Students’ English woes

Monica Sharma

The numbers are growing year by year when it comes to the enrolment of Indian students in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. In Australia, there are more than 60,000 Indian students studying across different universities and colleges. Australia is emerging as one of the preferred destinations for Indian students due to its welcoming visa policies and high education standards.

However, the preferred destination is also throwing up a challenge to students on the language front. Many students are spending a lot on improving their English language skills. Some international students admit it becomes very tough to understand the Austrlian accent during classes. A large number of the students are therefore advised to take up English coaching classes to attain a certain level of proficiency in the language.

The Australian government as well as the universities offer coaching classes to enable students to adjust to the new environment. Poor English is becoming a matter of concern as international students have to take up a test again when they seek permanent residency.

The students are enrolled in the majority of the Australian universities on the basis of their score in International English Language Testing System (IELTS ) and Pearson Test of English. On completing their studies, they have to appear for another English proficiency test in which the qualifying marks are quite high.

Monika Kumar, lecturer, Adult Migrant English Programme, says: “English courses are being offered to immigrants to help them fit into the Australian culture. There are courses offered by different universities also to help international students with the language.” 

As students lack requisite English language skills, they also face problems in completing the assignments. Ramandeep Singh, who hails from Ludhiana, Punjab, says: “I had cleared the IELTS test after three attempts with much effort. However, when I landed in Australia, I was told to go through another course in the college — ‘English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students’.”

He said the 12-weeklong course costs more than $5,000. The programmes have been designed for students who require English language training before starting formal studies in Australia. If the students fail to clear the test, they are asked to continue taking classes or else select a diploma instead of a degree course. Nancy, a university student in Sydney, adds, “We were never told by the agents processing our files from India that even after we clear the IELTS, we will be asked to pay fees for another English course in Australia.”

The students rue that because of too much focus on gaining English proficiency they can’t get enough time for the course they have opted for. The students are left to suffer further as they can’t even take out time to do part-time jobs.  

International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) CEO Phil Honeywood says, “I interact with many Indian students and the majority of them make three mistakes. Soon after arriving they share accommodation with students from the same culture and speak in their first language all the time. They hardly speak English.”

He further explains: “Students land up in jobs with the Indian-Australian employers. As a result, they hardly interact with people from other cultures. They hardly speak in English at home or with employers, even though they are in Australia.” He suggests the Indian students should study hard in India itself to attain good command of English so that they don’t face difficulty in the alien land.