Gunki Ström: Gunki Ström: ”They want to, they try, fail, try again”

Tests in Swedish should be the same as for Sfi (Swedish for immigrants) , that is, comprehension (listening and reading) and production (speaking and writing).

It may seem obvious – if you want to live in a country, you ought to know the language. As a languages teacher I've often been asked, ”How long does it take to learn a language?” No matter what conclusion a government report presents, new arrivals must be given the opportunity to practise the language.

Various political parties have demanded that new arrivals must be able to make themselves understood and understand what is said, so that they can find work and support themselves.

Moderaterna put forward ”Clearer demands for better integration”. The idea is that higher demands will be a faster way to jobs and quicker integration.

But there won't be more jobs although there are more demands. And there can be good reasons for not learning the language.

Swedes living in Spain use different strategies to cope with daily life. Our immigrants do exactly the same.

I taught for four years in an international school in Paris. I had colleagues from ten countries, including a Swedish one who had lived there for five years without learning French. Perhaps it was easier for that colleague to associate with Americans and British people who lived and worked in the same suburb.

I recognise this from Gamla Näsby, where I live now. That is also a segregated area.

As a new arrival, it is good to be able to practise your language in the shops, with a neighbour, with a new friend. But we native Swedes are often stressed, we have so much to do, and we don't take time to sit down and talk to our neighbour from Eritrea or Syria.

As an Sfi-teacher I meet fantastic, enthusiastic people every day. They want to, they try, fail, try again, struggle on like a child in the world of language. They don't need assessments and demands, what they need is time. Time to take things in and digest what they have learnt, and the chance to practise what they know.

So please, before you insist on language-learning ask yourself what you can do for integration. It means more than you think. And you never know if or when you might be a refugee yourself one day, whether for political or environmental reasons.