Students dictate the language market

by Terence Mirabelli

With more than 40 schools teaching English to foreigners, you would expect that Malta might have reached saturation point in this segment of the tourism industry.

Not so, according to EF International Language Schools director Roger Bugeja. "Capacity is subjective", he says, and explains that "there is no such thing as full capacity. If there is a demand, you can always organise yourself and find what it takes to meet that demand".

And demand has been growing, the last official figures available are for 2006 - released by the National Statistics Office in January 2008 - and they show that two years ago 65,983 people travelled to the islands to learn English; an increase of 7.1 per cent over 2005. One can safely assume there was an increase in 2007 and yet another is expected this year.

However, like the leisure travel market, English language learning is seasonal. The majority of students that come here are teens who do so during their summer holidays. "The adult individual market, on the other hand, is year-round", says Bugeja, and this helps keep schools operational 12 months of the year.

"A school that's open throughout the year invests in good people and comfortable premises for its guests"; EF, for instance, has 30 teachers through the off peak months and has been expanding its facilities for the last 15 years.

EF - which stands for Education First and was founded in Sweden in 1965 - was set up in Malta in 1993 as EF Language Travel to handle the travel arrangements of, primarily, teenager groups coming to the islands to learn English. "In those days, lessons were provided by existing schools, but as the programme got bigger and the volume was established it made sense for EF to have our own school", explains Bugeja.

Today, EF occupies most of the Mayfair Complex in St Julian's and its corporate flag is seen fluttering in most of the St George's Bay area. The Mayfair is administrative headquarters and main school plus social centre, and neighbouring buildings are either tuition centres or provide accommodation for students. And each building flies the EF flag.

Additionally, EF has exclusivity deals with a number of three star "accommodation options" for hotel-style stays and manages a number of blocks of flats that provides a self-catering for older students or for those on long-term courses. "We can also offer accommodation in three, four or five star properties for those who want the comforts of a hotel", adds Bugeja.

EF, meanwhile, offers the whole gamut of courses, from learning basic English to teacher training, corporate language training to academic and degree programmes. Corporate courses have become extremely popular and there is a great demand for them from northern Europe. "These are conducted with a maximum of one to two students per class", explains Bugeja.

This month, May, a group of 50 plus seniors from Scandinavia have enrolled at EF to learn about Malta, besides polishing up their English language skills. "Older students are interested in the destination's culture and history as well as a course", explains Roger Bugeja, "younger students come here, mostly in summer, to learn English and for a holiday". The majority of EF students come from central Europe.

Although most English language schools attract a foreign clientele to the islands, those with an international link also sell courses abroad to Maltese nationals.

"The Maltese do travel abroad for language courses, we've had university students travelling to Spain to learn Spanish, for instance", says Bugeja. He feels there is potential for this segment to develop, and it is an area he wants to market and promote. EF was the first English language school to exhibit at Amitex last month. The annual show promotes outbound travel.

Meanwhile, back to the original question: Are there not too many English language schools on the islands? Bugeja thinks not. "I believe in competition, because it keeps us on our toes and we improve our product all the time. With the help and guidance of the local authorities, such as the Ministry of Education and the Malta Tourism Authority, together with international accreditation and standards monitoring, professional schools, serious about their business will continue to operate and expand further, the others will have to rethink. At the end of the day it's market forces that dictate - the students themselves".