Despite around 9,000 people being rescued by lifesavers each year, drowning deaths in Australia continue to rise, with one in three drowning victims born overseas. A new project led by Monash University is hoping to reverse this trend by developing an innovative tool to educate migrants on beach safety.
Many migrants are required to sit the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam as part of the Australian visa application, university admissions, and employment processes. With thousands preparing for IELTS each year, a new study from Monash University, in collaboration with Surf Life Saving Australia and the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, has created an IELTS-style reading exercise that teaches essential beach safety.
The study’s lead researcher Dr Masaki Shibata said the research team’s exercise offers a “two birds with one stone” benefit, improving migrants’ understanding of beach safety while providing an opportunity to learn English for the tests.
“Traditional water safety programs may not reach those who are uninterested, overconfident or simply unaware of the risks. By embedding safety education into something migrants prioritise – English exams – we can deliver free, accessible, life-saving knowledge to ultimately prevent drowning.”
As part of the study, international students studying English language in Australia were recruited to complete the reading exercise. Participants were asked to complete pre and post surveys to measure their improvement in beach safety knowledge after completing the exercise.
The post-survey results demonstrated a significant positive change in individuals’ level of beach safety knowledge after completing the exercise, particularly in terms of rip currents, red and yellow flag identification, and beach signage terms.
Over 65 per cent of participants did not know what rip currents were prior to completing the exercise. After completing the exercise, more than 90 per cent of participants reported understanding rip currents, with some able to recognise key features, including current direction, depth and colour changes, all of which are crucial for identifying rips in real-world conditions.
Forty-five per cent of participants thought red and yellow flags at Australian beaches signalled a ‘danger zone’ before completing the exercise. The post survey results showed 83 per cent were able to correctly identify the meaning of the red and yellow safety flags correctly after completing the exercise.
“These results show that a short, targeted English-reading exercise can rapidly lift critical beach safety knowledge among new arrivals. Drowning deaths do not occur between the flags, and nearly one-third of all drowning deaths are caused by rip currents. Having this knowledge can enhance awareness and save lives,” Dr Shibata said.
Dr Shibata, who is also a surf lifesaver said, “I once rescued four international students from a major rip current. They had arrived in the country just the day before. This is how urgently we need to educate people about beach safety before coming to Australia.”
Dr Shibata said the innovative model could reach a far broader audience, both in Australia and overseas, by integrating the exercise into English language programs, visa application pathways, and safety induction sessions.
National Research Manager at Surf Life Saving Australia and industry partner for the study Dr Jaz Lawes, highlighted the importance of continued innovation to reach high risk demographics.
“Surf Life Saving Australia is committed to exploring new ways to communicate beach safety information with visitors and new migrants, and this research provides a new opportunity to do this”.
The research team is currently seeking larger funding opportunities to scale the exercise – recruit more participants, adapt it for various levels of learners, and expand content to other water safety topics. The free beach safety exercise can be accessed here.
