Cameron - friend of Muslim women?

The recruiters are not going to speak in front of parents, and speaking from personal experience, the children will speak English and their parents language

Of course the children would speak both languages. I meant that if the mothers don't understand English they're never going to pick up on anything untoward that their children may be talking about in English either between themselves or with friends.

And how do you know recruiters wouldn't speak in front of parents? If they knew there was no way they'd be understood by them, possibly they would.

Ana I think Iam was referring to the last part of my post at 22.34 last night when I quoted part of DC's speech that didn't make sense to me (I could be wrong).

I don't believe recruiters would speak in the hearing of parents full stop. It would be far too risky. I think most recruiting (and grooming) will be going on online and the recruiters will have advised on the technical precautions to take in case a parent insists on looking at a laptop or other piece of equipment.

I agree that it's unlikely that recruiters would speak in the hearing of parents, but it is likely that they'd be using English to spread their propaganda in any event.

I also accept that Cameron's speech didn't quite make sense, but I did think the gist of is was that a lack of ability to speak or understand English could leave people vulnerable to influences from the culture and language that they may be more familiar with.

I've just watched a channel 4 programme shown on Tuesday, The Jihadi next door. It's slightly off he subject of Cameron's proposals but does link to the discussion here about the way in which some people are drawn into what is called radical Islam.

Did anyone else watch it? It was filmed over a year and I found it chilling. Men who were born here in England who it seems support Daesh and hope to see the black flag of what they see as Islam flying over Downing Street .

Only just read original post, I must have been listening to something entirely different, at no time did Cameron link non English speaking Muslims with terrorism. It is ridiculous living in a country and not speaking the mother tongue, it should be a condition on settling here, how can you integrate without speaking the language, how can they work to earn money, do immigrants just live in their own little communities pretending they are in a little part of their original homeland, but accepting just the things from this country that they want. It costs a fortune employing so many different interpreters and he is quite right in what he said. If you live here, you work, that meNs you speak the language. It really annoys me the way everything is turned into a racial slur when it isn't.

Did he not speak of radicalisation ?

He did. And I am not misthinking the two and a half years thing, bags, according to the BBC article where he is quoted.

"New rules will mean that, from October, people coming to the UK on five-year spousal visas will have to take a test half way through that period to show they are making efforts to improve their English.

Asked what would happen to those who failed, Mr Cameron said: "They can't guarantee that they'll be able to stay."

He later expanded, saying that if they were not found to be making progress after two-and-a-half years there would be no guarantee they would be able to "go to the full stage and retain their visa"."

What is wrong with that, if they want to stay, learn the language. I think except for those under threat, a condition of coming here should be to speak the language before being considered. Those under threat and flee here, should make it a priority to learn English in order to work and live along side their neighbours. Can you tell me what is the problem with doing that. It seems a small price to pay to integrate into the country you try so hard to enter and it is vital they do that. If it is too much of a problem they will have to consider just why they are here in the first place.

If this was to be enforced on British migrants in places such as Spain i think we would see rather a lot coming back

If this isn't being enforced on migrants from Europe then it is a form of racism , why only one section of migrants ?

Most migrants and asylum seekers want to learn English. Many have excellent English already of course. If, for instance, a young professional British man of Indian heritage marries an Indian girl, she'll probably have a degree and that will have been taught and examined in English. Many Indian wives I've met have better English that many Brits.
There is a subset of all foreign brides and bridegrooms who don't. Some are arranged marriages and some not.
A girl might marry a boy in Thailand but it does not mean he can automatically come and settle here.
Its worth reading the requirements:
www.visalogic.net/uk/uk-spouse-visa/4/103?pp=1369&gclid=CP7E1KnEusoCFUuNGwodtJEDFg

So it is clear that you have to speak a certain amount of English (pass a standard test) to get a visa. What PM is saying that they need to improve to a certain standard.

So imagine a daughter of yours, luckylegs falling for a Japanese chap, for instance. And marrying him here in the UK. But before she can go and live with him in Japan she has to 1/ learn basic Japanese and pass a test and 2/ improve her Japanese pretty darn quick, or she'll get deported.
So she lands up somewhere in Japan and her husband goes out to work. She's not got a car and she has got to find a suitable class, negotiate public transport and learn a new language at a required pace to pass an exam. All the signage is in Japanese only and very few people speak English. Hmm.

I don't know why Cameron is focussing on women - there are men who come in here on spousal visas as well, with only basic English. Any thoughts folks?

I think Luckylegs9 has very succinctly put exactly what a lot of people think (including me). I don't think the govt are worrying much about the well educated people who come here:they will easily find their own way JessM. No reason why the men shouldn't also attend English classes if they don't speak it well enough to work and contribute to our society rather than passively expect to be supported by us.

Why only Muslims?

If they said that ALL people entering the country should take English lessons, willy nilly, you would be complaining about that.

If they said that those lessons should be free you would cite other things that the money could be spent on.

If they said that they would have to pay, you would be up in arms about that.

If they said that the cost would be taken from big business in the area where the incomers were settling, you would ask "What about the obscene profits businesses in other areas are making? Shouldn't they be paying for free home-making lessons for deprived British young people?"

If David Cameron offered to pay out of his own pocket (little chance!) you would say he was doing it to buy votes for the next election.

Would I Elegran ?

You give very impression that you could and would, anniebach

every not very!

Spot on Elegran!

Having worked in the NHS and seen the ridiculous amount of money spent on translators, forms & signage,I believe all incomers should make an effort to learn at least basic English. I am appalled at how this country bends and twists to accommodate immigrants, often to the detriment of the native population, and before I get accused of racism, if I wished to live in another country I would prioritise learning the language and fully accept the mores of that country. I cannot understand why some immigrants flee their native land because they are unhappy and then set about trying to change this one into the one they have left.

Silly and I can't understand why we go overboard to assist those who refuse to learn the language and integrate. Which other countries do as much as us? Perhaps more to the point, how many of the countries they come from would welcome us in the same way?

With respect assuming what a poster would say and posting it as fact followed by another poster who also assumes and supports is unjust , unfair and wrong , and does not make for the chance of a discussion.

But it works just the same when others do it, AB, when they assume that because a poster says X, they must also believe Y - and then rant at them for the Y. That has been done to me very often. What I say has been misinterpreted and the misinterpretation taken as what I meant and condemned. I have been called prejudiced when I challenged another poster's view (which was definitely prejudiced, though for the best of motives and intentions and not vicious)

I do believe that I write fairly clearly, so anything I post goes as far as it says, and no more.

Elegran, your post was uncalled for and was also untrue

You are not alone Elegran. I have even been told which political party I support when I don't support any!