Thanks for responding James - very good, clear letter
Joe Carter
OCC Adult Learning
-----Original Message-----
From: ESOL-Research discussion forum
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of James Simpson
Sent: 11 December 2007 09:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FW: Language, migration, and English for spouses
Hello all
This letter (below) was published in the Guardian this morning (in slightly edited form, and rather gratifyingly, with a typo) along with another one on ESOL from Dominic Fisher, and a couple on translation. You can read these letters online:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,2225416,00.html#article_continue
Cheers
James
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The government's new measures to curb immigration from outside the EU (Smith seeks to restore trust in immigration system, December 6) include a proposal to require spouses joining their husbands and wives in the UK to first pass an English language test while they are still in their home country.
The proposal is for people to prepare for, sit and pass an English test before they arrive in the UK. This means that only those with access to high quality English language lessons in their own country will be eligible to join their spouses in the UK; people who have no access to English classes will be ruled out. These are more likely to be poorer people, people from less developed countries, people from rural areas, and women, who tend to have fewer educational opportunities than men. It is wrong to insist that people show an ability to use a language before they come to a country, and is blatant discrimination on grounds of language.
The government claims to be serious about cohesion and integration. If so, rather than presenting people with impossible language demands before they can join their families, it should be bending over backwards to provide free and accessible classes in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) for people when they arrive in the UK. Instead, it has cut funding for ESOL and has made it increasingly difficult for new arrivals and more established residents alike to find an ESOL class.
Yours faithfully
Dr James Simpson
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ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds.
To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html
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