Emerging English as an additional language and dialect (EAL/D) teaching concepts suggest that the current education system for international students is lacking consistency. While the new Victorian Curriculum F-10 EAL 2020 Reporting Tool (DET, 2019), and other initiatives, show efforts being made to support students whose first language is not English, international students continue to struggle to successfully transition from language school to mainstream school education. Data is collected from IELTS Writing band 5 and EAL Developmental Continuum indicator S3 (DET, 2019). It is analysed using mostly Fairclough’s (2013) but also Gee’s (1999) and Foucault’s (cited in Garrity, 2010) definition of Critical Discourse Analysis and supported by Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition Theory (1982) for a look at the psychological impact of the transition on students. An unachievable gap between the existing IELP and EAL/D courses is showcased and found to be caused by unassociated course content, independent governing bodies and inequivalent and inefficient teacher qualifications, restricting Year 10 international students from being successful in their education. A pathway course to provide a common space (Nakata, 2011) between the curriculum expectations of the relevant governing bodies, ESOS (2018) and VCAA (2017) /ACARA (2018b), and broader qualified educators to teach the courses, are recommended.