Dans la fenêtre qui s’ouvre, choisissez Enregistrer en PDF comme imprimante.
Anglais · Première
Ce chapitre raconte l'arrivée en 1948 des migrants caribéens à bord de l'Empire Windrush, venus aider la Grande-Bretagne à se reconstruire après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Tu étudies aussi leurs espoirs, le scandale Windrush des années 2010 et leur reconnaissance officielle aujourd'hui, avec le vocabulaire et la grammaire utiles pour en parler (make + comparatif, present perfect).
Axe 1 : Identités et échanges. Unit 1 : How has the Windrush Generation helped shape today's UK?
The Windrush generation = the people from the Caribbean who came to live and work in the UK from 1948 (arrival of the ship Empire Windrush) to the early 1970s.
Document : London is the place for me, art print by Eliza Southwood, 2019.
| English | Français |
|---|---|
| a ship / a boat | un navire / un bateau |
| a flag (the Union Jack) | un drapeau (le drapeau britannique) |
| a cap / a hat / a suit / a tie | une casquette / un chapeau / un costume / une cravate |
| to wear → They are wearing… | porter (un vêtement) |
| fancy clothes / well dressed | des habits élégants / bien habillé |
| a taxi = a cab (a black cab) | un taxi (le taxi noir londonien) |
| to depart / to leave | partir |
| to board / to get on / to embark | monter à bord, embarquer |
| to get off / to disembark | descendre, débarquer |
| to dock / a dock | accoster / un quai |
| home country / homeland / mother country | pays d'origine / patrie / mère patrie |
« unboard » n'existe pas : on dit to get off ou to disembark.
In the drawing, many people are getting off a big ship, the Empire Windrush. They are wearing fancy clothes: suits, ties, hats and caps. They are well dressed. The ship is from London and flies the British flag. There is also a black cab. The passengers are probably travelling from a British colony in the Caribbean, like Jamaica.
Map British territories in the Caribbean, 1914: Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Belize, Guyana, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, the British Leeward and Windward Islands.
These territories were British colonies: their inhabitants were British subjects / colonial citizens. They saw Britain as “the Mother Country”.
Calypso = a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago: rhythmic melodies, humorous lyrics, storytelling, often about political or social issues, played with steelpan and percussion. Famous calypsonians: Lord Kitchener and Lord Beginner.
The document presents a man, Alford, one of the last passengers of the Empire Windrush still alive. Many years ago, he left his home country, Jamaica, and moved to Britain. The ship brought hundreds of West Indians (Caribbeans) to the UK because people from the British colonies were invited to come and work there. On the ship, they danced and listened to calypso music.
A 1948 calypso song by Aldwyn Roberts, better known as Lord Kitchener. Extracts:
London is the place for me
London this lovely city
You can go to France or America,
India, Asia or Australia
But you must come back to London cityI am glad to know my mother country
To live in London you are really comfortable
Because the English people are very much sociable
They take you here and they take you there
And they make you feel like a millionaireI mean my life in London is really magnificent
Q1. How do the West Indians see London? London seems very nice and agreeable (lovely city, magnificent). There are many beautiful places (Shaftesbury Avenue, Hampton Court, the beautiful scenery) and job opportunities. The Londoners seem very friendly, welcoming and sociable (they make you feel like a millionaire).
Q2. What is their mindset? They are happy and optimistic about moving to the UK because they hope to find a better life there. They leave their homeland with confidence and the desire to discover new opportunities. They seem joyful, enthusiastic, excited and grateful (= thankful). They don't seem to feel homesick: they are not missing their home country.
to be homesick = avoir le mal du pays (≈ nostalgie) · grateful = thankful = reconnaissant · optimistic, enthusiastic, excited, joyful · a mindset = un état d'esprit
Why did Britain need workers? After the Second World War, Britain was short of workers. Its economy was weakened by the war and many buildings had been bombed. The new reforming Labour government needed men and women to rebuild the country:
So Britain asked people from its colonies, mainly from the Caribbean, to come and work in the UK.
| Date | Immigration from the Caribbean |
|---|---|
| 22 June 1948 | The Empire Windrush arrives at Tilbury. |
| 1948–1952 | between 1,000 and 2,000 people a year (slow start) |
| until 1957 | steady and rapid rise: 42,000 migrants from the New Commonwealth in 1957 |
| 1958–1959 | numbers declined by almost a half |
| 1960 | increase again: 58,000 |
| 1961 | numbers more than doubled, in anticipation of the 1962 law |
| 1961 census | just over 161,000 Caribbean-born people in England and Wales: 90,000 men and just over 71,000 women |
| 1962 | Commonwealth Immigrants Act: restricts entry into the UK |
Immigration did NOT “keep increasing” from 1948 to 1962: it fell by almost half in 1958–1959. The rush of 1961 is explained by the fear of the 1962 law: people came before entry was restricted.
Jobs: men in manufacturing, construction and public transport; many women in the NHS as nurses and nursing aides, and in factories.
Why did Caribbeans leave? Mostly young people left for the UK to find work (job vacancies), to seek a different life, to escape poverty, societal oppression or family restrictions. Many had fought or worked for the UK during the war. They felt they were “coming home” to join an imperial family to which they belonged. But leaving close family and friends was harder than they had imagined, and some of them finally didn't like the UK.
The picture is on the cover of the newspaper The Guardian. It shows people demonstrating to support the Windrush generation. They are holding signs and wearing hats with feathers and traditional costumes.
The document is an interview with Amelia Gentleman, a journalist who works for The Guardian. She wrote the story of Paulette Wilson, 61 years old, who had lived in Britain for 50 years. In 2017, the Home Office (le ministère de l'Intérieur) declared her an illegal migrant and she spent time in detention. Many people of the Windrush generation had the same problems.
The Windrush scandal: when they arrived, many Windrush migrants did not receive ID papers. Decades later, the Home Office, which wanted to get rid of illegal immigrants, considered them illegal. They had to prove they had lived, worked and had families and accommodation in Britain. Some lost their jobs, were sent to detention centres or were threatened with deportation to the Caribbean, while they had lived all their lives in Britain and had never been back.
The Home Office applied a “hostile environment” policy (from 2012) and Parliament passed the Immigration Acts of 2014 and 2016. The scandal was revealed in 2017–2018 by Amelia Gentleman. Since 2018, Windrush Day is celebrated on 22 June.
The video is about the Windrush scandal. We learn about a woman who arrived in the UK when she was young. In 2014, she had problems because she couldn't prove that she had the right to stay in the country. She had difficulties with her job and her driving licence was taken away by the Home Office. The video also explains that the Home Office knew about these problems but didn't do enough to help the Windrush generation.
Imagine the interview of a Windrush generation person about their arrival in Britain, their education and job, their family and their issue with the Home Office.
Compréhension orale : speech at the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument (a statue by the sculptor Basil Watson), unveiled by Windrush pioneers Alford and John.
“the Windrush generation has made our culture richer, our services stronger and our fellow countrymen safer.”
| English | Français |
|---|---|
| to demonstrate | manifester |
| to support | soutenir |
| to get rid of | se débarrasser de |
| to threaten | menacer |
| while | alors que / pendant que |
| to take away / to revoke | retirer (un permis) |
| to leave for (the UK) | partir pour |
| to get away from | s'éloigner de, fuir |
to retire = prendre sa retraite, pas « retirer ». its economy (possessif) ≠ it's (= it is).
| slow down / repeat | ralentir / répéter |
| step aside | se décaler |
| a break / recess | une pause / la récréation |
| a test / an assignment / an exam | un contrôle / un devoir / un examen |
| a board / a screen | un tableau / un écran |
| the AC / the heater, the heating | la clim / le chauffage |
| turn on / turn off | allumer / éteindre |
| raise your hand | lever la main |
Piège : « unboard » n'existe pas : dis « to get off » ou « to disembark ».
Piège : Pour les Caribéens, « the Mother Country » désigne la Grande-Bretagne, pas la Jamaïque.
Piège : La chanson montre un rêve très optimiste : ne la confonds pas avec la réalité vécue ensuite (racisme, scandale).
Piège : L'immigration n'a pas augmenté sans arrêt : elle a baissé de presque moitié en 1958–1959.
Piège : Le Home Office ne « vote » pas de lois : c'est le ministère ; c'est le Parlement qui vote.
Piège : Jamais « more richer » : soit -er, soit more, jamais les deux.
Découper chaque carte, la plier sur le pointillé et écrire la réponse au dos.
Une seule bonne réponse par question.
When did the Empire Windrush arrive at Tilbury?
Who sang “London is the place for me”?
Where does calypso come from?
For Caribbean migrants, “the Mother Country” was…
Which verb means « débarquer » ?
Why did Britain need workers after WWII?
What happened to Caribbean immigration in 1958–1959?
Why did immigration more than double in 1961?
Which law restricted entry into the UK in 1962?
In the 1961 census, how many Caribbean-born people lived in England and Wales?
Where did many Caribbean women work?
“to be homesick” means…
“to demonstrate” in the Guardian picture means…
Which sentence is correct?
The Windrush generation has made Britain…
Specialities make students…
Who revealed the Windrush scandal?
What is the Home Office?
Why were Windrush migrants considered illegal?
She ___ in Britain for 50 years (and still lives there).
Some Caribbeans wanted to get away ___ their families.
According to Prince William, the Windrush generation has made “our fellow countrymen…”
Use what you know about the text by Linda McDowell (2018) and these data:
| 1948–1952 | 1,000 to 2,000 Caribbean migrants a year |
| 1957 | 42,000 migrants from the New Commonwealth |
| 1958–1959 | numbers declined by almost a half |
| 1960 | 58,000 |
| 1961 | numbers more than doubled |
| 1961 census | just over 161,000 Caribbean-born people in England and Wales: 90,000 men, just over 71,000 women |
A. Write sentences with make + object + comparative (past simple).
B. Correct the mistakes.
C. Translate into English.
Read again these lines from “London is the place for me” (Lord Kitchener, 1948):
To live in London you are really comfortable
Because the English people are very much sociable
They take you here and they take you there
And they make you feel like a millionaire