Oh, how I agree with Emma Beddington (Forget Hadrian’s Wall. The UK citizenship test should ask about Corrie, bus queues and Greggs, 7 December). I volunteer with refugees and regularly witness the distress of highly skilled and qualified people failing the test on idiotic questions that most Britons couldn’t answer. When simple facts can be found by a quick internet search, what is the point of wasting brain space by trying to memorise them?
Much more salient to ask questions like: where can you legally ride an electric scooter? The maximum legal speed for an electric bicycle? The documents needed to drive a car legally in the UK? What is the living wage? How do you obtain a library card? How do you know when it’s safe to cross a road at lights? What is a food bank? Which political party is currently in power in England?
The refugees I know are curious about the things they see around them, like Halloween, red poppies in November and the origin of Christmas. Since many of them have escaped from wartorn countries, well before fireworks start exploding we cover Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night, Diwali, new year and other occasions when sudden, terrifying bangs and flashes can trigger post-traumatic stress disorder.
They learn what not to ask English people (their age and earnings – safe conversation starters in some countries), and which hand signs are friendly and which are absolutely not. We learn a lot about weather, since there is so much variety here, unlike some countries, and it’s always a safe opening gambit. All of this is infinitely more useful than knowing the forts in Hadrian’s Wall. No doubt Guardian readers can add to these.
Anne Johns
Littleover, Derby
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