Spaces and Exchanges (Baccalauréat expression orale en anglais)




I’m going to talk about the notion “Spaces and Exchanges” and illustrate my point with one aspect of this theme: immigration by drawing on the example of Mexican immigration to the US and the students’ migration within Europe. We can wonder how these example define the notion Spaces and Exchanges? First I’d like to mention the human side of migration, and then I’d talk about the difficulties they encounter. Finally I’d like to talk about the cultural side.

Migration is not a new phenomenon. People have always migrated. But since the beginning of the 20th century, migration has been on the increase. People migrated to other places and there have lots of reasons.
For instance Wars, conflicts, persecution, poverty forces people to leave their home. We studied an article about a Mexican immigrant called Ana. She had to go to the US because she a debts and she lived in dire straits with her family in a deprived neighborhood.
Besides in another domain, some European students want to discover new countries and cultures. It’s the case of the students who take part in the Erasmus Program which is the European Union’s educational exchange program. Over two and a half million students have benefited from Erasmus since its introduction in 1987. It allows students to study in university abroad for several months.

Nevertheless migrants encounter difficulties.
Mexican immigrants face the hazard when trying to cross the American border, even more when the US authorities have built a wall and a surveillance system to deter migrants. In Ana’s case she had to play smugglers to sneak across the border. She also faced the difficulties of integration because in the US she had to find a place to live; she had to pay a broker to find a job as quickly as possible to pay people back and being undocumented she has no right.
Contrary to the US authorities, the European Commission encourages the mobility within Europe. For instance Students can encounter difficulties with accommodation but they could receive grants from the Commission

Finally there is cultural side in migration
Mexican migrants often managed to fit into their new countries. We studied an ad on which the captions are in English and in Spanish. It shows that the number of Hispanics is high in the US so it is worth targeting this community. So it strengthens the country.
In parallel, the Erasmus program allows Students to thrive abroad, to improve their linguistics skills, to discover new people, to be more open minded. We studied a document about an English Student called Alain. He took part in the program and he gained to be more independent and mature because he had to cope by herself.

To conclude migration illustrates the notion Spaces and Exchanges because it creates flows of people and cultures circulating and linking different places around the world. However immigration has a seamy side that should be considered by migrants if they have the choice. We can draw a parallel between the Mexican immigration and the power of money. 


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