MULTICULTURALISM

TODD: So CleAnn, you’re from Trinidad and Tobago and you were saying that your country has a very diverse multicultural mix?

CLEANN: Yes.

TODD: Can you talk about that?

CLEANN: Oh sure. Trinidad and Tobago mostly were made up of people from Africa (African descent) who came as slaves and Indians who came from India...mostly, I think we may also have some from parts of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, but they came as indentured laborers closer to when slavery was being abolished.

These two groups actually make up the two largest ethnic groups in Trinidad. However, there is a lot of mixing. It’s very difficult to find someone in Trinidad and Tobago who is extremely, purely of one ethnic group because everyone is sort of mixed.

We have also a lot of whites or Caucasians who are native to Trinidad and Tobago who speak exactly like me with my Caribbean accent and many people who find it very strange because they will walk around in Trinidad and think that they are tourists but realize that they are actually native Trinidadians. And many also come from Europe to settle in Trinidad after retirement and have their families here so this is how they came to stay here.

We have a very large Chinese population and its growing because now the government is encouraging immigrants from China to come in to help us with our development, to build our capital city so we have a lot of Chinese.We have a lot of Colombians, Venezuelans, people coming from South and Central America migrating to Trinidad because Spanish is now being promoted as a second language for Trinidad so street signs in our capital city are in English and Spanish.

So with all of this mixing of different people it’s very, as I said, very difficult to find a person who is of just one ethnic group and it’s reflected in our food, it’s reflected in the kind of music we listen to, sometimes in the way we dress.For me, for example, I’m mostly of African descent but my dad is mixed with people from South American ethnicity and Chinese. So, as I said, although I’m mostly African, everybody still has a little bit of something in them.

Conversation Questions

1. Why did CleAnn’s country encourage immigrants to come from China?

2. In what ways is multiculturalism reflected in the daily life of Trinidad and Tobago?

3. Do you live in a multicultural country?

4. Have you ever visited a multicultural city? If so, what identified the city as being multicultural?What were your impressions?

5. What are the benefits of multiculturalism?

6. Can you think of any negatives of multiculturalism?

7. Do you think it is possible for a multicultural city to retain its national identity?

8. The Prime Minister of Britain recently said that multiculturalism had failed in Britain because different cultures were segregated within the country and not mixing. How could this problem be solved?

9. Why do you think some country’s leaders do not want their nation to become multicultural?

10. Can you think of a city or country where multiculturalism works successfully?

11. Is multiculturalism good for world peace and understanding?

12. Some schools adopt multicultural education where the children are taught about the practices and traditions of different cultures. What are the benefits of such an education?

13. When immigrants arrive in a new country, do you think they should be required to learn the language of that country? Why / Why not?

14. Should countries offer special programs to immigrants to help them adapt in their new country. What do you think such programs should include?

15. Can multiculturalism result in a country losing its identity?

16. Do you think the whole world will eventually become a melting pot’ of different races and cultures?

vocabulary:

1. Multiculturalism -  is when different cultures or cultural 

identities exist within a society or country. 

Multiculturalism occurs when people emigrate from different 

countries around the world, taking with them their 

language, religion, food, and cultural traditions to the new 

country in which they settle.

2. Indenture - A contract binding one party into the service 

of another for a specified term

3. Descent - Hereditary derivation; lineage

4. Slavery - The condition in which one person is owned as 

property by another and is under the owner's control, 

especially in involuntary servitude.

5. Abolish - to officially end or stop

6. Ethnicity - ethnic quality or affiliation

source: http://www.englishwithjo.com/english-conversation-multiculturalism/