The British government greets this influx with enthusiasm. In 2022/23, over 750,000 international students enrolled in UK universities, bringing in £21.7 billion and keeping the higher education sector afloat. To put it into perspective, in 2021, 47.4% of the University of the Arts London students were international, which means that most of their funds come from the annual £28,570 in tuition fees international students must pay.
So, what is the requirement for proficiency in English? At CSM: “Every student has to pass an IELTS test and, at post-graduate level, is interviewed, one of the key reasons being to check that their English comprehension is good enough for them to benefit from studying in the UK,” says Roger Tredre, the university’s MA Fashion Communication Course Leader. “It is in the students’ interest that they can understand and engage comfortably with everything we are doing – or they are just wasting their money.”
Should fashion students be solely responsible for reaching a high language standard in a field driven by creativity and skill, or do universities have an obligation to provide structured language support if they’re recruiting students for higher fees?
For some students, however, their English skills may be high enough to pass the tests and interviews – but the gap between them and their classmates can make basic class engagement difficult. So who is at fault? Should fashion students be solely responsible for reaching a high language standard in a field driven by creativity and skill, or do universities have an obligation to provide structured language support if they’re recruiting students for higher fees? While institutions claim to vet English skills, many students report having to turn to translation apps just to keep up with lectures, seminars, and discussions.
“We are very wary of applications including written work clearly written by Chat-GPT. Very occasionally, a student with some issues with English may be of such potential brilliance that we are more generous in assessing their language skills,” Tredre says. “But it’s tougher at undergraduate level, where the student numbers are much bigger and interviews may be less rigorous (or non-existent, in some cases).”
For students like Ivan Delogu from Italy, a lack of care from both faculty and students defined his experience studying in London. “During my Master’s program, I had a tutor who misinterpreted my language barrier as a bad attitude. It caused me a lot of distress and made me very anxious about interacting with them.” Luckily, he found an ally in his program director, who was also Italian. “But what’s frustrating is that native English speakers can sometimes be unwilling to empathise. They blame those who don’t speak perfectly even though they do not speak any other languages themselves.” Another ex-student of CSM tells me of a time when a tutor berated an Asian student over their limited English skills. After cutting them off and dismissing their ideas, a classmate finally defended them. The tutor’s response: “We are in London.”
“It is also the job of the tutor to encourage students who are struggling to not worry too much about grammar and precise pronunciation and simply get their points across.” – Roger Tredre
According to Tredre, empathy and mutual support are encouraged throughout the course to avoid such issues. “But I think there may be a problem with this in some universities at undergraduate level, and have heard as much anecdotally.” UAL and many universities provide support in English, which is usually available for free, he explains. “It is also the job of the tutor to encourage students who are struggling to not worry too much about grammar and precise pronunciation and simply get their points across.”
Tredre also believes many Chinese students have struggled language-wise in the UK over many years, but he feels the standard of English language speaking has improved among them in recent years at UAL. “In 2011 I provided some support in the setting up of BACA, the Beijing Academy of Creative Arts, which provides foundation-level (and younger) education for Chinese [students] looking to possibly study in the UK, with a heavy emphasis on English language skills. BACA has worked out very well and sent hundreds of Chinese to the UK with a head start, both in speaking English and in understanding our more freewheeling approach to design education (it has many European tutors). BACA is supported by UAL.”
The issue extends beyond academics, affecting students’ social lives as well. “At first, my fellow Italian speakers were interested in connecting with native English speakers to fit in with the ‘wannabe cool crowd from CSM,’” Delogu says, “but eventually, they realised that they form tight-knit groups that are hard to join if you’re not a native English speaker.”
Arturo Obegero, a young designer from Spain who studied in London and has dressed the likes of Beyoncé, Adele or Harry Styles, had a more optimistic experience. “I grew up loving British culture, from the Graham Norton Show to British music. I was lucky that I could at least have a base,” he says. Yet, he admits it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. “You have to adapt your whole brain, your entire way of describing your work and who you are. So, at first, it’s definitely more complicated. But once you get into it, it’s great.” His love for the experience is clear: “My time in London was the best four years of my life.”
Ultimately, fashion school should be a place to celebrate diversity, not stifle it.
What is clear is that language barriers impact more than just grades – they cut into the fabric of the educational experience, limiting the collaboration and exchange that make fashion such a dynamic field. If language skills remain a primary measure of student ability, then universities are failing to truly embrace the international spirit they claim to value. What’s needed is more than a glossy brochure or recruitment campaign – it’s empathy and a commitment to understanding. As Arturo puts it, “Language isn’t just knowing the words. It’s knowing the humor, the sarcasm, the little expressions…”
Ultimately, fashion school should be a place to celebrate diversity, not stifle it. This requires universities to provide better-targeted support to help students adapt, both linguistically and culturally, since the procedures in place at the moment have proved to be insufficient. Similarly, it is the institutions’ responsibility to make everyone feel welcome, so they must work actively to create inclusive spaces where students from diverse backgrounds can connect and collaborate. But until the culture shifts and both fashion schools and students embrace it, international students will continue to struggle. Often quietly, in the back row.
