international students 'down under

Section (i)

A recently published analysis of a major survey taken of international students in Australia is providing up-to-date data for teachers and marketers of English language training programs.

Section (ii)

The major regions of student representation in the survey were Asia with 73.4% of students, Europe 10.2%, Pacific 0.5%, and Other 7%.

Japanese students formed the largest national group, representing 34% of the student population. Other national groups represented, in descending order, were Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Thailand, other European countries, China, and Iran.

Increases in arrivals since the early 1990s have occurred from all major source countries, except China, with an increase of almost 50% from Western Europe.

Section (iii)

Approximately one-third of the students questioned were 20 years and under, and almost three-quarters were 25 and under. Only 8% were aged over 30, and fewer than 3% were over 35.

Almost half of all students aged between 31 and 35 were students in Australia on student visas. As expected, very high proportions (79%) of working holiday visa holders were aged between 21 and 25. Tourist visa holders ranged from under 20 to 31.

The oldest students were from Iran, with 60% aged over 30 and 25% over 35. Students from China also tended to be older than other nationalities, with 25% in the over 30 age bracket.

More than half the Korean students were in their early 20s, with only a few over 25. Students from Hong Kong were also predominantly young, with over half aged under 20. At least 20% of students from all major national groups, except Korea and China, were under 20 years of age. Indonesian students were the youngest, with over 60% under 20.

The Japanese, Swiss, Taiwanese, and Thai profiles followed quite closely the overall student age profile.

Section (iv)

Overall, female students outnumbered male students in the survey. However, there were more males than females from four countries: Iran, Indonesia, Korea, and, to a lesser extent, China. Females accounted for 60% of students from Taiwan, Switzerland, and Japan. Gender differences concerning the responses to questions were noticed, but varied widely according to nationality.

Section (v)

A very high proportion (87%) of students had completed senior high school or better. Just under one-third had completed a university degree, and 5% had completed a postgraduate degree. Over a third had at least completed high school, and over 20% had completed a technical diploma or junior college.

Students with a maximum middle school education formed less than 7% of all respondents, and came predominantly from Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Iranian students were among the highest educated, with more than half having already completed a postgraduate degree.

Koreans, Thais, and Chinese were also particularly well educated, with over 60% of each national group having completed at least a first university degree. Almost half of the Japanese and more than half of the Swiss respondents had completed education to senior high school level or less.

Section (vi)

While student visa holders took either 10-29 week or 40 week courses, most students on working holiday and tourist visas took courses of less than 10 weeks, or from 10 to 19 weeks in length.

More than 50% of all students were taking courses of between 10 and 29 weeks, with the proportion fairly evenly divided between the 10-19 week and 20-29 week ranges. A large proportion of students were taking courses of at least 40 weeks in length, and only a few students indicated enrolment in courses shorter than 10 weeks.

There were noticeable differences between nationalities, with Koreans, Japanese, and Taiwanese taking longer courses than other nationalities, and Swiss and other European students taking much shorter courses.

Section (vii)

Interest in further education differed significantly from country to country. Students from Iran (94.8%), Hong Kong (88.7%),China(88.4%),Thailand(88.3%), and Indonesia (85.4%) registered high levels of interest, whereas lower interest was shown by respondents from Japan (42%) and Korea (62%). There was much lower interest in further study among students from Switzerland (13%), and other European countries accounted for (26%).