Australia is striving to become the “destination of choice” for aspiring English learners within five years, with the government releasing a new strategy to grow the market.
The draft English Language Teaching – International Engagement Strategy 2025 outlines a broad plan to create more jobs and drive more economic growth, and was developed in conjunction with Australia’s peak body for English language, English Australia.
The strategy is based on four objectives:
- Providing a welcoming, safe and world-leading student experience
- Supporting the English language teaching sector to actively embrace new opportunities and adopt innovative practices and models
- Australia’s English language teaching sector is flexible supporting both stand-alone and seamless transition in further studies
- English language teaching is recognised as a valued and integral part of Australia’s international education sector
Australia’s minister for Education, Dan Tehan, said the strategy will build on the sector’s existing strengths and achievements with a view to further enhancing Australia’s competitive and comparative advantages in the global provision of English language teaching.
“80% of the world’s population doesn’t speak English and English is the most popular language to study, so the potential of this sector is enormous,” he said.
Data from English Australia shows that in 2018 nearly 180,000 students studied English in Australia, with two-thirds studying on a student visa.
“The strategy will identify opportunities for more students to study English in Australia and will map out opportunities to increase our English language teaching footprint in Australia, online and internationally,” Tehan continued.
“The development of a long-term strategy will help ensure the sustainable growth of the sector through to 2025 and beyond.”
The Department of Education, Skills and Employment is seeking stakeholder comment on the suitability of the objectives, actions and measures of success before it finalises the strategy.
The deadline for submissions is April 3, 2020
