Opinion: Immigrants must learn the host language

But it is young people from some immigrant backgrounds who ultimately pay the price for their parents' (significantly, their mother's) inability or unwillingness to speak the host language. The reason is self-evident once it is projected. Otherwise, people rarely think of it.

We are all familiar with the fact that a significant proportion of a child's learning takes place in the home and in the surroundings of the family. Generally, it is complementary learning; for example, through parents reading books that are similar, if not identical, to those covered in school. Parents thereby support their children's learning from an early age. Those who do not speak the language cannot, however, do so. Although some would argue that the ensuing bi-lingualism of the child is a good thing in our multicultural world, the side effect is that young people so affected do slip behind in learning and subsequently fall short in their educational achievement. This, in turn, affects their access to the labour market, irrespective of further negative effects around employment arising from discriminatory employer practices. So a generational cycle of disadvantage kicks in. Without the host language available in the home, the children get off to a bad start.