Written Comprehension 19/03/2020
The Brain Drain: Old myths, new realities
The United States is the main pole of attraction for foreign skilled workers; 40% of its
foreign-born adult population have tertiary level education. Since the early 1990s, some
900 000 highly skilled professionals, mainly IT workers, from India, China, Russia and a
few OECD1 countries (including Canada, the UK and Germany) have migrated to the
United States under the H1B2 temporary visa programme. […] International mobility of
skilled workers can generate global benefits by improving knowledge flows […]. The
contribution of foreign skilled workers to economic growth and achievement in host
countries, in particular to research, innovation and entrepreneurship, is increasingly
recognised – witness the number of foreign-born US Nobel Prize winners or creators of
global high tech companies, such as Intel or eBay, and other successful start-ups. […]
The harsh reality is that only a handful of countries have been successful in luring their
talented emigrés back home […]; in 2000, it was estimated that some 1,500 highly
qualified Indians returned from the United States, although more than 30 times that
number depart each year. The risk of a Brain Drain is real. Yet countries can create
opportunities for research, innovation and entrepreneurship at home and stimulate a
return flow of migrants and capital, as well as win access to international innovation
networks.
1. OECD (n.) = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
2. H1B visa = a visa granted to foreign skilled workers for specialty occupations.
“The Brain Drain: Old myths, new realities”,
Read the document and answer the questions (make sentences)
1/ Where do skilled workers come from?
2/ Do all talented immigrants go back home ?
3/ Who does it benefit ?
4/ Identify solutions to stop the brain drain
useful voc : Actually / In reality…
The solutions given are…
writing : Have you ever considered emigrating to the US? Why or why not?
Useful vocabulary: If I were... If I had... I would probably...
I have already / never considered emigrating to the US because…
I feel like immigrating to the US...
I seriously consider going to the US because...
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