Shiva Motaghi-Tabari migrated to Australia ten years ago from Iran. Although she had previously studied English, when she first arrived, communication proved difficult.
"When I came, I had problems with communicating with people, conversational language was a problem"
Vera Williams arrived from Ghana 25 years ago, and she ran into a similar problem having dinner with an old friend.
"For the love of me, I couldn't understand what she was saying and she couldn't understand me either because when I explained about the dishes, you could just tell she was lost ... I thought how am I going to go on in this country where I can't understand the people - even my best friend - my first Australian friend"
The two Sydney women are working with Macquarie University's Professor Ingrid Piller to investigate how native speakers interact with migrants.
Professor Piller says those who speak English as a second language speak it differently to native speakers, leading to a linguistic and socioeconomic divide.
"People who have limited proficiency in English, or have difficulty communicating, they have a number of disadvantages. The largest is unemployment and underemployment. There are barriers to receiving adequate health care. We even know people who have limited proficiency in English have higher mortality rates."
She says it is crucial Australia continues with such studies so it can better facilitate the integration of migrants.
"Where I don't think we are very good is actually providing pathways to successful settlement. It's kind of like, you come in, and then you sink or swim. Some people do better than others. With these kinds of pathways, the kind of onboarding into Australia, I think we really need to lift our game at that."
Shiva Motaghi-Tabari says the study will have long-lasting effects.
"... (some) might see them as mundane and minor, but these can have an impact on your feelings, self-confidence and self-esteem."
Vera Williams says she agrees.
"This study I think is going to be very helpful. Very helpful in the sense that usually the lens is turned on people like us who are coming here and speaking and learning, and sometimes our stories don't get out there, but some other times they do."
Indian Australian Neha Grover says after living in Australia for few years now “I still sometimes struggle to understand my Australian colleagues.”
