Professor Wendy Ayres-Bennett (pictured) said Britons should learn Polish and Urdu to be more welcoming to immigrants

Britons should learn Polish and Urdu to be more welcoming to immigrants, a Cambridge University professor has said.

Wendy Ayres-Bennett, professor of French philology and linguistics at the university, said it was 'very important to think of integration as a two-way street.'

She has backed calls for immigrants to learn English once they arrive, but wants Brits to make more of an effort to adapt.

She said: 'Considering the issue from the point of view of language learning, we rightly expect immigrants to learn English but, as a nation, we often don't see the need ourselves to learn another language, and consider it to be something difficult and only for the intellectual elite.

'I would like to see more opportunities for British people to learn some of the community languages of the UK, such as Polish, Punjabi and Urdu, particularly in areas where there are high numbers of those speakers, so that there is some mutual effort in understanding the others' language and culture.

'Even a basic knowledge would be beneficial, which might be acquired formally or through engaging in joint community projects.'

Prof Ayres-Bennett, who also leads the MEITS project promoting multilingualism, spoke out after two major reports into integration in British society, published by Dame Louise Casey and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Social Integration.

We rightly expect immigrants to learn English but, as a nation, we often don't see the need ourselves to learn another language Professor Wendy Ayres-Bennett

The Casey review and the APPG's report highlighted the need for more English language classes to reach communities that predominantly speak other languages.

Prof Ayres-Bennett said the reports reinforced the importance of languages in social cohesion as she supported their recommendations for immigrants to learn English.

She said: 'Without English, immigrants are likely to develop exclusive social networks and alternative labour markets.

'For most people, language is at the very heart of their identity.

'We need to respect and celebrate this and to see English as adding to their multilingual and multicultural identities, rather than trying to force immigrants to suppress or even lose their home language and culture.'