English language teaching and globalisation

Advanced technology and communication have implications for people movement. There are more people pursuing their degrees overseas than ever before. English speaking countries have been chosen by a large number of international students particularly from non-English speaking background. Aside from targeting an overseas qualification these students also intend to improve their English proficiency. Australia is one among the countries with a large number of international students. This growth has also prompted numerous studies on international students and aspects of their experience, ranging from market research to scholarly projects. If there is one theme that stands out in the entire literature on international education it is the language-related difficulties that are faced by international students particularly students from English as a foreign language country. The paper identifies language issues of international students studying in Australia tertiary institutions. The difficulties range from verbal communications to written expression. The study also reports how language difficulties affect the students’ everyday encounters. Data were derived from the researcher’s work on international students in Australia, specifically semi-structured interviews with 200 students from 31 countries, and other literature on international students. Understanding the difficulties experienced by international students has global implications not only for higher institutions in Australia but also for provider countries sending international students especially language teachers in high schools, higher institutions and language courses.