Recently, I had a coffee with a Syrian man now living in London, who was forced to seek asylum after he was almost arrested in Damascus on account of his name. The man, who studied in the UK but always intended to return to Syria, told me how he had worked his way up again, from a labourer in a warehouse to a marketing department. All through his story, the man had one refrain: “I want to improve my English.”
I pointed out that we were having this conversation in English. That wasn’t enough, he insisted. He wanted to speak better marketing jargon. He wanted to understand regional accents. As we finished our drinks, he said: “If you know of any good language courses, please tell me.”
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