Poor English is a problem for many foreign students.

IN HER year in Australia, Chinese national Jennifer Wong (not her real name) has lived with five Australian homestay families. She has found it difficult fitting in and adapting to her host families, all of whom claim they "just cannot seem to get through to her".

"She is difficult. She does not easily accept advice as she feels she knows everything. She cannot understand much of her school work and yet insists that her English skills are good;" says Trini, her current homestay "mum".

In Jennifer's eyes, the communication breakdown between her and her homestay families is the only big problem.

"I always felt bad rejecting any food they offered me. So I would take it but then throw it away in my room. When they found out, they were not happy and thought I was rude or not good. This became a bigger problem. And so I moved houses," she says.

Jennifer is one of 2369 full fee-paying foreign students enrolled in state schools in Victoria. Close to 200 government schools have the authorization to recruit foreign students, who pay annual fees of between $7500 and $11,000.

A large percentage of the students come from Asian countries, such as China oust under 50 per cent), South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Hong Kong, while a much smaller percentage come from countries such as Malaysia and Thailand (about 3 per cent each). There are also small numbers from Europe, Scandinavia and South America.

"All in all, students from more than 50 countries are represented among the international student community in Victorian Government schools," says David Howes, business operations manager of the Department of Education's international students division, which has been placing foreign students since 1996.

Lixie Wang, the overseas student co-ordinator at Northcote High School, says many students, particularly those from China, find difficulties adjusting. "They come here and hold on strongly to their culture. This causes some problems in fitting in with their homestay families and even at school with teachers and schoolmates. Another problem is, of course, the language," she says.

Asian countries have long seen Australia as a top destination for higher education, but the interest in Australian government schooling is a relatively new development that often guarantees a student a local university place.

Year 12 Chinese student William Gao has been at Parkdale Secondary College in Mordialloc East for two years and plans to pursue a business degree here. "You have to be very excellent to get into university in China, and then when you do, it is very hard to stay, as the standard is very high," he says.

Poor English is one of the main problems among international students, particularly those from mainland China. Many come a year early (in the middle of year 10) for a 20-week intensive language course before moving into year 11 and 12 to prepare for VCE.

Lily Tang, a Northcote student from Jiangsu province in China, says the most difficult part about living here has been communication. "Even watching TV is difficult as they talk so fast that it is hard to follow," says the 17-year-old, who confesses she speaks mainly Chinese when with her friends. And this, after the intensive five-month English program.

"There are some students who make an attempt to speak English with their homestay families as well as their friends, but then there are many others who stick to their fellow nationals," says Sally Clarke, assistant principal of Northcote High School.

University of Melbourne's senior lecturer in the department of language, literature and arts education, Dr Kristina Love, feels the mandatory 20-week language program may not be adequate.

"There have been concerns expressed by teachers at various schools that they are not always equipped to help international students with the language demands as well as the academic demands of the VCE.

"(Teachers) are working hard with the ESL teachers but are defeated by time, particularly under the pressures of the VCE," she says.

Ms Clarke says many students have trouble adapting to the learning styles. Most come from a background of rote learning and here, they are expected to be individuals . . . to voice out opinions and ask questions."

Ms Clarke believes the program is an overall success as most of Northcote's international students complete their VCE and most move on to Australian universities.

The international student co-ordinator at Parkdale Secondary College, Voletta Sims, says the issues component of years 11 and 12, which requires students to read newspapers and form opinions, is an area that can cause trouble for foreign students, particularly those from China.

This problem is only to be expected because in some Asian countries average class sizes range from 40 to even 60 pupils per classroom and lessons are more didactic- teachers teach and students copy notes.

"There is no time or opportunity for our teachers in China to pay special attention to each student. Here we have a lot of conversation in class," says Northcote student Bing Jie Lin, who hails from China's Fujian province.

Unlike many of his peers, Malaysian student Justin Phoeng at Essendon Keilor College feels the Australian class style, though different, is easier than what he was used to.

"I like it. There is definitely less exam stress and the classes are smaller. Teachers pay me more notice and it is all good," he says.

Support, encouragement and patience in dealing with these uprooted pupils is very important. At Northcote, says Ms Clarke, providing trained and qualified teachers to help students make the transition is a priority.

"We have a lot of trained ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers at Northcote, many of whom have been ESL teachers in Asian countries;" she says.

Although schools play an important role, what is perhaps needed is a more stringent selection process.

"The competency level required for them to obtain a visa must be very basic, I suspect," says Ms Clarke. She says the school often gets feedback that language and communication continues to be a problem when these students reach university.

David Howes says: "Careful assessment of students is conducted right from the time when they first apply to make sure we only accept students who demonstrate they are successful in their own education system.

"In addition to academic performance, the student's extracurricular activities are also taken into consideration before they are offered a place. Schools are involved in the selection of students and make sure that the student's academic and social profile is a close match to their school."

- Additional reporting by Bridie Smith

FACT FILE