You only have to look at school playgrounds. A dominant group of native mums always gathers, excitedly talking about school issues or where they bought their new shoes. Then there are segregated, smaller groups of parents, whose unfamiliarity with school issues and where to buy the latest bargains mean their conversations are less dynamic and driven. In this sense, the British Prime Minister is right; there is a segregation of communities in Britain, as in towns and villages across Spain. But it is not due to an "unwillingness" to integrate.

Do parents enjoy standing in the "outcast" group, unable to fully understand and appreciate the internal operations and the curriculum of their child's school? Do fully-grown adults enjoy being seen as mumbling fools when they try their best to understand a doctor's diagnosis? David Cameron is wrong to think it is an unwillingness to learn the language and integrate that is causing a "disjointedness of neighbourhoods" in Britain.

The locals are arguably more to blame than the foreigners, encouraged as they are by "foreigners must learn English" speeches, like Cameron's. The best way to become proficient in a language is to mix with those who speak it. But integration is a two-way process and a multi-ethnic community "without barriers" requires the efforts of the whole community.

It would be a refreshing sight if in the school playground, whether in Britain, Spain or anywhere else, instead of seeing isolated ethnic huddles, we saw different nationalities chatting together. And still nicer to see locals making an effort to talk to and integrate foreigners into the local culture. David Cameron should encourage integration and help immigrants overcome language and other "isolating" barriers, instead of making them feel even more like inferior outcasts.

The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.h5a3.com/opinion/node_7077604.htm

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