- Joined
- 27 Jan 2008
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It has been announced that public workers will need to pass a GCSE grade C. However when I took my English language CSE and "O" level years ago it was a written exam.
I have when first meeting Scotsmen, and Geordie's struggled to understand them yet after two days I could understand every thing they said. It was the same with a Russian lecturer at University but the Chinese lecturer even two years latter I could not understand her.
In fact the only way we were able to get her replaced was one guy asked for the lessons to be translated into Welsh and the translator could not understand her.
Be it Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff or Glasgow the people from these areas speak fluent English but that does not mean some one from another area will understand them. As to Wales and Scotland the speaking of other British languages is clearly a problem be it a lady from Patagonia Argentina who only speaks Welsh or some one from England who does not speak Welsh although it may seem that all public workers should be bilingual in South Wales and in North Wales above the A55 road until Conwy even the locals rarely speak Welsh.
So sounds good but what is the point of a written exam and how with a spoken exam will all the UK be covered? In Hong Kong police officers who could speak English had red lapel badges. Having Welsh dragons on the lapel of Welsh speaking public officials would clearly help.
I have when first meeting Scotsmen, and Geordie's struggled to understand them yet after two days I could understand every thing they said. It was the same with a Russian lecturer at University but the Chinese lecturer even two years latter I could not understand her.
In fact the only way we were able to get her replaced was one guy asked for the lessons to be translated into Welsh and the translator could not understand her.
Be it Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff or Glasgow the people from these areas speak fluent English but that does not mean some one from another area will understand them. As to Wales and Scotland the speaking of other British languages is clearly a problem be it a lady from Patagonia Argentina who only speaks Welsh or some one from England who does not speak Welsh although it may seem that all public workers should be bilingual in South Wales and in North Wales above the A55 road until Conwy even the locals rarely speak Welsh.
So sounds good but what is the point of a written exam and how with a spoken exam will all the UK be covered? In Hong Kong police officers who could speak English had red lapel badges. Having Welsh dragons on the lapel of Welsh speaking public officials would clearly help.