First Year – English II Ms.

Chatti

Migration Trends
Before You Read:
1. Examine the given pictures and label each with the suitable verb based on the given definitions
below:

…………………………….. …………………………………. ………………………………

a. To migrate /ˈmʌɪɡreɪt/: 1. (of an animal, typically a bird or fish) move from one region or habitat
to another according to the seasons./ 2. move from one part of something to another. Think move
b. To emigrate /ˈɛmɪɡreɪt/: leave one's own country in order to settle permanently in another. Think 1
exit
c. To immigrate /ˈɪmɪɡreɪt/: come to live permanently in a foreign country. Think come in

2. Complete the sentences below by inserting the appropriate verb from the list above:
 People are prepared to travel and …………………. within America
 I wish we could ………………….from here every winter, as the birds do!
 We won’t grant a visa to you because you have the tendency to ………………….
 Mexican farm workers …………………. into the US each year to find work at harvest time.
 Citizens from 17 European Union countries were given freedom to …………………. to
Switzerland in 2007.
 In the 1700s and 1800s, many Irish …………………. from Ireland and …………………. to
Canada, the USA, New Zealand, and Australia.
 Every summer, many people …………………. temporarily to Germany in quest of work.

3. Every year, Tunisians immigrate to the Golf countries, Europe and North America. For
what reasons do they do that?

Lesson 7 May 2021

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 First Year – English II Ms. Chatti

While You Read:

1. Take a look at the title, do you agree with it? Why? Why not?

Tunisia: Illegal migration and brain-drain, two sides of the same coin
 Tunisians have lost hope in their country. While in 2011 they thought a new page had been turned,
in 2017 with over 50% of young people wanting to leave the country according to an EU poll, the very
idea of a personal future in Tunisia seems out of the question. The political and economic moroseness
of the environment is conjoined, especially in the minds of young people, with a desire to live
somewhere else, to discover something different. And there are more and more people leaving, by sea
and by air.
 The fall of the dinar with respect to the euro also preys on people’s minds, especially the engineers.
Marwa is an engineer who lives in Tunis but is preparing to leave for Canada. She has a hard time
accepting the situation here: “I have a friend who works part-time as a waitress in Denmark. She makes
more than an engineer does here. OK, the cost of living is a lot higher up there but it’s still pretty hard
to swallow.” According to the Tunisian Order of Engineers, some ten thousand members of their
profession have left the country since 2016. Besides the question of salary, engineers—especially at
the start of their careers—have more specific problems. For Zohra, who is about to begin an end-of-
studies internship in France, “Engineers are terribly underestimated. An enormous potential is going
to waste. Their training is not up-to-date with the labor market.”
 Engineering and medicine are the professions most often cited in connection with a “brain drain.” 2
And yet the expression is open to question: as it is discussed today, “brain drain” conveys the illusion
of a choice, an individual decision taken by the emigrants. However, this is not quite the case. The
countries prompting doctors and engineers “to drain” are creating a demand, which creates an offer. It
is the selective immigration policies of countries like France, Germany and Canada which lie
concealed behind the term “brain drain.” There will be much hand-wringing over massive departures
of “brains” or the “elites,” doctors, engineers, but none will dare challenge the shortfall brought about
by the selective immigration policies at the origin of the drain.
Source: nawaat.org
07 May 2019
(Adapted)
2. After reading the text, fill out in the table below:

Push Factors Pull Factors

…………………………………………......... ………………………………………….........
………………………………………………. ……………………………………………….
………………………………………………. ……………………………………………….
………………………………………………. ……………………………………………….
………………………………………………. ……………………………………………….

Lesson 7 May 2021

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 First Year – English II Ms. Chatti

3. With reference to the second paragraph, as it is the case for Marwa’s friend, if you had the
chance to emigrate but work without your degree, would you go for it?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Refer back to the last paragraph. Do you think of “brain drain” as a choice or an offer?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

After You Read:

1. Complete each the following sentences with the appropriate word from the given list:

permanent residency, Displaced, Immigration laws, Smuggling, push factors, Asylum-

seekers, brain drain, immigrants, refugee status.

 …………………………… can make it easy or difficult for …………………………… to

move
 I have lived here for over 3 years now, because I have ……………………………
 The …………………………… for the recent influx of immigrants are many, including
war, persecution, and economic issues. 3
 Thousands of people have been …………………………… in recent years due to war and
violence in their home countries.
 …………………………… is an issue many governments try to stop, because they want to
know what’s coming across their borders.
 The country suffered from …………………………… when all of their doctors started
moving away to other countries.
 By law, I am allowed to stay here permanently because I have a ……………………………
and cannot return home due to danger.
 …………………………… are growing in number as the war continues.

2. In groups, think of the following question: How can we turn brain drain into brain gain?

Lesson 7 May 2021

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