People who are seeking to come to the UK to work or to join a spouse already living here should be required to learn English, the Commission on Integration and Cohesion says.

It wants ministers to consider changing immigration rules to ensure new arrivals have some command of the language before being allowed to come as a worker or through marriage.

 

But under current proposals, only migrants who are unemployed or on benefits will qualify for free English lessons from September.

 

Here, three people who came to Britain with little or no English language skills describe the challenges they would face learning English in their home countries and how lessons at London's Lewisham College have changed their lives

 

From BBC News Online

 

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I think it's a great idea, was so happy when I heard about it. If foreigners are coming to live in England, an English speaking country, then they should be speaking English.

 

It is quite frustrating at work when I'm dealing with Asian or Polish (there are quite a large number of Polish people around where I work) and trying to explain something to them and I can't understand what they are saying.

 

And phrases such as 'number?' ('price?') 'you get this for me' are just rude.

 

We can't afford to let this country end up speaking a completely whole other language, I think this is a great idea to hlelp prevent this :D

People who are seeking to come to the UK to work or to join a spouse already living here should be required to learn English, the Commission on Integration and Cohesion says.

It wants ministers to consider changing immigration rules to ensure new arrivals have some command of the language before being allowed to come as a worker or through marriage.

 

But under current proposals, only migrants who are unemployed or on benefits will qualify for free English lessons from September.

 

Here, three people who came to Britain with little or no English language skills describe the challenges they would face learning English in their home countries and how lessons at London's Lewisham College have changed their lives

 

From BBC News Online

 

------------------------------------------------

 

I think it's a great idea, was so happy when I heard about it. If foreigners are coming to live in England, an English speaking country, then they should be speaking English.

 

It is quite frustrating at work when I'm dealing with Asian or Polish (there are quite a large number of Polish people around where I work) and trying to explain something to them and I can't understand what they are saying.

 

And phrases such as 'number?' ('price?') 'you get this for me' are just rude.

 

We can't afford to let this country end up speaking a completely whole other language, I think this is a great idea to hlelp prevent this :D

 

Fair enough, if British migrants who go to other people's countries are prepared to do the same thing (which the vast majority are NOT...), does the sizeable ex-pat community living in Spain, France, India or the Oil-rich Sheikhdoms of the Middle East make any attempt to learn the language of those countries....? Nope......

 

Fair enough, if British migrants who go to other people's countries are prepared to do the same thing (which the vast majority are NOT...), does the sizeable ex-pat community living in Spain, France, India or the Oil-rich Sheikhdoms of the Middle East make any attempt to learn the language of those countries....? Nope......

 

Exactly, we need to respect others cultures and traditions and language when we are abroad, until then we have no right to complain about other respecting ours.

This is geat news - but why did it take them so long to do this, surely the sensible option?

This is geat news - but why did it take them so long to do this, surely the sensible option?

 

The Brits that go and live in Spain do you feel that they should be made to learn Spanish too ? the Brits I know that live in Spain know about 3 words between them (mostly alcohol related :rolleyes: ) and live in their own little community and never eat any Spanish food and so on, I think that foreigners coming here should learn English but we have no right to condemn foreigners not learning English when Brits living abroad don't give a toss about the local language or culture

The Brits that go and live in Spain do you feel that they should be made to learn Spanish too ? the Brits I know that live in Spain know about 3 words between them (mostly alcohol related :rolleyes: ) and live in their own little community and never eat any Spanish food and so on, I think that foreigners coming here should learn English but we have no right to condemn foreigners not learning English when Brits living abroad don't give a toss about the local language or culture

 

100% Truth... The fact that we are so arrogant about other cultures and dont bother to fit in or learn the lingo is a throwback to the "Empire" days, when we just expected all these "Johnny Foreigners to bloody well learn the Queen's/King's English".... We seem to think that by shouting at people or talking V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y that the indigenous people will actually understand a bloody word we say..... :rolleyes:

 

The Brits that go and live in Spain do you feel that they should be made to learn Spanish too ? the Brits I know that live in Spain know about 3 words between them (mostly alcohol related :rolleyes: ) and live in their own little community and never eat any Spanish food and so on, I think that foreigners coming here should learn English but we have no right to condemn foreigners not learning English when Brits living abroad don't give a toss about the local language or culture

 

of course I think they should learn the lingo - I know many people who live in Spain and Portugal - and they ALL speak the language and fully integrate with the communities they live in... why move there, otherwise?

of course I think they should learn the lingo - I know many people who live in Spain and Portugal - and they ALL speak the language and fully integrate with the communities they live in... why move there, otherwise?

 

Your friends are rather atypical of most Brit ex-pats mate....

 

I think in USA there are many people who don´t speak english and this has not been a problem for them. Spanish is almost becoming a 2nd language in their country because of the amount of migrants.

I think in USA there are many people who don´t speak english and this has not been a problem for them. Spanish is almost becoming a 2nd language in their country because of the amount of migrants.

 

Well, America's a country made up of immigrants of many nationalities and their descendents anyway - well, after they successfully managed to exterminate, steal the land off of and marginalise most of the Native Indian population at any rate - so to say that 'English' should somehow be the 'official' language of the US is a bit of a misnomer if you ask me... It shouldn't be English any more than it should be Spanish, Italian, Korean or Chinese..... And anyway, wasn't Christopher Columbus (the man who was credited with 'discovering' the Americas) Portuguese anyway.....?

 

Well, America's a country made up of immigrants of many nationalities and their descendents anyway - well, after they successfully managed to exterminate, steal the land off of and marginalise most of the Native Indian population at any rate - so to say that 'English' should somehow be the 'official' language of the US is a bit of a misnomer if you ask me... It shouldn't be English any more than it should be Spanish, Italian, Korean or Chinese..... And anyway, wasn't Christopher Columbus (the man who was credited with 'discovering' the Americas) Portuguese anyway.....?

 

No, he was italo-spanish. Place of birth not totally known.

No, he was italo-spanish. Place of birth not totally known.

 

Well, let's put it this way, he was NOT Anglo/British though, was he...? My point does still hold up....

 

Iberic countries were the rulers those days... they were like America today. The history of the world has always been this way and one day America will fall and another giant will rise, if maagzines are anything to go buy it must be China but let´s hope not in this generation.

I, myself, consider this a positive fact :rolleyes: I guess it's easier for a person that migrates, to find a work and live in a decent way, if that person speaks the language of that country -_- So, a thumb up for this project :rolleyes:

Now, on the other subject discusses inside this thread, I don't know how British persons are exactly, but having an English girlfriend I can say that she speaks quite well Italian (considering she's here ATM).

Even if she speaks Italian very well, I always speak with her in English, considering that I'm doing a Foreign language University ^_^ Also, other English friends that she has, are speaking Italian if they go out somewhere, so I dunnot consider British persons that rude... :P xox.