.

Immigration is nothing new

We went on to look at an article on The Independent newspaper that proves that this “positive” impact of immigration is nothing new! Some iconic parts of Britain exist thanks to immigrants: even Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband was born in Corfu!

Another more concrete example is the NHS (the British health service) which is run thanks to nurses and doctors from all over the globe.

If we look even further back in time we could argue that Britain is a nation of immigrants! A glance at a timeline produced by Woodlands School shows us the different origins of people who have been coming to the UK since the 12th century.

Conclusion: What future for immigration in Britain

In conclusion, it seems obvious that immigrants are and have always been an integral part of the country.

But what about the future How long will it take to change people’s mentalities and stop assuming all immigrants are bad

With the wars all over the world isn’t it understandable that victims flee these terrible places Perhaps that is where the answer lies: in the past, governments encouraged foreigners to come in order to rebuild the country whereas more recently immigrants have been arriving of their own accord. Does that mean we don’t need them I don’t think so but only time will tell how we will deal with this “immigration crisis”. The most important thing is to stay informed and open-minded and refuse stereotypes.

ENTRETIEN

Voici les questions que l’examinateur pourrait poser lors de l’entretien.

Can we stay on that very subject I mean, what makes you use that expression “immigration crisis”

I used it because that is how the media present things at the moment. As I explained, immigration is nothing new. But the media present it as a recent phenomenon. Perhaps because we are more aware of what is going on around us. I mean we get news from so many different places instantly or even as it is happening. We seem to know more about who is moving where and when but not always why and I think that is a shame.

So, is it something that you feel personally affected by

Absolutely! In my city, there are regular demonstrations to protest about human rights, often about people who are here in France illegally. In my school several young people are refugees who have had to leave their countries and seek asylum in France. All they want is a better life and I don’t see why we can’t help them.

But surely you accept that there is a big difference between these illegal immigrants and the kinds of people you talked about in your presentation that have immigrated legally and want to become part of society

Of course I do. That is a very good point. But there are two consequences. Firstly, the question of opportunity, I mean many of the people who come to Europe feel they have no other option and they are desperate to reach the UK for example because of all the good things they have heard about it. Secondly, the countries that some people leave legally suffer from their departure.

Can you explain what you mean by that

Certainly! It’s called “brain drain”. It’s something else we discussed in class with regards to India in fact. The richer educated young people leave India to get better paid jobs in Europe and America but to the detriment of their country of origin. It used to be a huge problem but there is a trend that is becoming more common: these people go to Europe to be educated and then take that knowledge back to where they came from and try to give something back. I think that is a really good thing!

What about you Is it something you would ever consider Living and working abroad

I’m not sure. On the one hand, I’d love to spend some time in a foreign country: travel and meet new people from new cultures but on the other hand I’m so close to my family that I don’t think I’m cut out for a solitary life without them!

Thank you for your thoughts.