Learn English or Else!

[RW]

Do you think this is a valid means of curbing extremism?

Learn English or else: U.K. sends message to Muslim women



Some migrants to Britain who cannot pass an English test within 2 1/2 years of arriving may not be allowed to stay, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday in a move aimed at fostering greater integration by Muslim women.



Cameron said there were 190,000 British Muslim women who spoke little or no English and Britain needed to take on the "backward attitudes" of some men whom he said exerted damaging control over their wives, sisters and daughters.



"Someone can move to here with very basic English and there's no requirement to improve it over time. We will change that. We will now say: if you don't improve your fluency, that could affect your ability to stay in the U.K.," Cameron wrote in an article for the Times newspaper.



"This will help make it clear to those men who stop their partners from integrating that there are consequences."



The government will invest £20-million pounds ($28-million U.S.) in English classes for women in isolated communities, and from October this year will begin testing those who have come in to Britain on a spousal visa to check if their language skills have improved.



Cameron said while there was no direct causal link between poor English language skills and extremism, those who were not able to integrate into British society were at risk of being more susceptible to extremist ideologies.



"Separate development and accepting practices that go against our values only emphasize differences and can help prompt the search of something to belong to," he wrote.



But his comments were criticized by Muslim groups, who said the British leader was "denigrating" Muslims rather than working with communities to help tackle extremism.



"The Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative government are once again using British Muslims as a political football to score cheap points to appear tough," said Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation.



"Rather than focusing on the positive contribution of our faith and community, he focuses on the extreme minority of issues, which clearly is not representative."

[Anonymous]

Do you think this is a valid means of curbing extremism?

Learn English or else: U.K. sends message to Muslim women



Some migrants to Britain who cannot pass an English test within 2 1/2 years of arriving may not be allowed to stay, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday in a move aimed at fostering greater integration by Muslim women.



Cameron said there were 190,000 British Muslim women who spoke little or no English and Britain needed to take on the "backward attitudes" of some men whom he said exerted damaging control over their wives, sisters and daughters.



"Someone can move to here with very basic English and there's no requirement to improve it over time. We will change that. We will now say: if you don't improve your fluency, that could affect your ability to stay in the U.K.," Cameron wrote in an article for the Times newspaper.



"This will help make it clear to those men who stop their partners from integrating that there are consequences."



The government will invest £20-million pounds ($28-million U.S.) in English classes for women in isolated communities, and from October this year will begin testing those who have come in to Britain on a spousal visa to check if their language skills have improved.



Cameron said while there was no direct causal link between poor English language skills and extremism, those who were not able to integrate into British society were at risk of being more susceptible to extremist ideologies.



"Separate development and accepting practices that go against our values only emphasize differences and can help prompt the search of something to belong to," he wrote.



But his comments were criticized by Muslim groups, who said the British leader was "denigrating" Muslims rather than working with communities to help tackle extremism.



"The Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative government are once again using British Muslims as a political football to score cheap points to appear tough," said Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation.



"Rather than focusing on the positive contribution of our faith and community, he focuses on the extreme minority of issues, which clearly is not representative."

I like the idea of integration, but I don't see how it will stop the growth of Islamism in the UK. All the foreign fighters from Britain that went to Syria can speak fluent English.

[Anonymous]

Do you think this is a valid means of curbing extremism?

Learn English or else: U.K. sends message to Muslim women



Some migrants to Britain who cannot pass an English test within 2 1/2 years of arriving may not be allowed to stay, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday in a move aimed at fostering greater integration by Muslim women.



Cameron said there were 190,000 British Muslim women who spoke little or no English and Britain needed to take on the "backward attitudes" of some men whom he said exerted damaging control over their wives, sisters and daughters.



"Someone can move to here with very basic English and there's no requirement to improve it over time. We will change that. We will now say: if you don't improve your fluency, that could affect your ability to stay in the U.K.," Cameron wrote in an article for the Times newspaper.



"This will help make it clear to those men who stop their partners from integrating that there are consequences."



The government will invest £20-million pounds ($28-million U.S.) in English classes for women in isolated communities, and from October this year will begin testing those who have come in to Britain on a spousal visa to check if their language skills have improved.



Cameron said while there was no direct causal link between poor English language skills and extremism, those who were not able to integrate into British society were at risk of being more susceptible to extremist ideologies.



"Separate development and accepting practices that go against our values only emphasize differences and can help prompt the search of something to belong to," he wrote.



But his comments were criticized by Muslim groups, who said the British leader was "denigrating" Muslims rather than working with communities to help tackle extremism.



"The Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative government are once again using British Muslims as a political football to score cheap points to appear tough," said Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation.



"Rather than focusing on the positive contribution of our faith and community, he focuses on the extreme minority of issues, which clearly is not representative."

If you are not fluent in English in a short time, you can be deported?

 

[Bricktop]

From my experience, Canada would be empty in short order if that were the case.

[RW]

Coming from a man who think idea rhymes with rear.  

[Annie]

I feel there's no excuse to not learn English in Canada. All over the lower mainland I see ad advertising FREE English lessons to newcomers.  If someone wanted to pay for me to learn a second language, I'd take it! I'd like to touch up on French and learn sign.

[Bricktop]

But the locals cannot speak English.

[easter bunny]

Mandatory low self esteem for women, antisocial disorder, explosive disorder, psychopathy...



If it weren't so pathetic it'd be funny to watch our leaders tiptoeing around the tulips to avoid stating the obvious - that most if not all the defining factors of Islam are listed as mental disorders in the DSM.  



I don't think anything can curb the existence of the extremely ill, but allowing them to blend in and pretending that such behaviour is acceptable is obviously not working. With the possible exception of the elderly and those suffering from extreme shyness, people who refuse to learn the language are sending a clear message that they want nothing to do with you or your culture.



Personally I think that any Muslim men who refuse to allow their sex slaves to integrate into society should be immediately deported, preferably to a small island near the north pole. We could declare one of them a sovereign nation.

[Anonymous]

From my experience, Canada would be empty in short order if that were the case.

This forum too.

[RW]

Mandatory low self esteem for women, antisocial disorder, explosive disorder, psychopathy...



If it weren't so pathetic it'd be funny to watch our leaders tiptoeing around the tulips to avoid stating the obvious - that most if not all the defining factors of Islam are listed as mental disorders in the DSM.  



I don't think anything can curb the existence of the extremely ill, but allowing them to blend in and pretending that such behaviour is acceptable is obviously not working. With the possible exception of the elderly and those suffering from extreme shyness, people who refuse to learn the language are sending a clear message that they want nothing to do with you or your culture.



Personally I think that any Muslim men who refuse to allow their sex slaves to integrate into society should be immediately deported, preferably to a small island near the north pole. We could declare one of them a sovereign nation.

^^^^ Works for me!

[Anonymous]

Does anyone find it ironic that Westminster is debating whether to ban Trump because of anti Muslim bias while at the same time Cameron is introducing this?

[Twenty Dollars]

For what it's worth. My Spanish is pretty good. Not perfect. I feel good about it.

[Anonymous]

For what it's worth. My Spanish is pretty good. Not perfect. I feel good about it.

Good for brother. I have lived in Ecuador and Colombia and Peru, but my Spanish is minimal. I am a unilingual language dunce.

[RW]

Does anyone find it ironic that Westminster is debating whether to ban Trump because of anti Muslim bias while at the same time Cameron is introducing this?

England is confused.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone find it ironic that Westminster is debating whether to ban Trump because of anti Muslim bias while at the same time Cameron is introducing this?

England is confused.

Some Brits are aware of the confusion.