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Minicab drivers in Bradford face test to see if they can chat about the weather Minicab drivers in Bradford face test to see if they can chat about the weather
(about 1 hour later)
Cab drivers hoping to work for private hire firms in Bradford, West Yorkshire, could face tests in English conversation to ensure they can carry on their profession’s fine traditions of discussing the weather and negotiating the best way to get from A to B.Cab drivers hoping to work for private hire firms in Bradford, West Yorkshire, could face tests in English conversation to ensure they can carry on their profession’s fine traditions of discussing the weather and negotiating the best way to get from A to B.
Those seeking licences to operate in the city are currently required to prove their linguistic competence by reading aloud a paragraph from a book and demonstrating they can complete a journey receipt.Those seeking licences to operate in the city are currently required to prove their linguistic competence by reading aloud a paragraph from a book and demonstrating they can complete a journey receipt.
But now council officials have put forward proposals for a tougher test, in which applicants instead have to answer “normal conversational questions”, such as: “What do you think of the weather recently?”, “Where did you take your last customer?”, or “How do you get from A to B?”But now council officials have put forward proposals for a tougher test, in which applicants instead have to answer “normal conversational questions”, such as: “What do you think of the weather recently?”, “Where did you take your last customer?”, or “How do you get from A to B?”
A council report outlining the different approach says prospective drivers should be tested around the service they provide. “The answers are not the focus. The focus is to ensure the applicant understands English and has contributed to a communication in English at a basic level.” The proposals will be discussed by councillors on Thursday. A council report outlining the different approach says prospective drivers should be tested around the service they provide.
“The answers are not the focus. The focus is to ensure the applicant understands English and has contributed to a communication in English at a basic level.” The proposals will be discussed by councillors on Thursday.
Khurram Shehzad, chairman of the Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, told the Bradford Telegraph and Argus: “It is in the interests of the public, because some drivers may know how to drive but when they have a customer in the car they can’t have a conversation.Khurram Shehzad, chairman of the Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, told the Bradford Telegraph and Argus: “It is in the interests of the public, because some drivers may know how to drive but when they have a customer in the car they can’t have a conversation.
“The public do ask for certain drivers. They say: ‘We want a driver that can speak English.’ You do get requests like that.”“The public do ask for certain drivers. They say: ‘We want a driver that can speak English.’ You do get requests like that.”
Councils vary in the tests they set for prospective cab drivers. Applicants without specific English language qualifications face a 20-minute telephone test in Dacorum in Hertfordshire, for example. This requires them to read several sentences from a printed list, repeat back sentences that are read to them, answer simple questions, construct sentences from fragments and answer open questions by speaking for up to 30 seconds at a time. Oxford council also wants documentary proof of a qualification if licensing officers are not happy with the English shown by applicants during appointments. Councils vary in the tests they set for prospective cab drivers.
Applicants without specific English language qualifications face a 20-minute telephone test in Dacorum in Hertfordshire, for example. This requires them to read several sentences from a printed list, repeat back sentences that are read to them, answer simple questions, construct sentences from fragments and answer open questions by speaking for up to 30 seconds at a time.
Oxford council also wants documentary proof of a qualification if licensing officers are not happy with the English shown by applicants during appointments.