Explaining a 'strange' detail

A portrait of Sunnie Nguyen, the female student who is currently missing mysteriously in Australia.

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Sunnie Nguyen (17 years old, real name Nguyen Hoan Ngoc Anh) is the fifth Vietnamese exchange student at Hamilton High School (Adelaide) to mysteriously disappear in Australia recently. Authorities announced on January 11th that one person had been found, but there is still no news on the remaining four cases, including one who has been missing for over four weeks. Police also believe the five disappearances are unrelated and that the students may have traveled to another state.

Speaking to the Daily Mail , Mary, Sunnie's host family, said everyone was extremely worried about the girl's safety. She is reportedly very shy and has difficulty communicating. "She couldn't speak English when she first arrived in Australia. Now she's more open with us and her housemates, but when she's out, Sunnie still needs someone to translate for her," Mary explained.

This detail has led many to question how Australia reviews and grants visas to Vietnamese students. Because, if choosing to study in an English-speaking country, international students are usually required to meet a certain level of English proficiency, demonstrated by scores on English proficiency tests such as IELTS. "But why can't they communicate well in English?", many people question.

In response to this question, Mr. Vu Thai An, Director of GLINT Study Abroad Company (Ho Chi Minh City), stated that Australia is a very welcoming country for international students. Regarding the visa application process, Australia categorizes applicants into three assessment levels. Level 1, the highest, does not require proof of financial resources or a mandatory English proficiency certificate such as IELTS.

"Vietnam was ranked in Group 1 by Australia in May 2023, and this may be the reason why international students don't need to take an English proficiency test before coming to Australia. Furthermore, for students under 18 studying at the secondary level, Australian schools won't have the same strict IELTS requirements as for undergraduate programs."

Typically, the school will interview or give international students a test while they are still in Vietnam to assess their English proficiency. If their English level is weak, the school may still accept them, only requiring them to study English at the school for 6-10 weeks or longer before starting the official program. Therefore, Vietnamese students can absolutely go to Australia and then start studying English," An explained.

This regulation differs from another popular study abroad destination, the US, where international students are required to demonstrate English proficiency before they can study, the director added.

Hamilton High School (Adelaide), where five Vietnamese exchange students have been mysteriously missing at different times over the past month.

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Sharing the same view, Dr. Nguyen Vinh Quang, Director of Mr.Q International Career Education Organization (Ho Chi Minh City), and also a member of two professional associations in Australia (CDAA and CICA), said that for the high school study abroad pathway, Australian schools require international students to achieve IELTS 5.0 (for grade 10) and 5.5 (for grades 11 and 12) or other equivalent certificates, such as PTE.

"It's very likely that the Vietnamese student went to Australia before the country tightened its visa policies. At that time, Australia was still 'open' to Vietnam, so they only needed to take an English entrance test, then study English in Australia for up to 20 weeks to be officially admitted to the main program," Mr. Quang said, adding that students could also "accelerate" their studies to enter the main program earlier.

Another reason why Vietnamese students studying in Australia don't speak English fluently is because some regions in Australia speak with local accents, which can be "a bit difficult for first-time listeners." "Sometimes, Vietnamese students may have excellent reading and writing skills, but their listening and speaking abilities might not keep up with Australians. This is normal, and generally, it's impossible to come to Australia without knowing English because those under 18 are very closely monitored by the government ," Mr. Quang stated.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/vu-5-du-hoc-sinh-viet-mat-tich-tai-uc-giai-dap-mot-chi-tiet-la-185240114123638935.htm