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Schule > Englisch > Ausarbeitungen, Interpretationen und Zusammenfassungen > Comment > Should all immigrants attend language classes?

Frightened by war, terror and violence many families in the Orient are forced to leave behind their him in order to begin a new, peaceful life in Europe. But many European countries cannot handle the amount of people who are trying to immigrate. Furthermore many Europeans have a rather split opinion on the refugee crisis. They say it is important that the immigrants learn the language of the country they live in, so that they can take part in its society and economy. But can you really force people to give up their identity and culture? Therefore I am going to discuss whether all immigrants should attend language classes or not.

First of all there is no doubt that learning the language has more advantages than just the educative ones. It can help people to feel more at home because the language is such a big part of the cultural life of a country. For example British English is often associated with politeness and decency, meanwhile American English is rather referred to a more direct way of speaking and living. In addition, being independent from translating and interpreting does not only improve your self awareness but also reduces the amount of money needed for the services. Furthermore the families are able to make friends with people who are not from the own ethnic minority because there would be no language barrier between them. Taking part in social life also help one’s establishment in the new society. Finally, attending language classes will also be beneficial for the children’s results in school. These students have a higher qualification and are more likely to be employed because they are able to apply for job themselves.

However there are also some negative aspects you need to consider when you talk about this topic. For example, if you force immigrants, the people who just lost their entire existence, to learn your language, they may not feel welcome and that would create a gap between them and the foreign country, making it even harder for them to get integrated. This might also be seen as discriminating or disrespecting towards the personal rights. To a certain extent I can except this opinion but I am doubtful whether the enforcement of learning a language really is such loss of identity and culture. There are so many ways to keep your culture in a different country and at the end of the day it will improve the cultural diversity. For instance, you can live in immigrant communities where the lifestyle is similar to the one from your home country, but knowing the language provides you with the possibility to succeed outside of this community, you are not limited to the district you live in, but you can develop yourself in almost every direction.

Considering all these arguments, I have come to the conclusion that encouraging immigrants to speak English would be very beneficial for everyone. Although this might be looked at as a form of discrimination, this probably is the price you will have to pay if you want to be established and respected in the new country.

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