Refugee advocates have been quizzed by federal politicians about the importance of English language ability for new migrants to Australia.
The topic was raised during a parliamentary inquiry established, in part, to investigating the drivers of gang crimes waged by young migrants in Victoria.
But the issue has been given extra weight as Immigration Minister Peter Dutton prepares to revamp citizenship laws and include tougher English language tests.
Om Dhungyel, who helps Bhutanese refugees settle in western Sydney, told of harnessing a person's passions and strengths when guiding them into study or training for jobs catered to local demand.
"Once you talk about hairdressing, that person is motivated to be a hairdresser, and in the process will be self-motivated to learn the language," Dr Dhungyel told MPs in Canberra on Wednesday.
He warned against a top-down approach to migrant settlement services and said there was a huge gap in drawing on the lived experiences of refugees.
Quizzed on the topic of gang crime, he and Shukufa Tahiri from the Refugee Council of Australia spoke of the "terrible underfunding" of organisations trying to deliver simple solutions to engage youths.
Ms Tahiri said South Sudanese migrants - some of whom had been drawn into gang crimes - were not well supported when they arrived in Australia and were subjected to racism and discrimination.
Dr Dhungyel stressed the importance of listening to and working with individuals rather than groups in tackling disengagement and exclusion among migrant youths.
Outside the inquiry, political debate raged about Mr Dutton's plans to introduce legislation to parliament this week including a values test and university-level English language requirements for prospective citizens.
"English is our language," Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce told reporters.
"It's an incredible endowment to come to this free, peaceful nation and of course, it comes with a formal contract. You've got to make yourself available so you can get easy employment, that you can converse easily," he said.
"So that requires speaking English."
Liberal frontbencher Zed Seselja said the real question was whether Bill Shorten and the Labor Party would support the measures.
"Asking people to learn English, asking people to pledge allegiance to Australia and to Australian values and to demonstrate some level of integration is certainly something that the vast majority of Australians would agree with," he said.
Labor senator Anthony Chisholm says the opposition is still waiting to see the government's legislation.
"I think everyone who comes to Australia needs to sign up to Australian laws and Australian values," he said.
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