Introduction

Abstract

From 2003 to 2005 I was working in Melbourne, Australia, teaching academic English and university preparation courses to international students at various private and university-based English-language centres. My job and my students’ presence in Australia were part of a national boom in education as an export commodity that saw over 4 million international students educated in Australia between 1997 and 2009 (Australian Education International (AEI), 2010a). My students were all working on their English skills to gain entrance to Australian university or vocational education and training (VET) courses. In classroom role-plays and in conversations in the corridor I often asked students about their study pathways and career aspirations. The most common reply when I asked them why they had chosen to study accounting, for example, was ‘for PR’. The goal of Australian permanent residency (PR) was, for a large number of these students, the central desired outcome of their international education experience. For many, this would be a long and costly journey, involving up to two years of full-time language classes, a three-to four-year degree and possibly also postgraduate study.