101 Helpful <strong>Hints</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>IELTS</strong> 11 Q10. Study destination choices are mostly influenced by proximity to home. T F N 11 Q11. Students who wish to study business will probably study English overseas. T F N 46 Q12. Students of the same nationality usually make similar study choices. T F N 35 • 43 Q13. English language classrooms in the U.S. have the widest range of student nationalities. T F N 11-48 Q14. Standards at Australian and New Zealand tertiary institutions are improving. T F N 44-46 Q15. Despite the 1990s Asian economic crisis, Asian students still dominate the English language classrooms of Australia and New Zealand. T F N Check: 11-13-15 96
Practice Test One Reading Passage 2 Questions 16-31 You are advised to spend about 20 minutes on Questions 16-31. REGIONAL STUDENT SURVEY 6 38-44 52-54-57 A survey recently commissioned by the English Language Intensive Courses <strong>for</strong> Overseas Students (ELICOS) Association has produced valuable data as to why overseas students choose to study in Australia. Students were asked a range of questions to determine why they had chosen Australia, how they were going to use the English they had learnt, how they had spent their holidays, and what were their future plans. There were also asked to compare Australia with other countries where they could study English. Figure 1. Regional Breakdown of Student Sample Other 7% Pacific 0 5% Europe 102% Asia 73 4% 0 20 40 60 80 Of the 2200 questionnaires handed out, 1684 valid returns were used, representing approximately 11% of the estimated number of students studying at ELICOS colleges. The regional breakdown of the student sample was as follows: Asia 73.4%, Europe 10.2%, Pacific 0.5%, Other 7.0%. Japanese students <strong>for</strong>med the largest nationality group, representing 34% of the returns. Other nationality groups represented in the survey, in descending order, were Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Thailand, other European countries, China, and Iran. The top 11 reasons <strong>for</strong> choosing Australia as a place to study English were, in order of ranking, as follows: 1. Safety 2. Friends and relations in Australia 3. Climate and friendliness of Australians 4. Combine study with travel 5. Low cost of living 6. Friend's recommendation 7. Close to home country 8. High quality of courses 9. Work while studying 10. Hope to migrate 11. Low tuition fees Differences emerge when the responses of different nationality groups are analysed, yet there is some degree of uni<strong>for</strong>mity across regional areas. Students from most Asian countries, <strong>for</strong> instance, cited safety, climate, low cost of living, and friendliness of people as reasons <strong>for</strong> choosing Australia as a place to learn English. To Indonesian students, however, proximity to home country and quality of courses were the attractive factors. The overall profile of responses from Japanese students was in line with those of students from other Asian countries, although the opportunity to combine work and travel, study and travel, and high standard of courses were the major attractions. Students and tourists from Switzerland and other European countries were clearly attracted by Australia as a tourist destination. Their reasons <strong>for</strong> coming to Australia were quite distinct from those of Asian respondents, but bore some resemblance to Japanese respondents. When asked how they planned to use the English they were learning, 41 % answered that they would use their English <strong>for</strong> further study in Australia, 37% stated their English was to help obtain employment or to advance their existing career, 9% planned to use it in their travels, 6% <strong>for</strong> further study in their home country, 5% <strong>for</strong> further study in a third country, and 2% specified "other". A significantly high proportion of students of all nationalities was interested in English providing a springboard <strong>for</strong> further study in Australia. No Swiss student indicated an interest in studying English as a means of facilitating communication when travelling. Female respondents from Hong Kong, Korea, 97
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