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English plus watersports
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Malta is well equipped to offer more than just general English courses. Situated in the heart of the Mediterranean, its pleasant climate and beautiful beaches make it the ideal place for international students to undertake an English plus watersports course.
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The pursuit of watersports in conjunction with an English course provides students with an ideal learning environment – immersion into English,” says Maureen Gauci Maistre from Alpha School of English in St Paul’s Bay. It seems many language schools in Malta readily cater for students looking to learn in an environment other than the classroom and with a diverse range of watersports available, including scuba diving, kite-surfing, canoeing and sailing, students really can take advantage of everything the country has to offer.
Combination courses certainly have long-lasting appeal, as Lisa Audino from Linguatime in Sliema affirms. “Diving in Malta has always been very popular, therefore we thought that offering English language courses combined with diving would be an attractive package and indeed the results have always been good and keep getting better each year,” she says.
At the Alpha School of English, Gauci Maistre says that they have offered their English plus scuba diving course for the past 15 years. The programme involves the student attending a general English course in the morning and taking a Padi (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certificate course in the afternoon. However, she relates that in 2006 they started offering several other courses aimed at the more adventurous student. Marketed as the Extreme Adventure Course and the Multi-Adventure Course, students can do anything from kite-surfing to wakeboarding, with 20 lessons of language tuition built into each course. “They have proved to be an outstanding success with our students,” enthuses Gauci Maistre, adding, “The number of students booking watersports courses in 2008 is expected to double.”
Susan Wilson at LAL Malta in Sliema says that today’s language students are looking for more than just a language programme and relates that recreational activities are high on their list of priorities. “Over the past few years we have come to notice that most students don’t only look for a good course but also for good activities to occupy their free time,” she says.
Meanwhile, Albert Borg-Cardona at the am Language Studio in Sliema relates that leisure pursuits can actually enhance the language learning experience. “A large number of international students choose to take up these programmes,” he says, “as they provide an excellent opportunity to learn English while practising a sport which they are not exposed to in their home country.” At this school, students can enjoy any English language course with additional sailing or windsurfing tuition that complies fully with professional guidelines laid down by the International Sailing Schools Association (Issa).
Some schools are relatively new to this part of the language travel industry, however, and Daniel Vella from Chamber College in Gzira says they themselves started offering an English plus watersports course just three years ago. “Our college decided to start offering these types of courses because this is a niche market within the language travel industry which has been growing in popularity over a number of years,” he explains.
Similarly, Gaby Huhn from Global Village English Centre in St Paul’s Bay relates that they too have just started taking bookings for an English plus sailing course. “We had requests to enrich the whole experience in Malta,” she says.
Karl Sammut from Gateway International School of English (GISOE) in St Julian’s also offers combination courses, and he relates that diving is most popular among adult clients while teenagers tend to prefer other watersports. “The content of our diving courses has evolved from General English and diving lessons to a wide range of English courses plus diving courses from beginners to fully qualified divers,” he says.
Course development is crucial, particularly if schools wish to attract new batches of students year in, year out. Borg-Cardona for one says, “Our programmes are constantly evolving to better suit demand from our students. The school offers the most recent and popular watersports on offer and updates its programmes accordingly.”
As a study destination, Malta certainly offers students that something extra, as Paul Fenech from Magister Academy in St Julian’s notes. “The day is long and students can study in the mornings and have more than eight hours of sunlight to practise their favourite sports.”
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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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