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More than one-third of foreign students graduating from Australian universities, mainly Asians, have such poor English skills they should never have been admitted, research showed. A study by demographer Bob Birrell found that more than 50 percent of South Korean and Thai students did not have sufficient English to work professionally in Australia, along with more than 43 percent of Chinese graduates. Some 17 percent of students from Singapore and India, where English is more widely spoken also failed to reach the required level. Overall, 34 percent of the graduating foreign students offered permanent residence visas in 2006 did not have competent English.
Birrell of Melbourne's Monash University, said almost all the 12,000 graduates tested for the survey were from Asia because these students are the most likely to apply for permanent residency on completing their studies.
However, he said that he believed the study to be representative of all foreign students, partly because Asia was a major source of fee-paying overseas students for Australian universities. “It does raise questions about university standards,” Birrell told AFP. Tertiary institutions are reliant on international students because they provide 15 percent of funding, leading to suggestions that academic standards are sacrificed in favor of financial rewards.
Education Minister Julie Bishop described the survey as "an extraordinary attack by Professor Birrell on our universities." “International students must meet international benchmarks in language in order to get a place in a university in Australia,” she said. The study found all graduates tested had enough command of the language to cope in most situations. “But people who have reached this standard are still not capable of conducting a sophisticated discourse at the professional level,” it said.
In his report, Birrell said there was a "mountain of anecdotal material" that many overseas students struggle to meet their course requirements and that universities cope by lowering the English demands of the courses. “There is widening recognition of the English problem,” he said. “But universities were hesitant to make students take extra language courses because this would make them more expensive and therefore less attractive than rival institutions,” he said. However, Professor Gerard Sutton, the president of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, said most foreign students would be proficient in reading, writing and listening to English. “What I think has been highlighted is a deficiency in spoken language,” he told AFP, adding that a deficiency in this area would not prevent them from completing a university course.
(Taken From : SOAL SPMB 2007 Regional I Kode Naskah 541)
1. The respondents of the survey were _______________
A. students entering Australian universities from Asia
B. all foreign students graduating from Australian universities
C. mostly Asian students who graduated from Australian universities
D. foreign students at graduate programs in a Australian universities
E. Australian and foreign graduates of all Australian universities
2. This passage is probably taken from ___________________
A. a demographic report for the Australian Ministry of Education
B. a handbook for foreign university students in Australia
C. an article in the education column of a newspaper
D. a brochure about tertiary education in Australia
E. a popular lifestyle magazine for young people
3.Which of the following statements is FALSE about Asian students studying in Australian universities?
A. Most of these students do not meet the requirements for Australian universities.
B. Students from Singapore and India are better in their English than those from China.
C. They pay the highest fees for their education compared to other foreign students.
D. There is no problem for graduating foreign students to get permanent resident visas.
E. Australian universities consider Asian students as the major source of their income.
4. From the text we can infer that Australian universities ____________________
A. are lowering their standards to get more foreign students
B. are making it easier for Asian students to learn English
C. are willing to provide English language courses for students
D. are hesitant to admit students with insufficient English skills
E. don't require foreign students to take courses in English
5. The minister of Education thinks that the report is an attack on Australian Universities because it ____________________
A. was made to undermine the position of the Australian Minister of Education
B. could damage the good reputation of Australian universities
C. aims at destroying the image of the universities accepting foreign students
D. has been published without getting the approval of the Ministry of Education
E. shows that Australian universities are not successful in teaching English
Kunci jawaban:
1. B. all foreign students graduating from Australian universities
2. C. an article in the education column of a newspaper
3. B. Students from Singapore and India are better in their English than those from China.
4. A. are lowering their standards to get more foreign students
5. B. could damage the good reputation of Australian universities
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