Student at top Aussie uni says classes were taught in Chinese

A prominent university is investigating a claim one of its economics classes was taught in part in Chinese, prompting a “dejected and excluded” English-speaking student to drop out.

ABC Radio yesterday aired an interview with a first-year undergraduate student, identified only as Harry, who enrolled in a commerce degree at the University of Melbourne at the start of the year.

One of his classes, an introductory economics course, mandated the attendance of weekly tutorial sessions to discuss topics raised in lectures.

Harry said his group included about 20 peers, who mostly conversed with each other in Mandarin.

“When they asked questions [of the tutor], sometimes they would ask in Mandarin, and subsequently the teacher would respond in Mandarin,” the man told ABC Radio Melbourne Drive host Ali Moore.

“They wouldn’t explain afterwards what was being said, so I found myself left in the dark,” he continued.

“It would kind of deject me from the conversation and interacting with the class as a whole. I was kind of sitting there for the attendance essentially.”

He claimed the tutor spoke to students in Mandarin at least part of the time “in every lesson” he attended.

Harry made a point of saying he was “the only caucasian in the tutorial”, which he said led to “a lot of disconnect” in conversations.

“Honestly, I should’ve raised my hand and asked what was being said, and they most likely would’ve explained what was being said. That’s my fault. I still think it’s not acceptable in an English-speaking country.”

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A spokesperson for the University of Melbourne told news.com.au: “The university is looking into the allegations raised. We would encourage the student to submit a formal complaint so we can investigate this matter fully.”

It is understood that almost 100 tutorial groups are attended by first-year commerce students.

English is the sole language of instruction, and all lectures, tutorials, exams and class activities at the University of Melbourne are to be conducted in English.

When students in tutorials work in groups, conversing in another language is discouraged to ensure classes are as inclusive as possible.

It’s understood that the man interviewed by ABC Radio has yet to approach the university with any information about his experience.

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency is now reviewing the claims aired.

A spokesperson for the body, an independent authority that oversees higher education, said universities are required to ensure their admissions practices have English language proficiency requirements.

“This ensures all students can participate in learning – whether they are domestic or international – as English is the language of instruction within Australian higher education,” a spokesperson said.

“It is a requirement for all providers to have student complaint and grievance handling processes in place to address concerns about the learning experience, and students should raise any concerns they have with their provider.

“If a student believes that their provider has failed to follow their complaints handling process or there is risk of noncompliance with the standards, they can raise a concern with TEQSA via our website.”

The University of Melbourne is one of the country’s top higher education institutions and recently ranked among the top 20 unis in the world.