The term ‘Cultural Diversity’ refers to the presence of cultures different to the majority culture in a society. There are two approaches to cultural diversity: Multiculturalism, which institutionalises tolerance and inclusion by law and uniculturalism, which allows cultural minorities to express their culture but regards the majority culture as national ethos. The opposite of cultural diversity is the approach of monoculturalism, which aims for a homogenous society by only entitling the majority culture to express itself (The Open University, 2015). In this essay, I will outline both the positive and negative impact cultural diversity has on society and will conclude which of the two impacts outweighs the other.
The absence of cultural diversity in a …show more content…
78), studying a language improves one’s academic scores on other subjects, especially maths. Bilingual students surpass monolingual students academically, occasionally by over 10%. The approach that a student’s home languages supports integration and both home and host language should be maintained is called additive bilingualism. According to The Open University (2015), parents and former teachers mentioned several advantages of this approach, such as the introduction of different religions, languages and cultures to children. In fact, the general view was that the approach would be able to create a harmonious environment, since this exposure increases tolerance and respect. Additionally, the encouragement of the home language allows the children to feel that the host community respects and accepts their language. However, the teachers and parents also mentioned potential disadvantages of additive bilingualism, such as the possibility of children who recently immigrated to the host country to only associate with children who speak their home language, unless actively encouraged to also associate with students from different linguistic
The absence of cultural diversity in a …show more content…
78), studying a language improves one’s academic scores on other subjects, especially maths. Bilingual students surpass monolingual students academically, occasionally by over 10%. The approach that a student’s home languages supports integration and both home and host language should be maintained is called additive bilingualism. According to The Open University (2015), parents and former teachers mentioned several advantages of this approach, such as the introduction of different religions, languages and cultures to children. In fact, the general view was that the approach would be able to create a harmonious environment, since this exposure increases tolerance and respect. Additionally, the encouragement of the home language allows the children to feel that the host community respects and accepts their language. However, the teachers and parents also mentioned potential disadvantages of additive bilingualism, such as the possibility of children who recently immigrated to the host country to only associate with children who speak their home language, unless actively encouraged to also associate with students from different linguistic