The claim

As part of an overhaul of Australia's citizenship test to address concerns over national security, the Federal Government is proposing a tough new English language competency test.

Tony Burke, the Opposition spokesman for citizenship and multicultural Australia, claims the new language test proposed by the Government would demand the same level of English proficiency that is required for university admission — a standard too stringent for some new migrants.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 8 minutes 8 seconds 8 m Tony Burke joins Insiders

On June 25 he told the ABC's Insiders program: "The Howard government introduced a test, which we supported when they introduced it. It's a test that is in English. You basically need to have conversational-level English to be able to pass it and that is reasonable. What the Government is now demanding is university-level English. Now, that's ridiculous."

But Peter Dutton, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, dismisses Mr Burke's assertion as a "red herring".

So, is Mr Burke correct? Will the proposed English language test demand a standard of English required for university entry?

RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.

The verdict

Mr Burke is correct.

According to language testing experts and research by Fact Check, it is clear that applicants sitting the new English language test in order to obtain Australian citizenship would need to meet a standard equivalent to that expected of university entrants.

Strengthening the test for Australian citizenship

To become an Australian citizen, migrants must pass a citizenship test. This is designed to assess whether they have an adequate knowledge of Australia and an understanding of the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship.

At the moment, migrants do not have to sit a separate English language test because the citizenship test itself is a de facto English language test. Applicants need a basic knowledge of English to pass.

The citizenship test consists of 20 multiple-choice questions and has a pass mark of 75 per cent.

In April 2017, the Government proposed an overhaul of the citizenship test to address what it said were concerns over national security. The overhaul includes the introduction of a new separate English language test, which applicants would have to undertake before sitting the citizenship test. The language test would assess skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Aspiring citizens would have to sit the new language test with an accredited provider and achieve a minimum level of "competent".

The Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Requirements for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill 2017 was introduced into Parliament on June 15, 2017. It states that an applicant must demonstrate a "competent" rather than a "basic" knowledge of English, and that the minister will determine the circumstances in which a person has competent English.

After the legislation was introduced, and following Mr Burke's claim that the test required university-level English, Mr Dutton issued a media release saying migrants seeking to become Australian citizens would need to achieve the equivalent of a band six score in the general training stream of the International English Language Testing System, or IELTS.



He told ABC radio: "At the moment, the [Australian citizenship] test is basic, so, we move up one rank from five to six on a scale of one to nine."



The IELTS test



IELTS measures the language proficiency of people who want to study or work in English-speaking countries. It runs from band score one (non-English speakers) to band score nine (expert). There are two streams of the test: academic and general training. The academic version is for people applying for higher education or professional registration and the general version is for people migrating to countries such as Australia, or applying for secondary education, training programs and work experience.



If a band score six is achievable in both streams, what's the difference in the tests? Both tests assess reading, writing, speaking and listening. The speaking and listening sections are the same in both streams. (So, half the test in the general and academic streams is identical). The difference is in the reading and writing sections.



In the reading section, applicants in both streams answer 40 questions designed to test for skills such as comprehension, following a logical argument and recognising opinion. But the material they are asked to consider is different.



So, the academic stream might ask applicants to consider an article from a book or journal, with the emphasis on argumentative texts, while the general stream might ask applicants to consider an article from a newspaper or magazine, with the emphasis on descriptive and instructive texts.



In the writing section, applicants in the academic stream are tested on various criteria, including their ability to study tables, graphs or charts and describe or explain them in a formal style, while applicants in the general stream will be asked to write a letter or explain a situation, using a personal style if they want. In both streams applicants are asked to write an essay.



And here's where it gets interesting.



Mr Burke says the equivalent of a band six on the IELTS is the level required for university entry in Australia and some universities are even happy to accept a level of English proficiency lower than what would be required in the new language test.



But Mr Dutton, in his media release, stresses that for citizenship purposes, the Government would deem the equivalent of band score six in the general stream of the IELTS as "competent". He argues that Mr Burke's claim that the test requires university-level English is therefore incorrect.

"The 'university-level' English claim is a red herring," the media release says.



So, what exactly does a band six score denote? Here is the complete IELTS nine-band scale. Band five describes the test taker as having "partial command of the language", and band six is described as "effective command of the language".

Band score Skill level Description Band 9 Expert user You have a full operational command of the language. Your use of English is appropriate, accurate and fluent, and you show complete understanding. Band 8 Very good user You have a fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriate usage. You may misunderstand some things in unfamiliar situations. You handle complex detailed argumentation well. Band 7 Good user You have an operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally you handle complex language well and understand detailed reasoning. Band 6 Competent user Generally you have an effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings. You can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations. Band 5 Modest user You have a partial command of the language, and cope with overall meaning in most situations, although you are likely to make many mistakes. You should be able to handle basic communication in your own field. Band 4 Limited user Your basic competence is limited to familiar situations. You frequently show problems in understanding and expression. You are not able to use complex language. Band 3 Extremely limited user You convey and understand only general meaning in very familiar situations. There are frequent breakdowns in communication. Band 2 Intermittent user You have great difficulty understanding spoken and written English. Band 1 Non-user You have no ability to use the language except a few isolated words. Band 0 Did not attempt the test You did not answer the questions.

Fact Check researched the IELTS band required for entry into 14 Australian universities across all states and found they needed a minimum overall score of six or 6.5 in the academic stream.

For example, Sydney University requires an overall score of 6.5 in the academic stream for an undergraduate course; La Trobe requires six; University of Tasmania asks for 6.5; RMIT 6.5 and Flinders University six.



But that's not the end of the story.



What the experts say

International linguistics expert Professor Tim McNamara, at the University of Melbourne, was involved in the creation of IELTS. He told Fact Check: "The level that is required in the reforms is the same level that many university courses in Australia require for entry."



How come? Professor McNamara explains: "The tasks (in the academic and general streams) are different but the standard required is the same.



"It doesn't matter if you take one or the other — people sometimes take the academic one for immigration purposes. But the level to pass is identical."



Professor McNamara said Mr Burke was correct in arguing that applicants applying for citizenship would be required to reach "university level".



He said IELTS was calibrated against the Common European Framework for Reference for Languages (CEFR). This is an established guideline used to describe achievements of foreign language learners in Europe and elsewhere.



Interestingly, the language proficiency levels required for citizenship in European countries are equivalent to IELTS bands four to five. This means Australia's requirement for citizenship would be higher than any other country in Europe, including Britain.



"It is very likely that Australia has the most stringent language testing for citizenship anywhere in the world," said Professor McNamara, who is researching the use of language tests in immigration and citizenship contexts.



He said the use of language tests for citizenship per se was acceptable.

"My beef is with the level. If you keep it simple, it emphasizes that English is important. When you say you need high levels, which is manifestly nonsense (for citizenship purposes), then the effect is discriminatory."

Dr Ute Knoch, the director of the Language Testing Research Centre at the University of Melbourne, told Fact Check the level of English proficiency required by Australian universities varied depending on the course, but many accepted the equivalent of IELTS band six.



Referring to Mr Dutton's comment that citizenship would not require university-level English, she said: "He is certainly wrong when he says it's not university level."



"Level six on the general test and level six on the academic test [have] the same meaning in terms of the level of English required," she said.

"Either way, the real question is why aspiring citizens need to demonstrate such a high level of English proficiency."



What's the experience of English teachers at the coalface? Christine Mooney has taught new migrants English as an Additional Language (EAL) for nine years in the outer Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West.

To reach a standard of English equivalent to IELTS six within the 510 hours of tuition provided by the Government to new migrants, an applicant would probably have to be either a skilled migrant or highly motivated, she said.

Many new migrants, especially women who were refugees escaping persecution, might struggle to reach a "competent" level of English without having to undertake further paid tuition, she said.

Sources