I am not trying to say that a basic degree of language skills wouldn't be helpful. My great-grandmother lived on a farm her whole life, and always had one of her children or her husband (who did speak English) to interpret for her. It may not have been an ideal situation, but she looked after her family, and they paid their taxes, and contributed a lot to their local (Sicilian) community.

The point I am making is twofold: firstly, this is not a new situation, and has probably existed as long as immigration itself; secondly, that maybe a bit of empathy might be in order when trying to understand WHY people don't learn the language or integrate very well; this is usually particularly true for women, who tend to find themselves more isolated with their lives revolving around the home. I'm speaking also from my more recent experiences in Leicester, working with women from the Pakestani and Bangladeshi communities. For them, it wasn't as easy as simply having the common courtesy to learn the language; there were huge social and cultural issues as well.