Peter Bradwell
Researcher
Peter Bradwell is a researcher at Demos. He is interested in digital identity, technology and the ways that information and knowledge is shared...
at 10:54am
on Tuesday, 24th October 2006
It's easy to say that providing English language teaching to newcomers to the UK is important - but the how is less easy, and the why more contentious.
One of the reasons is the massive increases in demand for ESOL courses. For example, the number of Polish people looking to enrol in ESOL courses rose from 151 in 2000-01 to 21,313 in 2004-05. You don't need a screaming headline to note that that is a big increase.
But it is important, in the face of these statistics, to reassert why it is so important. Aside from the economic reality that immigrants who speak English to a reasonable proficiency are 20% more likely to find work and earn on average 18-20% more than those who don't, with increasing numbers of non-native English speakers the spaces and channels for cross-cultural and -ethnic communication are vital. And that means not just integration and assimilation, but real two-way communication of values and ideals.
So citizenship education is a controversial and important area of debate. And another blog post entirely.
One of the reasons is the massive increases in demand for ESOL courses. For example, the number of Polish people looking to enrol in ESOL courses rose from 151 in 2000-01 to 21,313 in 2004-05. You don't need a screaming headline to note that that is a big increase.
But it is important, in the face of these statistics, to reassert why it is so important. Aside from the economic reality that immigrants who speak English to a reasonable proficiency are 20% more likely to find work and earn on average 18-20% more than those who don't, with increasing numbers of non-native English speakers the spaces and channels for cross-cultural and -ethnic communication are vital. And that means not just integration and assimilation, but real two-way communication of values and ideals.
So citizenship education is a controversial and important area of debate. And another blog post entirely.
LOGIN to add comments
Comments