But the melting pot is still bubbling: adult immigrants work, and their children virtually all speak English.
The Russians all speak English, flags representing the guests' nationalities fly above the camp and the tundra is kept absolutely spotless.
Then, when I was evacuated to Wales during the war, we spoke it virtually all the time because my aunt didn't speak much English, so I had to pick it up very quickly.
But former Labour minister Frank Field, co-chairman of the cross-party balanced migration group, said Mr Cameron was on the "right course" in requiring all those wishing to settle in the UK to speak basic English and making it "much tougher" for those working in the UK to eventually gain citizenship.
In a few years, you might be able to speak Spanish, French and English--and all at the same time.
"I speak no Japanese at all, and she only speaks a little English, but we see it as an exciting challenge and proof of our faith, " he added.
And Mr Buckles admitted: "I can't say categorically that all the guards recruited by G4S for the Olympics are able to speak fluent English".
These sorts of misunderstandings are unlikely to be erased even if all Europe's political leaders and bureaucrats were both willing and able to speak English.
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At the beginning he didn't speak a word of English, and he didn't know why all this was happening around him.
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Or will ministers at least set a target date for its implementation so we can prepare the ground for the day when we can all go abroad and speak other languages rather than simply speaking more slowly and loudly in English in the hope "Johnny foreigner" will understand?
This, after all, is a country where one in five people - 19% - speak a language other than English in their home.
On any given Saturday morning my daughter plays with children whose parents speak all different languages to their children including Japanese, French, Italian, Russian and, of course, English.
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