Should the U.S. citizenship test include speaking English?

Question

Please be sure to vote on your favorite answer.

Answer 1

It already does.

During the course of the naturalization process, an applicant for U.S. citizenship will be scheduled for an interview at a local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. At the interview, the applicant will be tested on his or her ability to read, write, and speak English, and will also be given a civics test to measure his or her understanding and knowledge of U.S. history and government.

Note: Some applicants may be exempt from all or part of the testing process due to their age or mental condition.

Language Test

The English proficiency test demonstrates that the applicant will be able to take part in the economic and social aspects of life in the U.S. The test has three parts:

Reading: To test reading ability, an applicant may be asked to read out loud certain parts of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.

Writing: To test writing ability, an applicant will be asked to write one or two simple sentences.

Speaking: An applicant's speaking ability will be tested when the applicant answers questions about himself or herself during the course of the interview.

The applicant need not be bilingual to pass this test; basic proficiency is adequate. If you have problems with English, you may want to consider taking an English as a Second Language course prior to naturalization.

Civics Test

The civics test covers basic U.S. history and knowledge of government. Applicants may receive a waiver if they have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that impacts their capacity to learn and/or understand the relevant information. Additionally, applicants who have been living in the U.S. legally for over twenty years, and who are over 65, may receive special consideration on this test.

Answer 2

The actual citizenship test does include speaking in English. You don't have to speak English to live here as a permanent resident or on a visa. You do if you take the naturalization exam, which that should be everyones goal or else why are they here?

Answer 3

yes I think it should... and im not f-ing racist!!!!
im a lebanese-american and I know that america is one of the very few nations that accomodates for foreigners like it does (other countries just plain dont do this) ... so at the very least, an effort should be made for integration into society, otherwise u will have sub-cultures that can clash with others at any given point in time. besides, if u don't learn english, ur very limited in wat u can do as a citizen and ur therefore not earning the full potential of being an american!

Answer 4

yes I think it should... and im not f-ing racist!!!!
im a lebanese-american and I know that america is one of the very few nations that accomodates for foreigners like it does (other countries just plain dont do this) ... so at the very least, an effort should be made for integration into society, otherwise u will have sub-cultures that can clash with others at any given point in time. besides, if u don't learn english, ur very limited in wat u can do as a citizen and ur therefore not earning the full potential of being an american!

Answer 5

It does include that otherwise you wouldn't understand what the questions are, only real old ppl can get a waiver to be able to take it in Spanish but need to be able to prove that they couldn't learn English for a medical reason.

Answer 6

Interesting idea. Although the federal government has no authority to declare a national language, the other questions are not required knowledge by law either.
I'd have to study the legalities...but it sounds good at cursory consideration.

Answer 7

Yes, and the test should not be given in umpteen different languages. Why should people now be treated any different than those who came here to be a citizen in the early 1900's?

Answer 8

Absolutely!!! When in Rome, speak italian, when in Deustchland, speckenzi(?) deutsch, etc. When in USA, speak English!!! Why should this country conform to foreigners? That's one downfall of having a "multi-cultural" free country.

Answer 9

It already does. The only exceptions are for people who are over 50 and have lived in the US for a long time.

Answer 10

No because it is given in English. I don't know where you got your info that it wasn't in English because speaking and understanding the basic English languages is part of the test.