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Australia¡¯s government is making arrangements to spot-check the language abilities of international students, amid persistent claims that many lack the English skills to participate meaningfully in university life.

The assistant minister for international education, Julian Hill, said he had asked his department to research the issue. ¡°I want some sampling data to actually understand if the anecdotes we¡¯re hearing are right or wrong,¡± he told the Australian International Education Conference in Canberra.

¡°I¡¯m not announcing some big policy change, but just to put people on notice, we are looking at these issues as they come up, and we¡¯ll make policy based on evidence.¡±

Stories have long abounded about overseas students who lack the language ability to participate in classroom conversations, let alone compose coherent academic texts. Some courses are reportedly so dominated by Chinese students that classes are conducted in Mandarin.

Hill said policymakers lacked the data to make informed judgements about such claims. Under current arrangements, incoming university students are only required to include evidence of their language abilities in visa applications if they come from a handful of countries rated as high immigration risk, and intend to attend institutions with moderate risk ratings.

Graduating students must undertake language tests to qualify for post-study work visas, but many students do not apply for these visas. Hill said English language ability was the ¡°key single factor¡± for better student employment outcomes.

He said international education practitioners needed to ¡°pay attention to the social licence¡± of their industry and ¡°maximise value in every sense for our country¡±. Foreign students¡¯ contributions to the economy, the workforce, the ¡°future migration pipeline¡± and Australia¡¯s ¡°soft power¡± must be clear and demonstrable, he warned.

Otherwise, the industry would remain vulnerable to ¡°people on certain parts of the political spectrum who want to find a football around race¡±. International education would ¡°always be an attractive target¡± because of the ¡°urban myths¡± about overseas students ¨C that they ¡°take our kids¡¯ places at universities¡±, for instance ¨C and because of their sheer numbers.

Hill said that while international students were ¡°not to blame for Australia¡¯s failure to build enough houses over decades¡±, their presence nevertheless contributed to accommodation shortages. ¡°The views of Australians do matter and need to be respected. In a mathematical sense, [overseas students are] a big target. If we want to dial that back, we have to show benefit to Australians.¡±

Melissa Banks, of consultants The Lygon Group, said the focus on social licence must be sustained. ¡°[We need] a plan about what we as a sector, in consultation and with support from government, can¡­achieve on the social licence front,¡± she told the conference.

¡°Can we please stop all talking about social licence at times of crisis, and actually do it when things are going well and we¡¯ve got the money to do it?¡±

Hill said Australia had ¡°dined out as a country for decades¡± on its claim to have educated generations of South-east Asian leaders. ¡°It¡¯s¡­just not true any more,¡± he said, with?only 14 per cent of onshore foreign students now recruited from Australia¡¯s nearest neighbours.

¡°The government¡¯s unashamedly wanting to harness the benefits of the sector in every sense, for Australia, but also [for] our neighbours. There is a reclamation task here.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com ?