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Immigration | English Lesson

Oct 11, 2021

Our topic today is immigration.

VOCABULARY

  • Migration: the action of moving from one country to another. A migrant is a person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work or better living conditions.
  • Immigration: the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. An immigrant is a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

To put it simply, a migrant is someone who moves temporarily to a new country while an immigrant is someone who will settle and stay permanently

  • Refugee (political, economic): a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
  • Undocumented immigrant: Undocumented immigrants are foreign nationals who lack proper authorization to be in their new country.
  • Repatriation: to return someone to their own country, sometimes against their wishes. A related word is “deportation”, which means transport someone to their home country
  • Remittances: In this context, a remittance is money that migrants or immigrants send back to their home country, usually to family.
  • Border: The legal line that separates one country from another.
  • Multiculturalism: the presence of, several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society.

DISCUSSION

Perhaps the best way to illustrate the meaning of the vocabulary is to tell you a little bit about myself. I am a Canadian, but I came to the country of Peru in 1995. I was not planning to migrate to Peru, but I ended up meeting my wife, so I decided to stay and I began to work. Life as a migrant is challenging. I needed to learn Spanish, and quickly, in order to settle in, but the challenges were exciting and I eventually fell in love with the country and decided to formally immigrate. I applied for citizenship and I was accepted.

Peruvian friends would ask me, “Alan, why did you immigrate to Peru?” In fact, it was a little odd, because, at that time, not many people were immigrating to Peru at all. In fact, Peruvians had been migrating to other countries in record numbers.  Some of them went to Canada, my own country, as refugees running from political violence and terrorism in the late 1980s. Besides political refugees, many were economic migrants who were tired of the hyperinflation and lack of job opportunities. Some followed the formal immigration process and got the proper papers. Others, the undocumented immigrants,  did not have the proper paperwork, like visas, for example. Sometimes, immigration officials in the host country will send the undocumented immigrants back to their original homes. They deport them. They repatriate them. They send them back across the border.

Once migrants and immigrants begin to work abroad –– and by “abroad” I mean another country –– they often send money back home to family. In other words, they send remittances. Experts recognize that managing legal immigration into the country offers many positive economic benefits, as well as changing the culture of the new country in a process called multiculturalism.

VOCABULARY REVIEW

  • Migration: the action of moving from one country to another. A migrant is a person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work or better living conditions.
  • Immigration: the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. An immigrant is a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

To put it simply, a migrant is someone who moves temporarily to a new country while an immigrant is someone who will settle and stay permanently

  • Refugee (political, economic): a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
  • Undocumented immigrant: Undocumented immigrants are foreign nationals who lack proper authorization to be in their new country.
  • Repatriation: to return someone to their own country, sometimes against their wishes. A related word is “deportation”, which means transport someone to their home country
  • Remittances: In this context, a remittance is money that migrants or immigrants send back to their home country, usually to family.
  • Border: The legal line that separates one country from another.
  • Multiculturalism: the presence of, several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society.

CONCLUSION

That is all for today. Did you enjoy this lesson? If so, you might be interested in our lesson about The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis, and learn more vocabulary related to refugees. The “English for Economists” podcast is new, so this is a good time to share it with your friends and colleagues. Also, if you have any suggestions or comments, write to me at alan@englishforeconomists.com. I would very much enjoy hearing from you. So, until next time, this is Alan Robert at English for Economists, wishing you a fantastic day. Take care!

 

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