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Feedback Spain
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There was good representation from North America in this year’s Feedback survey on Spain. Meanwhile, the number of students booking a language course through an educational advisor increased.
Spain feedback at a glance
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Total number of students: (female 99, male 46, unknown 5) 150
Average age in years: 29
Average length of programme in weeks: 10
Average number of students in class: 8
Average number of hours of language tuition per week: 18
% of students who found out about their course through an agent: 34
% of students who booked through an agent or adviser: 34
% of students who had been on another language programme: 35
% of students who would recommend their school: 98
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| Respondents by world region of origin |
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Top nationalities |
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1. W Europe 59%
2. Asia 13%
3. North America 13%
4. C&E Europe 11%
5. Africa 1%
5. Australasia 1%
5. Middle East 1%
5. Latin America 1% |
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1. America 10%
1. German 10%
3. British 9%
4. Italian 7%
4. Japanese 7%
6. Dutch 6%
6. Swiss 6%
8 Swedish 5%
9. Irish 4%
9. Russian 4%
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| In my class there are... |
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How easy is it to practise your language skills with native speakers? |
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1. The right number of students (77%)
2. Too many students (7%)
2. Too many students from one other country (7%)
4. Too many students who speak my language (5%)
Unknown (4%) |
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1. Quite easy (45%)
2. Quite hard (26%)
3. Very easy (13%)
3. Very hard (3%)
Unknown (13%) |
| How did you find your programme? |
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Did you book your course through an agent or an educational adviser?
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1. I found it on the internet (37%)
2. Recommended by an agent (34%)
1. Recommended by a friend/relative (23%)
4. I saw it advertised (4%)
Unknown 2% |
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Yes (34%)
No (61%)
Unknown (5%)
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Student reasons for school selection included:
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“Because they offered me an internship and because the school is small and cosy”
“Because it offered complimentary horse riding classes”
“Read an article about it in a magazine”
“Very professional and clear website with business Spanish also offered”
“I planned to do the Dele exam and so needed to chose a school that offered a prep course”
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| Before looking for your course, did you know where you wanted to study? |
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Country
Yes (79%)
No (8%)
Unknown (13%)
City/town
Yes (59%)
No (27%)
Unknown (14%)
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School
Yes (30%)
No (55%)
Unknown (15%)
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Student nationality
According to this issue’s Feedback survey on Spain, language schools across the board attracted a total of 34 different nationalities, 15 of which hailed from Western Europe. With an 59 per cent share of the nationality mix – down six percentage points on last year’s findings (see LTM, August 2008, pages 20-21) – the Western European mix included Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Cyprus for the first time. Elsewhere, Asia and North America secured a 13 per cent respective share of the market. Germany and the UK were the second two largest nationality groups in our survey (10 per cent and nine per cent respectively), but it was US students who made real headway (up from three to 10 per cent) thus clinching first place in the nationality top ten. Spanish schools also attracted more Central and Eastern European students this year (11 per cent compared with seven per cent previously) with countries such as Russia, the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Slovenia all represented.
Student motivation
Thirty-four per cent of respondents said that they currently utilised their Spanish at school or university while a further 20 per cent said that they already used Spanish in the workplace. However, 47 per cent of respondents categorised themselves as university students and claimed to be learning a language for future or current work purposes. Interestingly, the second biggest motivator for learning Spanish was for recreational purposes (26 per cent), down slightly on the 30 per cent recorded last year.
Student enrolment
There was a sharp rise in the number of students sourcing a school or language programme through an educational consultant, up 17 percentage points this year to 34 per cent.
The Internet is still the preferred method of research, however, with 37 per cent of the student body utilising this resource. The number of students booking via an agency also grew this year, up five percentage points to 34 per cent. Meanwhile, 35 per cent of respondents had been on a study abroad trip before with 36 per cent studying English in an English-speaking country and 26 per cent having already studied Spanish in Spain before. The average length of stay for survey respondents was slightly more this year, 10 weeks, compared with 8.8 weeks in 2008.
Standard of the schools
Students viewed their schools very highly this year, with 98 per cent saying they would happily recommend their school to others. Class sizes were slightly bigger – averaging eight students, compared with five in 2008. Seventy-seven per cent of respondents were content with both class size and nationality mix – down slightly on the 80 per cent recorded last year. Meanwhile, seven per cent thought there were too many students, a majority of whom were in classes of 10 or more. Teaching standards were also rated highly overall – 85 per cent of students said their teachers were either excellent or good.
Living in Spain
The language, the people and the countryside topped the list of things students liked most about Spain, while shopping, sports and nightlife scored less favourably. Feedback respondents claimed to be spending an average of e347 (US$487) per week on their language course including accommodation; 37 per cent agreed that the cost of living was lower than at home.
Thank you to the following schools for participating in our survey: ABC College, Barcelona; AIP Language Institute, Valencia; Andalusi Instituto de Español, Malaga; Camino Barcelona, Barcelona; Canarias Cultural, Santa Cruz de Tenerife; Don Quijote, Salamanca; Escuela de Idiomas Nerja, Nerja; Escuela Montalban – Tandem, Granada; Estudio Sampere, Madrid; Instituto Hispanico de Murcia, Murcia; International House Barcelona, Barcelona; International House San Sebastian – Lacunza, San Sebastian; International House Sevilla – Clic, Seville; Malaga ¡Si!, Malaga; Pamplona Learning Spanish Institute, Pamplona; Spanish Institute - Audio Gil, Castellon; Speakeasy Language School, Barcelona; Tia Tula, Barcelona; Universidad de Alicante, Alicante; Universidad de Extremadura, Cáceres; Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana.
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Contact any advertiser in the this issue now
The following language schools, associations and accommodation providers advertised in the latest edition of Language Travel Magazine. If you would like more information on any of these advertisers, tick the relevant boxes, fill out your details and send.
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