The paper will explore the challenges students from selected South East Asian countries (Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia) face while studying English in Australia before entering into Australian University courses. These students must contend not only with different styles of teaching and learning, but also with the challenge of adapting to a new culture. The study was conducted at one of the largest language institutions in Melbourne (affiliated with a major University), and the results collected draw on the English learning experiences of nine students (three Vietnamese, three Thai and three Indonesian) and two language teachers. Semi-structured interviews were adopted as the primary data collection method, and this allowed the major problems that these students experience while studying English for University entry to be identified. The findings of this paper include reasons why Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian students find it difficult to study in Australia, and possible solutions for overcoming these difficulties and improving the English proficiency of students from these countries.