Oral : spaces and exchanges

[audreynmn]

Hello!

J'aimerai avoir vos avis et corrections sur ma préparation de l'oral du bac sur la notion spaces and exchanges  merci d'avance!

Tune In: Cartoon p.20 ; Video: Border Wall Alternative, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM_fOKv8QI ;G. Naggle, Development and Underdevelopment, Nelson 2004.

• I'm going to speak about the notion spaces and exchanges and first of all, I would like to define it. An exchange, according to its general definition, is the act of giving or receiving something in substitution for something else. In today’s modern-day world, these exchanges can take several forms: economic exchanges, that's to say work exchanges, exchange of goods, trading across borders or cultural. There is also the exchange of ideas, information, education, or the movement of people such as immigration, student exchanges, gap years and tourism… Our present world is changing quickly and seems to become a smaller place thanks to improvements made in technologies and communication forms. Information exchange has become easier thanks to the internet for example.These different types of interactions have transformed our modern-day world – sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Therefore, in order to illustrate this notion I have chosen to talk about, I attempt to answer the question Why is the Mexican Border Wall a controversial issue?

• First, the Mexico-United States barrier is also known as the border fence or the border wall. - It covers one-third of the US southern frontier with Mexico. It can either be a real, material wall, or a “virtual” fence, with a network of cameras, motion detectors... Its length is patrolled by border patrols, drug enforcement and FBI agents. For its supporters, it is supposed to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the US, to stop drug traffickers and limit violence related to drugs while its opponents claim that it’s a waste of money, that it is ineffective to avoid illegal immigration and it damages the environment.

• When the first settlers arrived in America, they actually expelled the native from where they lived to better settle. Building, nowadays a wall to prevent illegal immigration can actually be paradoxical to the extent that most of inhabitants of the USA are not natives but descendant of the families of settlers and immigrants. This idea is developped in the cartoon by Jeff Parker published in Florida Today in 2006. The author obviously aims at making an ironic comparison between the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers and the present day issue of illegal immigration in the US. When the Pilgrims arrived, not only did the Indians accept their presence but they even helped them. If the Indians had not taught them to farm, they would all have starved to death. In today’s society, the Mexico-United States border wall is being built and millions of dollars a year are spent to keep people out. At that time, the Indians did not try to make these newcomers assimilate into their own culture but they simply let them be. This is really not the case nowadays. Plus, it doesn't really stops immigration as it is most of the time ineffective. Indeed, the Mexico/United States Wall is the most crossed over in the world. As proves in the press article written by G. Naggle, the border is too long to be perfectly guarded by authorities, and consequently, over 300 000 illegal immigrants enter the United States of America each year. However, the fact that there are many attemps to cross the border causes a lot of deaths per year; a memorial was even built on the wall itself to remember those casualties that died because of something so pointless and absurd .

• On another hand, the Mexico-United-States border can actually be transformed into something a lot more positive. A professor in the University gave some ideas to improve the purpose of the wall. Instead of dividing people, it could unite them, connect communities on both sides of the wall and facilitate exchanges. He suggests, for example, to create a solar farm in order to produce solar energy, since the US-Mexico border is the ideal place for this industry. He also proposes to collect rain water to prevent illegal immigrants from dying of dehydration when crossing the desert, since the number of casualties has increased over the years. In addition, a waste water treatment plant could be built to purify the polluted water of the New River, which could be used to irrigate fields. Besides, a bi-national library could be built so that the people could exchange books. Last, a burrito wall could be imagined with tables and seats where people could enjoy food and the people’s company; that's to say transform it in a social infrastructure. These satirical designs all reveal the absurdity of this wall and would actually change the purpose of the wall which is really to divide people and not to allow exchanges between populations.

• All those proposed changes are actually just speculations, this is not actually real and it proves that currently the wall is just an issue that can't be considered in a positive apsect (from a point of view of people not opposed to immigration). This idea to prevent immigration when most of the population is from an immigrant background is very paradoxical and hypocrite. According to me, those three are explicit enough to make us understand that the Mexican Border Wall creates more issues that it prevents. The message each author wants to spread is easily undertsood. What's more is that all those criticisms are made by American themselves ; they are conscious of the issues their country is facing. Besides, walls are, to my mind symbols of oppression and it is actually really surprising and scary that nowadays walls are still built despite of the bad experience of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War.

 

[Jean B]

Hello,

Thanks for writing good English, which does save my nerves. There are just a few things to alter.

When the first settlers arrived in America, they actually expelled the natives from where they lived in order to settle in better conditions.

...to the extent that most of inhabitants of the USA are not natives...

At that time, the Indians did not try to make integrate these newcomers assimilate into their own culture but...

Plus, it doesn't really stops immigration as it is most of the time ineffective.<< Si tu prononces la sifflante finale parasite, elle s'entendra et sera sanctionnée. Relis-toi ! Est-il besoin de rappeler que seule la base verbale s'emploie après l'auxiliaire ?

... a memorial was even built on the wall itself to remember those casualties that died because of something so pointless and absurd. << Pléonasme ! casualties = people that died

A professor in the (university) professor gave some ideas to improve the purpose of the wall. << "professor" implique qu'il/elle est prof d'université

... that the Mexican Border Wall creates more issues that than it prevents.

... is easily understood.

What's more is that all those criticisms are made by American themselves

... despite of the bad experience of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. << despite  ou in spite of = en dépit de/malgré Ne les confonds pas. 

Congratulations on the overall quality of your English. Good luck!