The answer is “Yes“.
‘I can’t speak properly. I am different’: do you need to speak English to be a good citizen?
If you go to live in another country, you learn the language, absorb the culture and fit in. So, yes, you do need to be able to speak English to be a good citizen – otherwise you will always be a foreigner. It works well enough for the French.
New requirements for public service workers to be fluent in English echo David Cameron’s suggestion that good language skills are part of the fight against extremism. But at the same time, courses to train non-native speakers are being cut across England
Sigh… They will have to do what I did when I went to France. Pay for their own training.
The EU will veto the English language fluency requirement on the grounds of anti discrimination laws
Cameron must have known that as he made the statement !
But Cameron knows that the media will give him a pass on it. Even the progressive media.
For many years I worked on Cruise Ships. I took the time and trouble to learn the basics in over 6 languages. French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog and American. These were, Please, Thank you, 1 to 10 and beer. Worked wonders. Try to speak native and the natives will help you. It is only common courtesy after all.
Completely concur. This is my experience throughout Europe and elsewhere. Even if your grasp of a language is poor to non-existent, learning a few basic greetings and responses will get you a lot further.
Try getting a public sector job in Wales if you don’t speak Welsh or demonstrate willingness to learn it.
I notice you didn’t say ‘private sector’… 😉
Surely there are more people that speak English in Wales than speak Welsh. And everybody speaks English. I agree that the Welsh language should be kept alive, was even taught it in Barmouth, Aber Mawr, in the 60’s, along with rugby. But to discriminate is pathetic. The interview would be conducted in which language?
I caused a furore on a Farcebox group when I asked why Scots were having Gaelic railway station signs forced upon them when so few spoke it. As expected, one of the ranters started with “in the 11th and 12th centuries . . .” My, how we laughed.
Well here in Ashesless Australia, most migrants speak English whereas the locals cannot speak English properly. Listen to them try and pronounce words like controversy and unprecedented. Stealing loaves of bread is a minor crime compared to the way they murder the English language. They even manage to pispronounce the word tonne.
If you had to speak English to claim welfare our welfare bill would drop by over 50%.