Heads of foreign language schools and educational agencies agree that compared with the previous year, 2003, the past year was quite successful, although not without irritating factors that slowed business. These included, in particular, dumping prices set by some agencies through discounts, as well as the visa policies of certain countries and security problems. Overall, the situation is far from allowing language schools to rest on their laurels, “cocoon themselves” and stop developing. This is also hindered by growing competition – there are more and more language schools in the world, although it would seem, where could there be more?
But there are also more people wanting to learn languages abroad. Moreover, the requirements and demands of students are constantly changing: every year a new “fashion” emerges for certain programs.
At the peak of popularity
The program “Study + Work”, that is, learning a foreign language abroad combined with paid unskilled work or an unpaid internship in one’s field, was unanimously recognized as the most popular this year. This “caprice of fashion” prompted language schools that had never before been involved in this form of study to adopt it. The main problem preventing all educational institutions from introducing this program remains the visa policy of a number of countries – after all, students need to obtain a work permit, which, as is well known, is not always granted willingly. At any rate, the association of organizations providing this service, the Global Work Experience Association (Gwea), held its first fair in Cannes in 2004, attended by more than 100 participants wishing to buy or sell a product in this field.
Nevertheless, experts’ opinions on the popularity of “Study + Work” programs differ. Many believe that gaining practical experience in the country of the language being studied is a new stage in “language travel”. For example, Marley MacFarlane from the Brazilian language center Cela states: “Internship programs will enjoy steady demand, since professionals need some foreign professional experience in order to be competitive in the labor market.” But here is the opinion of Valkyrie McDowell from the agency Improvement, also from Brazil, about the tendency of students to put less effort into their studies: “Instead of improving their knowledge and qualifications, students prefer to do some informal work to earn a little extra money.”
The second most important issue for a number of schools was the development of pre-university preparation programs, or more precisely, simplifying the direct transition from language study to higher education. Thus, Andrew Hutchinson, a representative of the well-known international organization Study Group, which specializes in preparatory programs, stated: “This year we have developed clearer, simpler and more direct pathways from our language programs to further study both at our own institutions and at other educational institutions.” The popularity of preparatory language courses at a number of universities in the USA and Australia grew especially.
In Spain, on the other hand, the outgoing year was marked by a “boom” in “Language + Hobby” programs, which, incidentally, in this country are exceptionally diverse and inventive and have always been popular, especially among young people. This year, “Spanish + Football” courses enjoyed incredible demand, and that is understandable: the European Championship in Portugal did not pass in vain. But the influx of students into serious Spanish courses declined compared to last year. And representatives of language schools and agencies have to scratch their heads: why is this happening – because of the terrorist attacks in Spain, one of which, by the way, affected the language school Estudio International Sampere, the general unrest in the Mediterranean region, or because they themselves are doing something wrong?
Everything for the person
Language schools devote considerable attention to issues of student accommodation, as well as to the development of their infrastructure: computerization, opening bookstores for students, and so on. After all, if previously free access to the Internet was considered an exclusive service, today many simply cannot imagine themselves without the worldwide web and simply will not go to a school that is not covered by it. And to be honest, not all language centers abroad are equipped with the latest technology. It is telling that even such a well-known chain of language schools as the British Regent Language Training has set itself the priority task of not only improving the level of teaching, but also updating the technical base of learning.
Incidentally, the equipment of a school is also high on the list of requirements imposed on educational institutions by prestigious associations such as ARELS or EQUALS, membership in which is an indicator of a school’s high quality.
To be continued.