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Australia feedback
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Agent usage was high among the students taking part in our Feedback survey on Australia, although the high number of Asian students meant that personal recommendations from friends and family still remained an important way of finding out where to study.
| Australia feedback at a glance |
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| Total number of students: female 72, male 54 (unknown 5) 131
Average age in years: 23
Average length of programme in weeks: 18.1
Average number of students per class: 7.3
Average number of hours of lang. tuition per week: 23
% of students who found their course through an agent: 59
% of students who booked through an agent or adviser: 71
% of students who had been on another language programme: 19
% of students who would recommend their school: 85
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| Respondents by world region of origin |
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Top nationalities |
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W Europe (25%)
Asia (64%)
C & E Europe (1%)
Middle East (2%)
Unknown (4%)
C+L America (4%)
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1.Chinese (22%)
2.Korean (15%)
3. Japanese 11%
4. Swiss 9%
5. German 7%
6. Thai 6%
7. French 4%
7. Brazilian 4%
9. Italian 2%
9. Indonesian 2%
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| In my class there are... |
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How will you use your English in the future? |
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Too many students (15%)
Too many students who speak my language (28%)
Too many students from one other countries (13%)
None of these (41%)
Unknown (3%)
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College study in Australia (30%)
College study elsewhere (15%)
College study at home (11%)
Current or fututre work (40%)
For pleasure only (2%)
Unknown (2%)
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| How did you find your programme? |
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Standard of the teaching |
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It was recommended by an agent (59%)
It was recommended by a friend/relative (33%)
II found it on the Internet (12%)
I saw it advertised (2%)
No reply (2%)
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Excellent (50%)
Good (37%)
Satisfactory (5%)
Poor (1%)
Unknown (7%)
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| Standard of your academic programme |
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Standard of your accommodation |
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Excellent (14%)
Good (60%)
Satisfactory (14%)
Poor (2%)
Unsatisfactory (1%)
Unknown (9%)
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Excellent (21%)
Good (38%)
Satisfactory (21%)
Poor (5%)
Unsatisfactory (1%)
Unknown (14%)
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| Standard of your social programme? |
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What is your accomodation while in Australia? |
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Excellent (15%)
Good (41%)
Satisfactory (18%)
Poor (14%)
Unsatisfactory (2%)
Unknown (10%)
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Host family (56%)
Residential/single room (15%)
Residential/dormitory (4%)
Other (17%)
No reply (8%)
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| Before looking for your course, did you know where you wanted to study? |
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Country
Yes (84%)
No (8%)
Unknown (8%)
City/town
Yes (61%)
No (28%)
Unknown (11%)
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School
Yes (35%)
No (53%)
Unknown (12%)
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Student profile
The number of different nationalities responding to this year's Feedback Survey on Australia decreased this year compared to last, with just 22 nationalities represented this year, compared to 34 in 2005 (see Language Travel Magazine, January 2005, pages 16-17). However, there was less of a dominance of Asians this year, with 64 per cent of the total student body from Asia, compared with 75 per cent last year. Chinese, Korean and Japanese remained the most important student markets for Australian language schools, according to our survey, although more Western European students featured in the top 10. Swiss and German students took over fourth and fifth position this year, up from tenth and eighth respectively, while French and Italian crept into seventh and ninth place.
Student nationality
The number of students intending to continue their studies in Australia after completing a language course fell from 47 per cent last year to 30 per cent this year. The most popular reason given by respondents for studying English in Australia was for current or future work purposes, despite a relatively low average age of 23 years and the fact that 51 per cent of respondents described their occupation as student. A slightly higher number of respondents were planning to go on to study in another English-speaking country compared with last year (15 per cent, up from nine per cent).
Student enrolment
Agent usage among students in Australia was high, with 59 per cent saying that they had found their course through an agent and 71 per cent saying that they had booked through one, compared with 55 per cent and 65 per cent respectively last year. Internet usage, in contrast, was relatively low among students, with just 12 per cent using this method to find their school and a larger proportion, 25 per cent, relying on friends and relatives to recommend their school. Of those students who did use the Internet to find their school, the majority (73 per cent) were from Western Europe, while a similar majority of students relying on personal recommendations were from Asia.
Standard of the schools
Overall, 85 per cent of respondents said that they would recommend their school, although eight per cent did not answer this question. The relatively small range of nationalities present in classrooms meant 28 per cent of students said that there were too many students of their own nationality and a further 13 per cent said that there were too many of another nationality. Average class sizes were just seven students, although this figure ranged from four to 22. Of those who said that there were too many students, class sizes ranged from 12 to 21. Accommodation scored the lowest rating, with just 59 per cent of students saying that this was good or excellent, and teachers received the highest rating (87 per cent good or excellent).
Living in Australia
Of those students who found Australia to be expensive, 89 per cent were from Asia. Just two students has previously studied in Australia and 36 per cent of those who had studied elsewhere had been to another English-speaking destination such as New Zealand, the UK or USA.
Thank you to the following schools for participating in our survey:
Coffs Harbour Education Campus English Language Centre, Coffs Harbour, NSW; International Institute Australia, Brisbane, QLD; John Paul International College, Daisy Hill, QLD; Language Studies International, Brisbane, QLD; Magill English Language College, Gosford, NSW; Phoenix English Language Academy, Perth, WA; South Australian College of English, Adelaide, SA; Southbank Institute of Tafe, Brisbane, QLD; St Aloysius Language Centre, Adelaide, SA; Sydney West International College, Sydney, NSW; Tasmanian College of English, Hobart, TAS; The University of Queensland Institute of Continuing and Tesol Education, Brisbane, QLD; Whitsundays College of English, Airlie Beach, QLD.
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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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