{"id":446560,"date":"2025-12-14T13:46:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T13:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/446560\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T13:46:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T13:46:21","slug":"researchers-call-for-water-safety-to-be-part-of-english-education-for-migrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/446560\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers call for water safety to be part of English education for migrants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Surf lifesaver Masaki Shibata was doing a volunteer shift on the Gold Coast when he encountered four South Koreans struggling in a rip.<\/p>\n

“We arrived yesterday,” they told him once safe on shore.<\/p>\n

It’s an anecdotal experience that has since been reinforced by data collected in Dr Shibata’s other capacity as a lecturer in intercultural studies at Monash University.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A study he completed this year <\/a>found only 14 per cent of South Korean university students surveyed correctly understood red and yellow safety flags.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Masaki Shibata says incorporating beach safety into English language learning could be one way to save lives. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

More than seven in 10 misinterpreted the flags as denoting a danger zone.<\/p>\n

Dr Shibata said many people could not identify a rip, which was why “nearly one-third of all drowning deaths are caused by rip currents”.<\/p>\n

“Having this knowledge can enhance awareness and save lives.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Loading…Drowning deaths up, with migrants over-represented<\/p>\n

As Australia heads into summer, experts are again warning the community to be aware of swim safety at beaches, pools and other waterways.<\/p>\n

Drownings are most likely to occur on public holidays, weekends and school holidays, according to a study from the University of New South Wales.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jaz Lawes says a “one size fits all” approach to water safety is inadequate in a multicultural society like Australia. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

“Summer is our highest risk period for drownings, particularly on the coast,” said Surf Life Saving Australia’s head of research, Jaz Lawes.<\/p>\n

“It’s when people are out in the sun, on the beach \u2026 and that’s a wonderful thing. We don’t want to stop that.<\/p>\n

“We want to promote it \u2014 and the best way to do that is to make sure that people are recreating safely and they know what the risks might be.”<\/p>\n

Surf Life Saving Australia’s Beach Passport safety course<\/a><\/p>\n

The Beach Passport is free and available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Punjabi and German.<\/p>\n

This year’s National Drowning Report identified 357 drowning deaths between July 2024 and June 2025 \u2014 the highest number since records began three decades ago.<\/p>\n

People born overseas accounted for one third of all drowning deaths.<\/p>\n

Older people were also especially vulnerable, with adults aged over 65 accounting for 33 per cent of deaths by drowning.<\/p>\n

Dr Lawes said educating multicultural communities about swim safety was, almost by definition, a complex task.<\/p>\n

Australia was home to many languages and cultures \u2014 each requiring a “nuanced approach” \u2014 so a “one size fits all” method did not work, she said.<\/p>\n

Swim Brothers is a Sydney-based initiative aimed at equipping multicultural communities with water safety knowledge.<\/p>\n

Its co-founder Feroz Sattar told ABC Radio National that many migrants and visitors to Australia opted for quieter beaches, where often there were no lifesaving flags.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Western Sydney residents swim at the Penrith beach dubbed “Pondi”. (ABC Radio Sydney: Declan Bowring)<\/p>\n

“The messaging around swimming between the flags is absolutely critical and essential, but it needs to go a step further in terms of if people are choosing to swim at other locations,” he said.<\/p>\n

“What are the things that you really need to look out for to ensure that yourself and your family and communities are safe while doing so?”<\/p>\n

Incorporating swim safety as part of arrival into Australia<\/p>\n

Every year, thousands of migrants sit the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam as part of applications for their visas, university or employment in Australia.<\/p>\n

A new study from Monash<\/a> researchers in collaboration with Surf Life Saving Australia and the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group found that an IELTS-style reading exercise teaching essential beach safety could rapidly lift people’s knowledge, including their ability to identify rip currents.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The 2025 National Drowning Report identified 357 drowning deaths across Australia. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)<\/p>\n

“Traditional water safety programs may not reach those who are uninterested, overconfident or simply unaware of the risks,” said Dr Shibata, who co-authored the study.<\/p>\n

The exercise provided a “two birds with one stone” benefit for migrants, he said.<\/p>\n

“By embedding safety education into something migrants prioritise \u2013 English exams \u2013 we can deliver free, accessible, life-saving knowledge to ultimately prevent drowning.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Janice Ford collaborated with the researchers, bringing her experience as a retired English language teacher and previous owner of a swim school in the Sutherland Shire.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the ABC, she suggested Australia could integrate swim safety into videos that international arrivals are required to watch upon arrival in the country.<\/p>\n

“Every time I fly back into Australia I think, ‘Why don’t we have a little lifesaving video?'” she said.<\/p>\n

“It doesn’t matter if someone sees it a thousand times. If there’s one person who sees it for the first time and gets something out of it \u2014 that’s worth it.”<\/p>\n

Melbourne swim teacher Alida Sabilla said many families from overseas, especially from war-torn countries, had not had the opportunity to learn swim skills.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Alida Sabilla hopes more Australians from multicultural backgrounds will become involved in swim teaching and lifesaving. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, her top advice for multicultural families was for children and adults to attend swimming lessons so that they had the basic skills of floating, gliding and treading water.<\/p>\n

“It’s important to understand how to ask for help, know how to call out [in] an emergency, and have a buoyancy aid at hand for rescue if needed,” she said.<\/p>\n

What else can be done?<\/p>\n

Experts and practitioners emphasise that all Australians play a part in keeping others safe.<\/p>\n

“It’s something that we collectively have to do, to make people aware. People you know who perhaps haven’t swum here, even if you just know them socially,” Ms Ford said.<\/p>\n

“It’s like workplace safety \u2014 something we’re kind of all responsible for.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dr Lawes from Surf Life Saving Australia said government also had a role to play, particularly by helping local organisations and multicultural groups to “promote water safety champions within their community”.<\/p>\n

Free swimming lessons aim to reduce drownings in multicultural communities<\/a><\/p>\n

A swimming program is tackling a long-standing issue of higher drowning rates among Victoria’s overseas-born residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the federal government announced a $5 million Multicultural Communities Swimming and Water Safety Program to provide grants of $50,000 to organisations around the country.<\/p>\n

“I’ve spoken with many families who have moved to Australia from countries where swimming isn’t part of the culture,” said Sally Sitou, the MP for Reid in Sydney’s west.<\/p>\n

“They worry about their children’s safety around our beaches, pools, and waterways.”<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

Sally Sitou (second from left) says parents from multicultural communities worry about the safety of their children in the water. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Minister for Sport Anika Wells said in August that the federal government had provided more than $34 million over two years as part of a “suite of safety measures to raise awareness for water safety and drowning prevention”.<\/p>\n

Ms Sabilla, the swim teacher, said her industry needed to attract more teachers and lifeguards from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.<\/p>\n

“Not only will the language barrier be lessened but also [for] cultural safety. Cultural safety builds trust and is key for learning,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Anyone who feels safe and a sense of belonging will learn better. The more diverse communities feel safe as who they are, the less fear of water we have as a nation.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Surf lifesaver Masaki Shibata was doing a volunteer shift on the Gold Coast when he encountered four South…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":446561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,12883,205522,205520,34667,205521,50,8152,18946,72537],"class_list":{"0":"post-446560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-beach","10":"tag-cald","11":"tag-life-saving","12":"tag-monash-university","13":"tag-multicultural","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-safety","16":"tag-swimming","17":"tag-unsw"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115718232254907184","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}