It pays to try seeing the world through the eyes of international students

Can we value all students, regardless of their background?

As the debate rages about capping international student numbers – where the students are thought of not as individuals but as a big pot of gold “among Australia’s most lucrative exports” – I can’t help but think of the obstacles they face.

“Their English sucks,” is a phrase many domestic students have uttered among their friends and peers, me included.

The statement reveals the bias many local students have against their international colleagues, it’s often muttered in dreaded anticipation of course convenors announcing group assignments.

When I applied to study media and arts at UNSW, someone I had known my whole life asked me why I wanted to attend a university “filled with international students”?

My expression must have mirrored my shock because I was then slapped with uninformed, racist comments used to explain the initial remark.

I grew up in a small country town in north-west NSW with an overwhelmingly white population where the lack of racial diversity may have allowed some racial stereotypes to grow unchecked.

Unfortunately, the government’s proposed quick fix to the housing crisis means international students will draw the short straw again.

The sentiment that international students are just “cash cows” who have poor English is already perpetuated in university classrooms. Many local students don’t believe it is their “job” to work with their international counterparts or to practice English with them.

Sometimes, these grumblings may be well placed – but I’ll add that it’s incredibly humbling when you realise you have the same feeling about being grouped with a local student who’s trying to bluff their way through a degree.

Ironically, this is exactly what we local students perceive students from overseas to be doing. But I contend that it is our job to treat them as equals because that is what they are – daring individuals who have taken a step out of their comfort zone.

What an incredible opportunity we miss out on every time we shove them back into the box we’ve carefully constructed over the decades with our racially superior attitudes.

I’m no stranger to group presentations or assignments – half of my courses require them. I know how difficult it is to contribute to class discussions and I place pressure on myself to have a fully formed opinion that is interesting enough to share with a room full of intelligent people.

But I encourage you to take a walk in the shoes of international students.

I have access to student loans and Medicare, they don’t. My family is not far away for times when it all seems too hard.

English is my first language, for many international students it’s their second. While these differences don’t negate the language barriers which often arise through group work, it doesn’t mean we should give up.

In one of my courses this term, we are tasked with multiple group presentations requiring a lot of co-ordination; who speaks, who researches, who writes. Navigating these responsibilities is difficult no matter which way you look at it.

One of the girls in my group is an international student, visibly shy and worried about the presenting part but she’s great at researching, so that’s what she does.

It doesn’t need to be difficult. There will be many times in life where you’ll need to work with a team, one which may reflect the demographic of your classroom now. The key to success is finding out where each other’s strengths are and playing to those.

Some of the best presentations I’ve watched came from funny, intelligent, and confident international students. Imagine their courage to not only move to a foreign country to complete a tertiary level education, but to stand up in front of a classroom full of students, many of whom have already placed you in a box before they’ve even given you a chance to speak.

You may not choose to go to university to meet people from other countries. You may never seek conversations with them. You certainly may not find either of these easy, but I’m sure international students didn’t choose to study in Australia just to be shunned, laughed at and complained over.

Next time you have a group assignment, or take a class with an international student, count your blessings and check your privilege. Ask yourself if you’re listening to their experiences, or how you would like to be treated if you had moved to a foreign country.

Without challenging ourselves to find the exceptions to the rule, we’re forcing these brave people into a box they’ll never break free of. Of course their English sucks.

Madeleine Heywood is a fourth-year arts/media student at the University of New South Wales.