The politicisation of English language proficiency, not poor English itself, creates barriers

The Australian government is considering yet another English language test for migrants.

• Ingrid Piller
• The Conversation

The rationale for the proposal is the prospect “Australia will be home to one million people who do not speak English well or at all by 2021”, as Human Services Minister Alan Tudge claimed.

In particular, he suggests today’s migrants are less likely to know English than their counterparts in previous generations.

His concern is this development suggests a looming crisis of social fragmentation into “parallel communities”.

While Australian Bureau of…

• The politicisation of…