Skip to main content

A22 – Multicultural Society

Vlastnosti
predmetAnglický jazyk
typmaturitná téma
okruhanglický jazyk
číslo22
stavvypracované
Zadanie

Talk about what a multicultural society is, immigration and cultural adaptation, its advantages and disadvantages, and tolerance towards other cultures.

1. Osnova témy​

  • What „multicultural" means, and which cities and countries are multicultural.
  • Why people migrate — work, study, marriage, freedom, safety.
  • Cultural adaptation and the difficulties immigrants face.
  • The advantages and disadvantages of living in a foreign country.
  • Minorities in Slovakia and their rights.
  • Prejudice, stereotypes, xenophobia and racism.
  • Two models: the „melting pot" and the „cultural mosaic".
  • International institutions — the EU and NATO.

2. Kľúčová slovná zásoba​

  • multiculturalism: cultural diversity (rozmanitosť), cultural mosaic, acceptance, appreciation, tolerance, respect for diversity, interaction of cultures, dual citizenship (dvojité občianstvo), bicultural person
  • assimilation: melting pot, to integrate, to assimilate, to preserve one's culture and religion, cultural identity, cultural uniqueness, loss of native culture
  • migration: immigrant, emigrant, migrant, refugee (utečenec), asylum seeker (žiadateľ o azyl), expatriate, to settle down (usadiť sa), brain drain (odliv mozgov), work permit, residence permit, citizenship
  • reasons for migration: job opportunities, better living conditions, study exchange, bicultural marriage, search for freedom, escaping war or persecution (prenasledovanie), poverty
  • adaptation: to adapt to a new culture, culture shock, language barrier, to learn the language, to make new contacts, to find a job, to get a new qualification, homesickness (stesk po domove)
  • minorities: ethnic minority, national minority, religious minority, racial minority, majority, the right to education in one's mother tongue, minority rights
  • negative phenomena: prejudice (predsudok), stereotype, discrimination, xenophobia, racism, intolerance, segregation, social exclusion, racist attack, riot (nepokoje), hate speech
  • positive attitudes: tolerance, empathy, open-mindedness, respect, equality, equal opportunities, integration, inclusion
  • institutions: the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Court of Human Rights, NATO, member state, an intergovernmental military alliance, collective defence

3. Užitočné frázy a väzby​

  • A multicultural society is one in which people of different origins, races, religions and cultures live side by side.
  • Typical examples are cities like London, New York or Toronto.
  • People migrate for a whole range of reasons.
  • Cultural adaptation is much harder when the values and the religion are very different.
  • Living abroad has its advantages, but it can also be very lonely.
  • Unfortunately, prejudice against minorities still exists.
  • A stereotype is a simplified idea about a whole group of people, and it is almost always unfair.
  • We should judge people as individuals, not as members of a group.
  • The English idiom says: when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
  • In my opinion, diversity makes a society richer, not weaker.
  • To sum up, tolerance is something that has to be learned.

4. Modelová odpoveď​

A multicultural society is one in which people of different origins, races, religions and cultures live together in the same place. Typical examples are large cities such as London, New York, Toronto or Sydney, where you can hear dozens of languages in a single street.

People migrate for many reasons. The most common one is economic — they look for work and for better living conditions. Others move because of study exchanges, because they marry somebody from another country, or because they want to live in a freer society. And some are refugees who are simply escaping war, poverty or persecution and have no real choice at all.

Adapting to a new country is not easy. The biggest obstacle is usually the language, but there are others: finding a job, having your qualifications recognised, understanding unwritten social rules, and dealing with culture shock. Adaptation is far more difficult when the values or the religion of the new country are very different from those the person grew up with.

Living abroad has clear advantages. You learn a foreign language properly, you become independent because you have to look after yourself and pay your own bills, you meet new people, you get to know other traditions, and you generally become more open-minded. But there are disadvantages too. You may feel lonely, your family and old friends are far away, there is nobody to help you when something goes wrong, and you are always to some extent a guest who has to get used to new rules.

There are two classic models of how this works. The American „melting pot" assumes that newcomers gradually blend into one common culture. The Canadian „cultural mosaic" assumes instead that each group keeps its own identity while contributing to the whole. Personally I find the second model more attractive, because nobody should have to give up who they are.

Slovakia is a smaller and less diverse country, but it is not homogeneous either. Besides Slovaks there are Hungarian, Roma, Czech, Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Polish and other communities, and there are Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish and other religious groups. Minorities have the right to use their language and to be educated in it.

The dark side of all this is prejudice. A stereotype is a simplified, fixed idea about an entire group of people, and it is almost always unfair, because no group is uniform. Prejudice easily grows into discrimination, xenophobia and racism, and in the worst cases into violence. The usual cause is simply ignorance — people are suspicious of those they know nothing about. The remedy is contact, education and the habit of judging people as individuals rather than as representatives of a category.

Finally, Slovakia is a member of two important international organisations. The European Union brings free movement of people, goods and services, so we can study, work and travel freely across Europe. NATO is a military alliance based on collective defence, in which an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.

In my opinion, a multicultural society is a richer society. Different cultures bring different food, music, ideas and ways of solving problems. What it requires from us is tolerance — and tolerance is not something we are born with, it is something we have to learn.

5. Otázky na diskusiu​

  1. Which countries or cities would you describe as multicultural, and why?
  2. Is Slovakia a multicultural country?
  3. What rights do minorities living in Slovakia have?
  4. Why do people leave their home country?
  5. What difficulties do immigrants face in a new country?
  6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living abroad?
  7. What is the difference between the „melting pot" and the „cultural mosaic"?
  8. Where do prejudices against other groups come from?
  9. Have you ever experienced or witnessed discrimination?
  10. What can schools do to teach tolerance?

6. Zhrnutie na ústnu odpoveď​

  • Definícia: people of different origins, races, religions and cultures living together; London, New York, Toronto.
  • Prečo ľudia migrujú: work, better conditions, study, marriage, freedom, war and persecution.
  • Adaptácia: language barrier, qualifications, culture shock, homesickness.
  • Život v cudzine — plusy: language, independence, new people, open-mindedness.
  • Mínusy: loneliness, no family, always a guest.
  • Dva modely: melting pot (assimilation) vs. cultural mosaic (keeping identity).
  • Slovensko: Hungarian, Roma, Czech, Ruthenian, Ukrainian minorities; right to language and education.
  • Predsudky: stereotype → prejudice → discrimination → xenophobia and racism; cause = ignorance, cure = contact and education.
  • Inštitúcie: the EU (free movement) and NATO (collective defence).
Čo povedať na skúške

Učiteľkin materiál obsahuje zoznam „národných pováh" a pri Rómoch aj vetu, že sú „lazy and dirty". Toto na skúške nikdy nehovor — je to presne ten typ predsudku, o ktorom táto téma pojednáva, a komisii by to prekážalo oprávnene. Ak sa téma stereotypov objaví, obráť ju: povedz, že stereotypes are simplified ideas about whole groups and they are almost always unfair, a uveď to ako príklad problému, nie ako fakt. Rovnako používaj Roma, nie „Gypsies".

Súvisiace poznámky​

Kontrolné otázky​

Which countries or cities would you describe as multicultural, and why?

The USA, Canada, Britain; cities like London, New York and Toronto, where people of many nationalities, religions and languages live together.

Is Slovakia a multicultural country?

Partly. Most people are Slovaks, but there are Hungarian, Roma, Czech, Ruthenian and Ukrainian minorities, and more foreigners come to work here.

What rights do minorities living in Slovakia have?

The right to use their language, to education in their language, to develop their culture and to be protected from discrimination.

Why do people leave their home country?

For work and better pay, education, love, or to escape war, persecution or poverty.

What difficulties do immigrants face in a new country?

The language barrier, finding a job and housing, different customs, homesickness and prejudice.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of living abroad?

Advantages: new experience, a language, often better pay. Disadvantages: loneliness, missing family and difficulties fitting in.

What is the difference between the "melting pot" and the "cultural mosaic"?

In a melting pot (USA) cultures mix into one common identity. In a cultural mosaic (Canada) each group keeps its own culture while living together.

Where do prejudices against other groups come from?

From ignorance, fear of the unknown, stereotypes, family upbringing and the media.

Have you ever experienced or witnessed discrimination?

Describe a situation briefly (e.g. jokes about a classmate's origin) and say how you felt and what should have been done.

What can schools do to teach tolerance?

Teach about other cultures, organise exchange programmes, invite guests and clearly stop bullying and racism.

🔗 Spätné odkazy (10)