Comments on statistical articles in the popular press by first-year economics students studying statistics in Australia and SouthEast Asia are analysed. Three common weaknesses are described-lack of appreciation of journalistic style, disregarding statistical variation, and incorrect percentage statements. Differences between the groups are described and implications for teaching such courses are discussed. This paper examines results from part of a first-year, one-semester, compulsory

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... ory statistics course taught in 1997 and taken by about 150 Adelaide and 300 Sepang students. Students at the Sepang Institute of Technology in peninsular Malaysia may study the first two years of an Economics degree from the University of Adelaide at Sepang, and then move to Adelaide to complete their course. There were two lecturers and four tutors in Adelaide and one lecturer and about four tutors in Sepang. I was one of the Adelaide tutors. The lecturer in charge, based in Adelaide, prepared all the handouts, assignments, and examinations, which were identical for both groups. All formally assessed marking was done by the Adelaide staff. Data about students' cultural backgrounds are not collected, but personal experience suggests that the Adelaide group was fairly representative of a culturally diverse city, supplemented by 10-15% of visiting students, mainly from SouthEast Asia. The Sepang group were almost all Chinese, and about half had major difficulty with written English. Each week students were required to attend two one-hour lectures, where the content of the course was addressed, and one small-group one-hour tutorial, where work