ciol.org.uk/tl
From entertainment news to politics, immigration and education,
we consider the significant language events of 2019
After several reprieves due to the
extension of the Brexit date, language
outreach staff* at the Representation of the
European Union in London were due to
return to Brussels at the end of the year.
There are no plans for a similar programme
to be established post-Brexit. An EU Embassy
will take the Representation's place at
Europe House after the UK's withdrawal,
but by December it was still unclear when
(or even if) that would happen. *Pictured (l-r)
are John Evans, Angeliki Petris and Paul Kaye.
THE YEAR IN
PICTURES
The Home Office was found to have
relied on "incomplete and unsafe"
evidence when it accused almost 34,000
international students of cheating in
English language tests in 2015, revoking
their visas. According to the National
Audit Office, the government failed to
protect innocent students, with many
spending thousands on legal fees to clear
their name over four years and 2,468
being deported.
The US government's immigration agency
(USCIS) was criticised for using Google
Translate to process asylum requests. It was
revealed that an internal memo told staff to
use the free service to analyse applicants'
social media output. In response, USCIS
said data would not be the "basis to deny
refugee resettlement", but its exact use in
the immigration process remained unclear.
IMAGES
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SHUTTERSTOCK
