Spotlight again on foreign students (1 Viewer)

[Benny_]

This is something slightly different so I started a new thread for it I thought Asqy was being paranoid the other day about the racial stereotyping of foreign students. Then I get up this morning and find these. I have to say I'm slightly disturbed now.

English tests faked to cheat on residency
Migration agents risk universities' future
A tough lesson in grasping foreign tonguesl
Graduates fail visa tests and home-country teaching standards

 

[MoonlightSonata]

This is something slightly different so I started a new thread for it I thought Asqy was being paranoid the other day about the racial stereotyping of foreign students. Then I get up this morning and find these. I have to say I'm slightly disturbed now.

English tests faked to cheat on residency
Migration agents risk universities' future
A tough lesson in grasping foreign tonguesl
Graduates fail visa tests and home-country teaching standards

lol

The first article might explain what we were talking about the other day.

 

[Korn]

Forged English-language certificates are trading for as much as $10,000 on the black market and professional exam sitters are being hired to take the tests, a Herald investigation has found.

How would this even be possible they check your Student ID card before entering exams, so unless the same person sits all your exams and has their photo on your card its not likely. Also what about Assignments who does them?

However, even genuine test scores were no guarantee students could speak English well enough for Australian university courses, because more than half the country's universities had set the language bar too low, Ms Cooper said.
But the dean of La Trobe University's law and management faculty, Raymond Harbridge, said Australian universities were under growing pressure from their overseas partners to soften the English entry criteria. Professor Harbridge said that when he was in China last month he was pressed by at least eight of the university's private education providers in different cities to lower the IELTS entry requirement to masters programs from 6.5 to 6. Some universities, which he refused to name, had complied, he said. The Herald has learnt that Adelaide University has lowered its English score from 6.5 to 6 this year for entry into its master of commerce program.
The federal Education Minister, Brendan Nelson, said English language entry levels were a matter for the universities to decide.

This isnt even fair to those students who are from these countries cause they wont be able to understand the course anyway if they cant speak or understand English

 

[transcendent]

Yeah, I know a few international students who I feel shouldn't be at university cause their English literacy is shocking.

 

[William_Lawry]

as long as they dont bring their 3rd world diseases and dont take my uni spot, i am happy

 

[santaslayer]

If the internationals have the money, they have the right.

 

[Sarah]

How would this even be possible they check your Student ID card before entering exams, so unless the same person sits all your exams and has their photo on your card its not likely. Also what about Assignments who does them?

I think the article refers to people who sat the english proficiency test? Maybe conditions under which those tests are conducted aren't as strict as university.

Although you do find that some ppl resemble eachother so that could be another way.

As to assignments, ppl can either advertise their services e.g posters around uni or word of mouth and students pay them. It does happen

This isnt even fair to those students who are from these countries cause they wont be able to understand the course anyway if they cant speak or understand English

No it's not. But consider the reverse situation. What would happen if you were in a foreign country? (non-english speaking). You may have a grasp of the language however you may not be fluent as speakers of the language who were born in that country.

 

[iamsickofyear12]

In my 3 mid session exams student ID's were checked only once, and that one time he just glanced at them from the isle to just make sure we had one and didn't even look at the pictures.

It is very true that some international students do not have the english lanuage skills. I did a group presentation and 2 of the members of my group were international students, one of them wasn't too bad but one was shocking. And it is clear in other tutorials there are more who cannot speak english very well.

I have no idea how they intend on passing but obviously they must somehow.

 

[ogmzergrush]

Last time I sat an exam my id was checked three seperate times, complete with the person bending down to have a *really* good look at my face.

Money or not, I've come across people who I don't feel should be at (An english-speaking) University, as their difficulties with the language have been extreme to the point where their obvious difficulty to keep up has disrupted the class. In extreme cases, where multiple individuals of this type have been in the class, I've spent up to half a tutorial waiting while people attempted to mark attendance (In the end resorting to marking it by student number, because of difficulties in understanding the process).

Before anyone gets carried away and starts calling me a racist, I don't have a problem at all with people with moderate difficulties in understanding the language, but I draw the line when I'm paying to sit around and wait for people to come to terms with basic English. Not only do I think this is unfair for those who do understand what is going on, but I don't see how, if these people have so much difficulty understanding the language, it is that they get anything meaningful for their money.

To make it perfectly clear for anyone still struggling, I realise that this is not indicative of international students as a whole, and in no way mean to suggest that this is the case.

 

[Korn]

No it's not. But consider the reverse situation. What would happen if you were in a foreign country? (non-english speaking). You may have a grasp of the language however you may not be fluent as speakers of the language who were born in that country.

I was emphasising with them, if I couldnt understand a language that a course is based on I reckon I would really struggle, I was saying that it isnt fair on International Students if they have limited English skills and are expected to be able to have highschool level english. IMO if I were in that position I would be upset that my govt and education system gave me a false sense of reality

 

[soha]

hm my cousin is coming to australia as an international student to study at some uni next year(i think)
but his english is good..he was taught at an international school overseas...

i found even at highschool..the people who had come from ther country and were put in year 11 and 12..had difficulty in english and were failing but getting like 100% in 3 unit maths and physics etc..
thats because you dont need the english language to understanbd that shit

 

[my sharona]

I think to some extent it's choice.

If you're studying in a country with a foreign language, it's pretty hard not to pick it up. The fact that there are so many international students like them make it somehow acceptable, as they all do ESL English and 4u Math in Yr 12, and then in Uni they do their mathsy subjects.

If they really wanted to improve their English, they could open up their minds to be receptive to non-asian TV, non-asian music, non-asian movies, non-asian people etc...

Some guy i met at UNSW, spoke virtually perfect English, and when I asked him "How long have you lived in Australia?", he looked at his watch and told me "Nine days".

 

[Benny_]

What's really bad is when international students come to Australia.. and pick up a different language, and I'm not talking about English. As has been proved with Babblefish hundreds of times in the past, using the dictionary to translated one language into another, and then from that into a third language just doesn't work.

 

[noneother]

hm my cousin is coming to australia as an international student to study at some uni next year(i think)
but his english is good..he was taught at an international school overseas...

i found even at highschool..the people who had come from ther country and were put in year 11 and 12..had difficulty in english and were failing but getting like 100% in 3 unit maths and physics etc..
thats because you dont need the english language to understanbd that shit

Yeah this type of thing happened at my high school. There was one particular fob who was particularly elite, to the point of coming top 5 in all his subjects including english!

 

[Korn]

I think to some extent it's choice.

If you're studying in a country with a foreign language, it's pretty hard not to pick it up. The fact that there are so many international students like them make it somehow acceptable, as they all do ESL English and 4u Math in Yr 12, and then in Uni they do their mathsy subjects.

If they really wanted to improve their English, they could open up their minds to be receptive to non-asian TV, non-asian music, non-asian movies, non-asian people etc...

Some guy i met at UNSW, spoke virtually perfect English, and when I asked him "How long have you lived in Australia?", he looked at his watch and told me "Nine days".

Wow, thats pretty amazing, what country did this guy come from but?

 

[my sharona]

Rural China.

Afterwards i exhausted what pitful chinese i can speak trying to talk about the difference between Australian and Chinese cows.

 

[withoutaface]

I only have a problem with them if I end up paired with someone who speaks zero English for a group assignment.

*crosses fingers