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Parallel reading: What is xenophobia?

With all the far right and xenophobic nonsense going on at the moment, I though I'd do a little resource for use with classes at about Y9 level (CEFR A2). The main advantage of the parallel reading format is that you can give students material which is more mature and complex from time to time. Everything is comprehensible, even if students do not get to process language deeply. So for me, it makes this sort of a resource an occasional luxury to get students thinking about issues, history, scuentific matters, society and so on. It helps counter the feeling that some students may feel that the content of language lessons is trivial.

Here is the resource. Imagine this in A4 landscape format, French on the left, English on the right. It comes from frenchteacher.net, where you'll find around 2500 editable resources.

C’est quoi, la xénophobie ?

La xénophobie est un mot un peu difficile, mais il est important de le comprendre. Ce mot vient du grec : xenos veut dire « étranger » et phobos veut dire « peur ». Donc, la xénophobie est la peur ou le rejet des personnes étrangères.

Par exemple, une personne xénophobe pense que les étrangers ne sont pas les bienvenus dans son pays. Elle peut croire que les étrangers prennent le travail des habitants, ou qu’ils ne respectent pas les traditions locales. Ces idées sont souvent fausses ou exagérées, mais elles provoquent des problèmes dans la société.

La xénophobie peut se montrer de plusieurs façons. Parfois, c’est un simple refus de parler avec une personne étrangère. Parfois, c’est un comportement méchant : insulter, discriminer, ou même être violent. Dans tous les cas, la xénophobie fait souffrir les personnes qui en sont victimes.

Pour lutter contre la xénophobie, il faut apprendre à mieux connaître les autres cultures. Quand on parle avec des personnes différentes, on comprend leurs traditions, leur langue, leur cuisine, leur histoire. Alors, on voit qu’il y a plus de ressemblances que de différences entre nous.

Le contraire de la xénophobie, c’est l’ouverture et le respect. Vivre ensemble, c’est accepter que le monde est plein de diversité. Cette diversité est une richesse pour tout le monde.

 

What is xenophobia?

Xenophobia is a difficult word, but it’s important to understand it. This word comes from Greek: xenos means “foreigner” and phobos means “fear.” So, xenophobia is the fear or rejection of foreign people.

For example, a xenophobic person thinks that foreigners are not welcome in their country. They may believe that foreigners take the jobs of local people, or that they don’t respect local traditions. These ideas are often false or exaggerated, but they create problems in society.

Xenophobia can appear in different ways. Sometimes, it’s simply refusing to talk to a foreign person. Sometimes, it’s mean behaviour: insulting, discriminating, or even being violent. In all cases, xenophobia makes the victims suffer.

To fight against xenophobia, we must learn more about other cultures. When we talk with different people, we understand their traditions, their language, their food, their history. Then, we see that there are more similarities than differences between us.

The opposite of xenophobia is openness and respect. Living together means accepting that the world is full of diversity. This diversity is a richness for everyone.

 

Cochez les phrases correctes seulement

1.    Le mot « xénophobie » vient du grec.

2.    Phobos veut dire « étranger ».

3.    La xénophobie est la peur ou le rejet des étrangers.

4.    Les personnes xénophobes pensent souvent que les étrangers prennent le travail des habitants.

5.    Les idées xénophobes sont toujours vraies.

6.    La xénophobie peut créer des problèmes dans la société.

7.    La xénophobie se montre seulement par la violence.

8.    Insulter une personne étrangère est une forme de xénophobie.

9.    La xénophobie ne fait pas souffrir les victimes.

10.  On peut lutter contre la xénophobie en découvrant d’autres cultures.

11.  Parler avec des personnes différentes aide à comprendre leurs traditions.

12.  Le texte dit que les différences sont plus importantes que les ressemblances.

13.  La langue et la cuisine sont des éléments d’une culture.

14.  Le contraire de la xénophobie est l’ouverture et le respect.

15.  La diversité est une richesse pour tout le monde.

16.  La xénophobie protège la société.

17.  La xénophobie peut être un simple refus de parler avec un étranger.

18.  Vivre ensemble, c’est accepter la diversité.

 

 

Complétez la liste de vocabulaire

 

Français

Anglais

 

everyone

ouverture

 

 

they create

 

welcome

ensemble

 

 

fear or rejection

vivre

 

 

false

 

simply refusing

discriminer

 

plusieurs

 

 

history

richesse

 

étrangères

 

 

their food

 

sometimes

 

comes from

 

Answers

The correct sentences are: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18


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