A fresh push to cut Australia’s rising drowning toll is taking shape inside an unlikely setting, the IELTS classroom. Monash University researchers, working with Surf Life Saving Australia and the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, have designed an English reading exercise that doubles as a crash course in how to stay safe at the beach. The idea is simple enough. Many migrants must sit the IELTS exam for visas, university entry or work. Thousands prepare for it every year. If beach safety lessons are built into that process, the information reaches people who might otherwise miss it.
Dr Masaki Shibata, the study’s lead researcher, describes the method as offering a “two birds with one stone” benefit. The exercise strengthens English skills while teaching the basics of beach behaviour. He said, “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.”
The research team tested the concept with international students enrolled in English language courses in Australia. Participants completed pre and post surveys to track how much they learned from the material. The shifts were striking. Many had little grasp of rip currents, a major factor in fatal incidents. More than 65 per cent did not know what rip currents were beforehand. After the exercise, over 90 per cent said they understood them, with some able to pick changes in depth, colour and current direction.
Misunderstandings extended to Australia’s well-known red and yellow flags. Before the exercise, 45 per cent of participants thought the flags marked a danger zone. After working through the lesson, 83 per cent could correctly identify their meaning. These gains point to a practical truth of beach safety, knowledge delivered early can influence how people behave once they are in the water.
“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.
His own experience as a surf lifesaver reinforces the point. “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.”
The team behind the project believes the model could be picked up widely. English programs, visa pathways and workplace induction sessions all offer ready-made channels for such material. National Research Manager at Surf Life Saving Australia, Dr Jaz Lawes, said the findings support the organisation’s push to reach high-risk groups. “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 next step is scale. The researchers are seeking funding to broaden the trial, adapt the resource for different learning levels and extend it to other water safety themes. For now, the exercise is freely available and offers a reminder that small interventions can shift understanding quickly, especially for people new to Australia’s beaches.
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