Language tests and skilled migration in Australia: The role of individual subjectivities and agency in shaping test and policy consequences

The use of language test scores to regulate access to permanent residency and citizenship in various national contexts raises important questions of fairness and social justice, which demand evaluations of both the values... [ view full abstract ]

The use of language test scores to regulate access to permanent residency and citizenship in various national contexts raises important questions of fairness and social justice, which demand evaluations of both the values promoted by language testing practices and the consequences associated with score-based policy decisions. While the intentions and ideologies underlying the use of language tests in immigration policy domains have been widely debated, empirical research investigating the lived experiences of individuals subjected to testing regimes as part of their migration trajectories remains scarce and centred mainly on the perspective of vulnerable migrants. Little attention has yet been paid to problematizing the existence of formal language test requirements within skilled migrant selection processes, nor to the impact of language testing on the lives of migrants in this category seeking permanent residency rights.

The paper presents findings from a qualitative, longitudinal study of the impact of the use of English test scores within Australia's skilled migration policy on the lives of four international graduates seeking to transition from temporary post-study work visas to permanent skilled migrant status in Australia. A grounded theory approach, involving a series of in-depth, open-ended interviews with each individual as they made repeated test attempts, was taken to examine participants  perceptions of their experiences of using English in their lives in Australia, their perceptions of the test requirements, and the ways in which test perceptions and self-perceptions interacted to influence feelings, decisions and actions over time as individuals sought to realise their migration intentions. Findings demonstrate that individual subjectivities and agency played a key role in generating dynamic and multidirectional test and policy consequences in this context, as individuals responded to the test requirements in ways that variously impacted their sense of self as English speakers, transformed their social and employment goals, and disrupted their social and labour market integration.  A framework derived from these individual experiences offers insights into the complex and multifaceted ways language tests can function within immigration policy spaces, and provides a means of generating evidence-based evaluations of the appropriateness and fairness of the use of test scores for migrant selection purposes.