Russell group tutors say international students ‘lack language skills’: UK professors, Indian students react

Manuel also recalled his experience when he went to the UK as an international MA student from a non-English speaking country. “My first few months were hard, as there were accents I could barely make. In my first week, I actually thought about dropping out and going back home, and yet a few months later I finished my MA degree with a distinction,” he reminisced.

Experts believe that while this problem does exist, the magnitude of it is far lesser than what is being portrayed, and can be fixed with some basic changes and solutions. “While I respectfully disagree with some of the concerns raised by professors, there are occasional challenges. For example, last year, over 1.40 lakh Indian students enrolled in UK universities. Despite the robust system in place, exceptions will always exist,” said Suneet Singh Kochar, CEO, Fateh Education.

The blog, published on Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) website — the UK’s only independent think tank devoted to higher education — also claims that the problem is most acute on Master’s programmes. “Masters-level teaching used to be rich, challenging and enjoyable. But now, a Master’s seminar in the disciplines that we both teach typically involves a cohort in which three-quarters of the students (and often more) are from a single country, a few are international students from elsewhere and one or two are home students. On the Master’s programmes in our departments, only a very small number of students typically have the English language skills necessary for engaging in meaningful seminar discussions. Furthermore, there are increasing numbers of students who are not engaged at all in the learning process,” the blog states.

In this blog, it has also been claimed that students are using translation apps to understand the lectures, assignments, and the ‘one-to-one supervision and feedback meetings are particularly excruciating’.

Talking about India specifically, Sachin Jain, Country Manager, ETS India and South Asia, claimed that “on an average, we observe that postgraduate students tend to achieve slightly higher scores in certain sections of the TOEFL, particularly in Reading and Listening. This can be attributed to their advanced academic background and possibly more extensive exposure to English in higher education contexts.”

When asked if there is any truth to the accusation, British professors add that it is important for all tutors to remember that students come from different environments, culture, traditions, education systems and methodologies. They advise their fellow professors to remember that “the way we teach Master degrees may be very different to the way they have learned in their countries of origin before,” says Professor Manuel.

If Masters degree teaching methodologies are considered, it varies country-wise. “When I started my MBA in the UK, I did not score very well in my first two assignments because I was not used to writing an assignment on my own without the help of WikiPedia, CliffNotes, my friends etc. I was not even used to such seminars, one-on-one discussions with my professors. It took me a while and some help to learn all of these,” says an Indian student who is currently looking for a higher degree opportunity in the UK.

Supporting the student’s claim, Professor Manuel added that the complete blame cannot be mounted on students’ shoulders. “…to my knowledge no university decides to cut corners and lower teaching standards just because students are not familiar with seminars. In fact, standards are usually lowered by teachers who refuse to accommodate those coming from other cultures and who, understandably, require more time to adapt.”

Inaccurate tests?

The blog also goes on to claim that one of the issues behind this might be ‘inaccurate IELTS tests’. Refuting such claims, TOEFL-conducting agency, Educational Testing Service (ETS) clarified that “some universities give waivers for English language proficiency tests to students based on the medium of instruction i.e. if students have studied in their K-12 or higher education in English. While the intentions are genuine and fair, if you look at India specifically, our English language proficiency as evaluated in schools and colleges largely focuses on only two competencies i.e. reading and writing with limited evaluation on listening and speaking. These two competencies are quite critical for international students in a classroom and outside the classroom environment in a foreign country. The TOEFL Test evaluates a student on all four competencies thereby improving the chances of academic success for an international student.”

The UK relies heavily on international students for finance, diversity and labour. (Representational Image)

He also added that Indian students generally perform well on the TOEFL test. “Recent data from the TOEFL 2023 report shows that Indian test-takers achieved an average score of around 93 out of 120.”

All but one to blame?

The two professors have also gone to the length of saying that they advise their masters students to head abroad to pursue a degree, and added that such situations are also having an impact on teachers’ mental health.

However, students and professors have refuted the report in this and called it ‘demonising’ international students for no fault of their own. “So if a kid comes to you with a problem, are you going to say they are short-skilled, or help them learn that skill? The UK relies heavily on international students for finance, diversity and labour, so they should stop blaming us and demonising us for every issue,” the student continued.

Agreeing with the students’ plight in this situation, Professor Manuel reminded his fellow tutors that “the over-dependence on international students, demonised as it is, is the one thing that keep many of those MA degrees that in the words of the authors recruit only one or two home students, running. No MA would run with one or two students, so by their own logic, there would not be MAs if international students would stop coming.”

Experts believe that rather than demonising international students, the authors should reflect on whether the varsities are doing everything in their full capability to cater and help the international students who spend lakhs to attain a higher degree in the UK.

What’s the solution?

The two anonymous professors state that to bring change to this “scandal” there should be an “honest, open, and evidence-led discussion”, rather than following the “culture of silence”.

Their second suggestion is improving the standard of English proficiency tests. Interestingly, in the first week of September, the UK government announced that the UK Home Office is reconsidering how it handles Secure English language testing. As a result of this, the British government is playing with the idea of conducting one single English language proficiency test which will be owned by the Home Office and designed by one supplier, rather than depending on a few approved tests such as IELTS, TOEFL, DET etc.

For this, the government also issued a small notice recently to introduce market engagement for the testing for the new proposed test. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is seeking input from the market to build a business case. The UK government is planning to move away from a concession model and contract directly with suppliers. The service is carrying an estimated contract value of £1.13 billion.

As interesting and intriguing as it sounds, study abroad experts are a bit worried about the implementation and practicality of the new test.

“The introduction of the Home Office English Language Test (HOELT) is an intriguing development, as it provides students with an additional option for proving their language proficiency. While offering more choices is beneficial, the issue arises with its limited acceptance. Students often apply to multiple countries, not just the UK, and the exclusive nature of this test may require them to spend extra time and money. From a recruitment perspective, this could create an unnecessary barrier, as students may favour a widely accepted test over one restricted to the UK, potentially discouraging them from choosing the UK as their study destination,” Suneet Singh Kochar opined.

The last demand from the two Russell group professors is that this “scandal” should be on the table during policy debates about the future of higher education funding. “The over-dependence on international students is not the answer to achieving health and stability for UK universities,” the blog concludes.

Talking about over-dependence of the UK universities — especially the Masters level students — on international students, Professor Manuel concluded that “rather than demonising international students, the authors real question should be around how to adapt our institutions and our lecturers/professors to support international students to reach their full potential, rather than blaming their educational and linguistic standards for all the shortcomings of the previous government.”