One in seven schoolchildren don't speak English as a first language

[sunwheel]

Always the same.

Someone raises a valid point re the essential use of English in a mainly English speaking country.

Then lo and behold the same people slither out and start causing trouble.They are so predictable they are becoming quite tiresome,

 

Why is disagreeing or providing opposing points of view "causing trouble"?

[stewpot54]

Why is disagreeing or providing opposing points of view "causing trouble"?

 

The manner in which it was done.There was a warning that the thread would be closed because it was descending into verbal altercations.

[Ousetunes]

From what I hear of some school children, it would appear that neither does a large proportion of white, indigenous school kids speak English at all.

[Ousetunes]

'r Cymraeg wedi bod acha hyn hynysoedd 'n bellach na eiddo!

 

Predictive text eh?

[boyfriday]

Predictive text eh?

 

..too right Ouse, I think Wildcat was inviting Longcol to the park tonight to drink cider and sniff glue

[1ofTheseDays]

I made a slight boo boo here, the cut and paste in my OP is from a different article that i've linked to, but it doesn't matter. The point im making here is that a healthy country is one that has a common language, but as the article says:

 

A study by Reading council found this year that pupils in the town speak 127 different languages between them.

 

 

They say English is their second language, but just how fluently are these kids speaking English??

As the article says:

 

Some new entrants can speak so little English that teachers must communicate using pictures and hand gestures

 

This is the fault of the silly Labour party that believes that immigrants having to integrate fully is somehow immoral, and that we should instead bend over backwards to accomodate them...from the article:

 

At primary school level, 16 per cent speak other languages at home - 518,020 pupils - compared with 15.2 per cent in 2009.

The proportion has doubled in the past decade.

 

In 1997, when the last government came to power, the proportion was 7.8 per cent. In secondary schools, 11.6 per cent of children, or 378,210, are non-native speakers, up from 11.1 per cent a year earlier.

 

Commenting on the trend before taking office, the Tories said Labour's long-term failure to control immigration had made 'life difficult for many teachers'.

 

Under the Conservatives though we should now see a welcome return to common sense on these matters:

 

Introduce a clear strategy for national integration to build a stronger and more united society.

 

Make English a priority for all communities by redirecting some of the money the Government currently spends on translation into additional English classes

 

Another healthy step is their plans to:

 

Teach history in our schools to promote our shared values and history, ensuring children are taught a proper narrative of British history .

[L00b]

The point im making here is that a healthy country is one that has a common language <snip>

Isn't the "common" language of England, English?

 

So, by your logic/point, isn't England "healthy"?

 

Whereby, essentially, there is no point to be made

[1ofTheseDays]

Isn't the "common" language of England, English?

 

So, by your logic/point, isn't England "healthy"?

 

Whereby, essentially, there is no point to be made

 

Are you ok?

 

The point i am making is that England is becoming unhealthy when school pupils in towns like Reading speak 127 different languages between them, and probably not great English.

[$nob]

It's 1 in 5 in the USA.

If language is such an issue, shouldn't we be addressing why 66% of English born people can't speak another language, even to the point of not being able to count to ten?

I'll ask the first question: Is that important given that approx. 450 million people world wide can speak English?

[L00b]

Are you ok?

I'm fine, thanks

Was my logic flawed, or was your post wrong

The point i am making is that England is becoming unhealthy when school pupils in towns like Reading speak 127 different languages between them, and probably not great English.

Sounds to me like Reading kids are going to have one hell of a headstart in the jobs market in a few years' time

 

I'll ask the first question: Is that important given that approx. 450 million people world wide can speak English?

Several billions exclusively speak Chinese. So, no. My daughter -if she pleases- will be learning Chinese, not Italian or Spanish (although she can learn these as well if she wants to, of course ).

 

I'll bait a bit, as it's Friday and I'm feeling facetious: neither myself nor my daughter have English as our first language