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The Morrison Government will grow the English language sector to create more jobs and drive more economic growth.

English language students contributed $2.4 billion to the economy last year, with almost 180,000 international students from 150 countries studying English in Australia.

Minister for Education Dan Tehan said a new strategy would be developed to ensure Australia continued to be a world leader in English language teaching for international students.

“80 per cent of the world’s population doesn’t speak English and English is the most popular language to study so the potential of this sector is enormous,” Mr Tehan said.

“The strategy will identify opportunities for more students to study English in Australia and will build on the excellent reputation of our world-class providers. The strategy will map out opportunities to increase our English language teaching footprint in Australia, online and internationally.

“The development of a long-term strategy will help ensure the sustainable growth of the sector through to 2025 and beyond.”

International education is worth $37.6 billion to the economy and last year supported more than 240,000 jobs throughout Australia. 28 per cent of international VET students and 22 per cent of international higher education students undertook training through English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) before commencing their studies.

English Australia CEO Brett Blacker said that it was great to see the Australian Government recognising the importance of the English language teaching sector. “As an organisation, English Australia has welcomed the opportunity to provide input to this important draft strategy, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the Australian Government to ensure that Australia’s English language sector grows and thrives,” Mr Blacker said.

The draft strategy is available for comment at .