Tragically, overseas visitors drowning at Australian beaches has been a regular occurrence in recent years and as the weather warms up, the risk of more drownings increases. The recently published Surf Life Saving Australia National Coastal Safety Report 2024 shows a 22 per cent increase in coastal drowning deaths in the summer of 2023/24 compared to the previous year – the most coastal drowning deaths recorded since July 2004.
Japanese visitors are among the highest numbers of international visitor coastal drowning deaths in Australia. Worryingly, a new study has found that around 60 per cent of Japanese surveyed university students may misinterpret the red and yellow beach safety flags and other common English terms on beach warning signs.
The study, led by leading drowning prevention researcher Dr Masaki Shibata of Monash University, quantitatively tested how Japanese university students interpreted the red and yellow safety flags used on supervised Australian beaches over the summer. While the red and yellow flags are intended to indicate the safest area on the beach to swim, the study found that three in five participants incorrectly interpreted them as signifying danger and would avoid swimming in that area.
Furthermore, almost all participants had trouble understanding common terms used on safety signs to warn beachgoers of danger, including submerged objects, shore dump, shore break and rip currents.
Of most concern, the study found that about 60 per cent of Japanese students did not understand the Japanese equivalent word for rip currents, riganryuu.
Dr Shibata said the study highlights the importance of better understanding specific cultural groups' perceptions and misinterpretations of beach safety signage.
"This is the first study to quantitatively explore how Japanese people interpret our red and yellow beach safety flags and other common beach safety signs, as well as their understanding of the Japanese term for rip currents, and the results are pretty concerning," Dr Shibata said.
"We were alarmed to find that even though the red and yellow beach safety flags are also used in Japan, we cannot assume that the intended meaning of these flags is common knowledge for all Japanese visitors.
"Similarly, we found that most Japanese respondents had studied English for more than six years, and yet still had trouble understanding the common terms used on Australian beach warning signs. This means that understanding messaging displayed on beach safety signage is cultural knowledge rather than language knowledge. Adding to the problem, some beach safety terms were incorrectly translated into Japanese on Google translate.
"This study has important implications for how we might make beach safety signage clearer for international visitors with visual icons and colour coding. These visual communications are more reliable warning messages on the beach, especially for those who cannot speak English."
The research team is now exploring the possibility of incorporating beach safety information into English learning materials, to ensure international students can indirectly learn about beach safety, including rip currents and survival strategies, while studying English.
Further research should continue to explore the perceptions of people from other cultural groups, so that beach safety signs and symbols can be improved to reduce drowning.
