English proficiency in Australia, 1981 to 2016
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11228556 |
|---|---|
| Authors | P Mcdonald (0000-0001-5579-0335, Demography and Ageing, Centre for Health Policy, The Melbourne School of Population and Global Health The University of Melbourne Melbourne Vic Australia, corresponding author), Helen Moyle (0000-0003-2016-3969, Demography and Ageing, Centre for Health Policy, The Melbourne School of Population and Global Health The University of Melbourne Melbourne Vic Australia), J Temple (0000-0002-2819-2863, Demography and Ageing, Centre for Health Policy, The Melbourne School of Population and Global Health The University of Melbourne Melbourne Vic Australia) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 112-134 |
| Publication date | 2019-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Journal of Social Issues (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0157-6321 • E-ISSN: 1839-4655 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajs4.67 |
| OpenAlex | W2955359479 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 8 |
Using Australian census data, the paper examines the incidence of poor English competency in Australia from 1981 onwards. The paper examines English competency in relation to various characteristics such as sex, age, language spoken, visa type, citizenship, duration of residence and location. It finds that there was a sharp rise in the numbers of people not speaking English well between the 2011 and 2016 Censuses and special attention is given to this rise in the paper. Recently, the Australian Government unsuccessfully legislated for the introduction of a requirement of English competency at the level of IELTS 6 (the commonly used university entrance level) as a condition for the award of Australian citizenship. The paper argues that this test would have led to a very large number of disenfranchised Australian permanent residents and this would be a highly undesirable result. Nevertheless, employment and social participation are strongly influenced by English competency and residents with poor English are disadvantaged. The policy suggestion is made that participation in a course of English language training for those without functional English skills could be made a precondition of the award of permanent residence—without the application of a passing grade
Census · Citizenship · Demographic economics · Disadvantaged · Economics · English language · Government (linguistics · Linguistics · Mathematics education · Political science · Politics · Population · Project commissioning · Publishing · Residence · Sociology · Test (biology · Demography · Education Systems and Policy · Law · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching
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Neuropsychological assessment of older Australian immigrant populations
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Partners in Education Survey
Introduction to the Special Issue on Big Data and Social Policy in Australia
Spatial Contexts of Language Shift and Heritage Language Retention within a Highly Diverse Population
| Citations per year | 1.6 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |