It took three attempts and $1,500 to beat my visa application language test

Growing up, my mother always taught me an old Chinese saying, "天道酬勤", which means "god will reward your hard work".

But back in June 2022, when I gaped at my phone screen in a Japanese restaurant in Melbourne, I started to question the belief my mum had seeded me since childhood.

What the screen showed was the result of my English language test that I took as part of my visa application.

I had been in Australia for eight years. Since I graduated from university with a Master of Journalism degree, I have been working for English media. I thought it would be easy for me to ace the test of the language I spoke every day.

Instead, the result showed I only got 61 out of 90 for my speaking. According to the government's criteria, that meant I merely scraped through.

And what shocked me more was where the low mark came from: a computer.

Computers as English assessors

When I figured out I needed to sit an English test, my international friends recommended I try the computer assessment, as they felt computer tests might have a fairer judgement on how we sounded.

So, why not listen to your friends? I did the computer-based test at an exam centre in Sydney, and the result really shocked me. I signed up for another one and ordered some mock tests to practise, hoping this time it would go well.

But in fact, it was getting worse. This time, I only got 59 in speaking.

I was angry but also frustrated: What went wrong? I ranted about my scores on social media, hoping to find out the answer. Someone gave me a number, saying I could give it a call.

And that's how I met James, the man who changed my life.

To beat the machine, you need to speak like a machine

It was a rainy Saturday morning when I visited James at his office in Sydney CBD. After greeting each other, James asked me to do a few tasks, including reading a text aloud, to assess my English level.

"Your English is really good," James said after the assessment. "But you speak it with too much emotion like a human, and hence you failed to get a high score."

James is an English tutor specialising in these visa-tailored English tests. He had spent six years studying the computer test, in which he came out with a conclusion: In order to please the computers, you need to feed them what they want.

He found the computers seemed to prefer a voice with low pitch, no pauses or intonation, as this would make them believe the speakers were fluent in English.

Wait, didn't that sound like a machine's voice?

"I might not be as good as you in English when speaking to Australians, but if you ask me to sit in this test, I can definitely ace it and get higher scores than you," James said.

"Why? Because I know what and how the machine wants."

Coping with the sense of unfairness

In total, I went through six classes with James, and together with the exam fees, I had paid around $1,500.

James kept telling me that I wasn't like his other students who he had to teach basic grammar. "All you need is some tricks, and you can ace the test," he said.

That made me even more upset. I recalled what Mum had taught me about working hard. I had put so much effort into my English skills, yet I couldn't even get the scores I deserve. This is unfair.

After all, it's our decision to move to Australia, and hence we had to sit in these tests, wait unreasonably long for our visa applications, or bear the immigration policy that changes every financial year.

I recalled Mum's words: "God would reward you for your hard work." I called her, and as soon as I heard her voice, I cried.

I told her about the test, visas, and my life. She said sorry, and that she gave me a wrong lesson, because life was never fair: "Sometimes even if you work hard, life might not pay back."

My third attempt at the test

My third test was booked during a Halloween weekend.

This time, I lost my confidence. Leaving the exam centre and feeling I would need to sit in another test, I sent James a text message: "I will see you again."

Then I got a message from my friend Sean, who reminded me that we had a Halloween Party later. Sean planned to dress up as Bluey, so I rushed to grab a costume of Bingo, Bluey's sibling.

Back home, I looked at myself in the mirror. As the costume was only for kids, I could only pull it up to my waist. Then I got an email from the exam centre.

I got almost full marks in speaking.

James's tricks worked.

I joined Sean at the Halloween Party, wearing a Bingo mask as I felt too ashamed to wear the unfit kid costume. I met new people, and we chatted about our future.

As we raised our beer, Mum's words flashed into my mind. Maybe she was never wrong.