Publications, Research & Statistics

English Skills and Language

Summary of findings for LSIA 3

Primary Applicants were asked to assess their level of English ability according to the following scale:

Using this scale, the overall spoken English Proficiency of Primary Applicants is higher in LSIA 3 than previous LSIAs. The most marked improvement is for Primary Applicants from the Family stream – with 83 per cent saying  they could speak English  well or better, compared with  only 67 per cent for similar migrants in LSIA 1 and LSIA 2.

Category LSIA 1 LSIA 2 LSIA 3
Business Skills/ENS/RSMS 83% 79% 90%
Concessional Family/SAL 82% 96% 94%
Family 67% 67% 83%
Offshore Independent 96% 100% 96%
Former Overseas Student     98%

Source: Third Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia

There were only very minor changes in self assessed English proficiency between wave one and wave two of LSIA 3. This is slightly surprising, English ability would be expected to improve significantly with an additional twelve months in Australia.  Additional experiences of Australian life may have made some migrants more critical of their English ability at wave two.

At wave two of LSIA 3:

There was quite extensive use of Adult Migrant English Programs by Family stream migrants in LSIA 3.  With more than a quarter using these services in wave one and 18 per cent in wave two.

For those whose main language was not English:

Tables and charts for LSIA 3

There are five tables and charts available in PDF format:
See: Using PDF Files

 

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