Multiculturalism

Listening and Notetaking

 Discussion
1. What happens to metals like iron and chromium when they
are put together inside a melting pot?
2. Why do you think the melting pot and the patchwork quilt
are often used as metaphors, or symbols, of the
multicultural character of U.S. society?
3. Does cultural diversity in a society bring more benefits or
more problems?

Melting Pot Patchwork Quilt Cultural Mosaic

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Homogeneous (adj.)
■ consisting of parts or people that are similar to each other or are of
the same type

■ homogeneity (n): Cultural homogeneity is created by education

and the media.

■ Although our neighborhood was once homogenous, today it is

populated by people from all over the world.
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Excluded (adj.)
■ to prevent someone or something from entering a place or taking
part in an activity

■ Exclude is the opposite of include.

■ exclude (v): The children are very mean to the little boy
and exclude him from all their games

■ The boy felt excluded and needed some encouragement.

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Assimilate (v)
■ to become part of a group, country, society, etc. or to make
someone or something become part of a group, country, society,
etc.

■ assimilation (n): Her assimilation into American society was complete.

■ You shouldn’t expect immigrants to assimilate into a foreign culture

immediately.
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Adopt (a child) (v)
■ to legally take a person's child into your own family and take
care of him or her as your own child

■ adoption (n): They chose adoption because they couldn't have

children of their own.

■ Brad and Angelina have adopted children from other countries

although they have three of their own.
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Inherit (v)
■ to receive money, a house, etc. from someone after they have
died

■ inheritance (n): Her inheritance was so large that she never has to
work again.

■ He inherited the family business, but he had little interest in it.

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Absorb (v)
■ to take something in, especially gradually

■ absorption (n): The body’s absorption of iron is very important in

pregnant women.

■ Children are like sponges that seem to be able to absorb

languages easily
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Deny (v)
■ to refuse/ to say that something is not true

■ denial (n): Despite the suspect’s denials, the police

charged him with murder of his neighbor.

■ Mert denied cheating on the test, but the teacher clearly

saw him copying someone else’s answer.
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Metaphor (n)
■ an object, activity, or idea that is used as a symbol of something else

■ “He was drowning in paperwork” is a metaphor in which having to

deal with a lot of paperwork is being compared to drowning in an
ocean of water.
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Blend (v)
■ to exist together as a combination

■ blend (n): The pants were made of a wool and cotton

blend.

■ blended (adj.): The blended family celebrates both

Turkish and American traditions.

■ She successfully blended western and eastern music in

her last album.
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Alloy (n)

■ a metal made by melting and mixing two or more metals or a

metal and another material together

■ Stainless steel is an alloy made from steel with chromium.

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Segregation (n)
■ the practice or policy of keeping people of different races,
religions, etc., separate from each other

■ segregate (v): In the past, many states continued

to segregate public schools.

■ Some students prefer the segregation of men and women, so

they have different classes.
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Mosaic (n)

■ something made up of different things that together form a

pattern

■ Some churches are decorated with old mosaics.

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Multiracial (adj.)

■ relating to or including more than one race of people

■ His family is multiracial.

 Vocabulary
1. metaphor
A melting pot is the traditional ______________________ for the way different groups of immigrants came
together in the United States
2. blending
In theory, the result of many nationalities _______________________ homogenous
together is one big, __________________,
culture.
3. alloy
It is like an _______________________, a combination of all the different parts mixed together into a single
whole that is different from each of its parts.
4. excluded from
Many groups, especially African, Asian, and American Indian, have at times been ________________
segregation
participating fully in society through ___________________ and discrimination.
5. assimilate
U.S. society does not _____________________ a new cultural group until later, after the new immigrants are
viewed with less prejudice.
6. The metaphor of the patchwork quilt seems right to the multiculturalists because they see the United
mosaic
States as a __________________ of separate subcultures, each one distinct from the others.
7. adopted
Of the 1.6 million children in the United States who are _____________________, about 18 percent are of a
multiracial
different race than their adopting parents, making their families ___________________.
8. inherit
Cultural influences have distinct sources. We ___________________ some of our culture from our families.
absorb
We __________________ some of our culture subconsciously from just living in the culture – through TV and
videos.
9. assimilation
With ____________________, individuals become part of the larger culture by accepting much, if not all, of
that culture.
0. The pluralistic view differs from the single culture view in that it does not mean that immigrants must forget
deny
or __________________ their original culture.
The Outlining Method
Note-taking Tips
• It organizes information into main topics, sub-topics, and supporting details with indentations.
• Bullets or numbers are often used, but if indentations are used this is not necessary
 Lecture

? Listen to the lecture and take notes.

 Comprehension Questions A
In the single-culture view, the US is seen as a
1.
melting pot The immigrants from different
_______________.
blend
nationalities 2._______________ to form a
homogeneous culture. Opponents of this view
believe that this is not the reality because
immigrants have always been
3. excluded
_______________from being a part of the
society. The main reason for this is the
4.discrimination
_______________ against them from people
who had come to the USA before them.
 Comprehension Questions B
? According to the multiculturalist view, what TWO types of groups
make up the subcultures? (write 1 word only)
5. racial
_________________________________________________
6. ethnic
_________________________________________________

? The opponents of the multiculturalist view suggest that subcultures

mix with each other. In what two ways do subcultures mix?
7. intermarriage
_________________________________________________
8. adoption of children (of another race)
_________________________________________________
 Comprehension Questions C
9. According to the pluralistic view, which of the following is NOT
mentioned as a source of cultural influences?
a) We choose some cultures that we find attractive.
b) We absorb some culture that we live in.

O We are forced to accept the culture of the country we live in.

c)
d) We inherit some culture from our families.
10. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of ‘assimilation’
according to the pluralistic view?
O Immigrants must forget or deny their original culture.
a)
b) Immigrants accept a significant part of the culture of the new
country.
c) Assimilation usually takes place in the first 3 generations.
d) By assimilation, individuals become a part of a larger group
 Discussion

1. What do you think about discrimination against

other cultures?

1. Do you think cultural diversity/multiculturalism

has advantages or disadvantages?
Extra
Discussion
Questions
 1. What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘multiculturalism’?
2. What are the good things about multiculturalism?
3. Is it possible for a country to avoid multiculturalism today?
4. How would the world be different if there was no multiculturalism in any
country?
5. Do you think multiculturalism will eventually lead to a single world mixed
race?
6. Why are many people afraid of multiculturalism?
7. Where in the world do you think multiculturalism works best?
8. Do you think multiculturalism can ever be reversed?
9. Do you think the original culture of a society that has become multicultural
like the change?
10. Is multiculturalism good for world peace and understanding?