UK - A Multicultural Society

Is it a fair criticism of the British? Does it oversimplify the issues?

Discuss with a partner:

Where do your family originally come from? 

Have they always lived in your town? 

Where were your grandparents born? 

Did they ever move to another town or country? When? Why? 

Has anyone in your family ever emigrated? Where did they go? Why?

Do this task in groups

• Name as many former British colonies as you can.

• Why are the colonies important in understanding the UK today?

• Did/does your country have any colonies? When? Where?

• What was the main reason for immigration to Britain after the war?

• Think of 2 other possible reasons for ethnic groups to change country.

• Where do most immigrants in your country decide to live? Why?

Sentence completion

 ________ have been welcomed in the UK for centuries. 

Black History month celebrates the contribution that _________ people have made to British society. 

______ is not an accurate term 

After World War Two Irish and other European workers were invited to take ______ in the UK. 

India, countries in Africa and the Caribbean that had once been controlled by Britain had strong cultural links with Britain, including _______. 

The largest groups  of immigrants to the UK live in and around  ________ London.

Cloze

The UK ____ welcomed newcomers for centuries. It is a ______ of diverse ethnic groups, each with their _____ distinct culture and sometimes their _____ language or religion. This month is Black History month, celebrating the contribution that Afro Caribbean people ____ made to British society. Many British Asians _____ be celebrating Ramadan soon. There are 1.5 million Muslims in Britain with over 6,000 mosques. Asian ____ be a misleading term as it refers to all _____ people with roots or family connections in ____ former British colonies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Asian does ____ always mean that the person is of Indian descent. ____ all Asians are Muslim. Some are Hindus and others are Sikhs. These 2 groups celebrate the festival of Diwalli ___ November 6th.

The Irish have come to Britain for many years, looking for work. After World War Two Irish and other European workers were encouraged to ____ factory jobs. Britain couldn’t get _____ workers to help rebuild the economy and to work in the new Health Service so employers also looked ____ former colonies and Commonwealth countries. India, countries in Africa and the Caribbean ____ been controlled by Britain in the past and ____ strong cultural links with Britain, including the language. Many arrived in the ____ of building a new life for their young families. The descendants of these immigrants are now the teachers, the footballers, the TV presenters, the musicians and the politicians that _____ British society. There are numerous ethnic newspapers, magazines, TV programmes, radio stations and internet sites for ____ community. The largest groups live in and _____ the capital London and many other groups are concentrated ____ the industrial centres in Yorkshire, The Midlands and the South East.

Conversation tasks