[yothi5]

And what about the vast majority of 2nd/3rd generation who CAN speak fluent English...?!

[green.tea]

(Original post by yothi5)
And what about the vast majority of 2nd/3rd generation who CAN speak fluent English...?!

Perhaps we should direct some of the 1st generation to canada to see if they have more luck learning french. Oh wait...

[yothi5]

(Original post by green.tea)
Perhaps we should direct some of the 1st generation to canada to see if they have more luck learning french. Oh wait...

I'm not Canadian. Don't assume. It makes an ass of you, not me.

[green.tea]

(Original post by yothi5)
I'm not Canadian. Don't assume. It makes an ass of you, not me.

Silly me. I see someone flying a canadian flag and think theyre canadian. Id be **** at war.

[green.tea]

(Original post by im so academic)
Why should we have to pick up the problem?

How ironic that you say we "assign blame rather than fixing the problem" and what you had just done is blame ourselves; seemingly it is our responsibility (and our education system) that has failed these 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants.

Bull****, if they want to stay here they should be EXPECTED to learn and use English or they can move. How about a policy of being fluent in English in order to receive benefits?

They should be expected to make a sincere effort. English language courses should be compulsory rather than this "who's the speaker in the house of commons" citizenship test nonsense.

[i love pencils]

Firstly, get a more reliable and respectable source, The Daily Madness is the worst paper ever created, it isn't fit to wipe my backside!!!

Secondly, it isn't about immigrant background, it's more to do with the area people live in. As ethnic minorities usually live in poorer areas where there are crap schools and it isn't an environment which encourages proper English to be spoken. If you are talking about cutting benefits chav's would be the first to be cut as their standards of English are appalling.

[JongKey]

This is not true, there is no way a 2nd generation immigrant who was born here and went to school would not know english. I just don't see how that could happen. If you went to school here regularly from a young age, there's no way you could not speak english. If you never went to school i could understand why though but with free education it seems ridiculous not to. If this is true, then they must have been some **** schools. However, i highly doubt this is true, it seems ridiculous.

[arnoob]

I am from an immigrant background and am fluent in 3 languages including English although I wasn't born here, beat that OP... I received a better GCSE grade in English language than most of the people in my year even though English is my third language.

[Aaron_xyz]

Lol at all the DM readers gobbling it up like meat. Didn't take long till the "take away their benefits" and "Its all Labours fault" comments to start.

[PimpinisEasy]

I'm 2nd gen and understand no probs.... white people find anything to bitch about!

[Phantom Lord]

Most tend to catch up by the time they are 11 so this isn't much of a problem.

[SnoochToTheBooch]

(Original post by badcheesecrispy)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-English.html

http://uk.onlinenigeria.com/news/376...n-english.html

They were born in the UK, but many second and third generation immigrants speak or understand hardly any English, it was revealed today.
Their poor understanding of the language means they are unable to take notes or understand basic instructions on training courses ranging from engineering to electronics.
Experts warn that low standards of English in some minority groups have been blamed for widening ethnic divisions and creating communities where it is the second language.

It was also reported that:
Schools were blamed for failing to teach the language to children well enough. And;
Families deliberately discouraged children from learning English to protect their culture and ensure they could talk to their grandparents.
Philida Schellekens, author of the national standards for translators, warned about English standards last week at a conference run by Cambridge Assessment, the exam board:
She said: 'It upsets me to go into further education colleges and you see Oxbridge material sitting there and, because they {the students} don't have the language to express themselves, they are stuck ... it's not good for them as individuals, but for society as a whole it's a tragedy.'
According to the Sunday Times, Ms Schellekens first analysed the issue of poor English skills among migrant students in 2005 in a study at a Birmingham college and said the same problems were still prevalent today.
'What happened was that these were kids born in the UK [but] their parents or even their grandparents came from abroad, ' she said.
'There were second language speakers where a less-than-sure command of English really [did] hold them back ...their tutors were really concerned.
'[The students] couldn't read a manual, couldn't get the meaning of what they had to do and follow instructions. They couldn't listen and take notes at the same time.'
As a result, students were not able to go on work placements because they could not understand what employers were telling them.
Phil Woolas, the former immigration minister and Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth backed Ms Schellekens.
He told the Sunday Times that poor English was a significant cause of segregated communities in northern towns.
A government spokeswoman said English language courses were available for the jobless and there was £10m to support English teaching in 'areas facing the most significant integration challenges'.


How on earth has this managed to come about, where there are 3rd generation immigrants that STILL cannot properly co operate using English? What solutions can we bring to this, maybe more english teaching courses in minority areas if you were to take the liberal approach? Further cost to the taxpayer which he didnt ask for, having to pay to educate half the 3rd world and their offspring, if you were to look at it from another point of view. 3rd generation and they havnt even got the audacity in this time to learn/teach the language of the country they live in properly.

don't talk to them then.

[OnlyMe!]

Standards of English are declining in general, it is not a problem that is exclusive to second and third generation 'immigrants'. There are many 'natives' (whatever that means) who struggle to articulate themselves effectively in their mother tongue. The emphasis should be on raising the standards of English on a whole, rather than smearing a group of people.

[sucess]

this is bull**** every ethnic minority i have met born here speaks fluent english

[najinaji]

I don't understand the whole 'X generation immigrant' thing. I never emigrated, I was born here...

Anyway, my English is pretty fair, I'd say. That's because I treated myself like an Englishman rather than an immigrant. People aren't too keen on learning English when they are adamant about being Jamaican or Pakistani or whatever (even though they have only visited said country once or twice).

[badcheesecrispy]

I think you'll find most non immigrants that cant speak english properly are either travellers or the severely deprived whos don't bother with them or send them to school. I'd imagine this is very very rare, apart from mentally handicapped folk. What is these native brits first language if they cannot speak english properly? I've never come across a british person who cannot speak english, and I havnt come across many foreign brits either, however I wouldnt have posted this if it only had one source.

Lmao at the response, was only commenting on the article.

[badcheesecrispy]

Why are so many on this thread presuming this topic is aimed at them? Its clearly aimed at those who cannot speak english.

The burden is on the first generations back as they didnt bother to teach their 2nd generation how to speak english, the second generation has failed even further if their 3rd gen children can't speak english, seeing as though the 2nd gen will have lived here since birth!