Emigrant English Test Proposal Set to Fail

The UK government has just recently proposed to extend legislations that would actually require applicants for UK citizenship to take an English language test. The new proposals introduce additional advanced language tests for citizenship and settlement applicants. It also talked of new language tests for some people who have not even left their county yet.

These new proposals are, of coursed, based on two different things. First they are based on the idea that emigrants should learn English, because they are not very likely to gain access to services or employment otherwise. This would make it hard for them to contribute to society. This is one point that not many people are going to go against. The second assumption would argue that the best means to ensure that emigrants have learned English is to make them take a test. This is the assumption that many people have a problem with.

Sometimes, languages other than English in an English speaking country are viewed as a threat to that country's unity. Pretty much meaning that many people feel that a country would be less divided and more unified if everyone spoke the same language.

However, whether politicians like it or not, the UK is an area were many different languages are spoken every single day. Thus, some are saying that getting people to be multicultural speakers of English could be a better goal. This would make emigrants more of knowledgeable than not in certain fields. Thus, it is looking like this kind of proposal is set to fail from the start, but it will still be some time before anyone knows for sure.