Sharp growth in languages

AUSTRALIA is recruiting overseas students to key university and vocational education pathways at three times the international average, a report from English Australia, the association of English teaching colleges, shows.

English Australia executive director Sue Blundell has warned that the "very, very strong" recruitment of students to English language intensive courses for overseas students had significant implications for universities. University staff concerned with the ability of international students to handle higher education refer to the ELICOS sector as the canary in the coalmine, as the universities look at ELICOS trends for signals about what was likely to happen to their overseas student numbers in the next six to 12 months, MsBlundell told the HES.

"For the past three years growth in the English language sector has been very, very strong, and stronger than in our key competitor countries, the UK, the US and Canada," she said.

Australia's average growth in 2006 -- the latest year for which international comparison figures are available -- was 21 per cent, ahead of the US, Britain and Canada, and way ahead of the 6per cent global growth in ELICOS internationally, she said.

An estimated 14 per cent of all ELICOS students are expected to go on to higher education, another 11 per cent to vocational education and 5per cent to schools.

Ms Blundell agreed that the prospect of permanent residency was "a significant part of the growth", especially for the Indian subcontinent, and there was also strong growth from Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Brazil.

The increases from China and India across all sectors were driving most of the growth in student visas and pathways generally, she said.

Ms Blundell said the latest figures showed "there's real stability in the sector, diversity is really growing and the average length of study has increased from 10.9 weeks to 12 weeks, which across 140,000 students is considerable extra economic value".

Asked whether the report shed light on the English standards of overseas students, which is emerging as a key barrier to their ability to obtain domestic professional jobs, MsBlundell said it looked only at the pre-university entry profile of ELICOS students.

"Having the English language skills they need for further study before they enter tertiary studies is the primary role of ELICOS and once they go on they need further support, and that's where the baton is passed on from ELICOS to tertiary providers," she said.

The EA report comes as Swinburne University proceeds with its plan for a communication skills program to support undergraduates.

Swinburne deputy vice-chancellor Dale Murphy told the HES the move was prompted by educational literature and employer and academic feedback that many graduates from universities across Australia would benefit from improved communication skills.

Centre for the Study of Higher Education deputy director Sophie Arkoudis told the HES that academics faced an increasingly challenging task in pitching their curriculum to students from diverse backgrounds and with diverse English proficiency.

"While (the focus has been on) international students and their literacy, many academics have also been concerned about the standards of English for local students," she said.

About 23 per cent of students coming to university from local schools were from non-English- speaking backgrounds, and many native speakers also did not have academic English skills, she said.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24097903-12332,00.html?from=public_rss

Guy Healy
July 30, 2008
The Australian