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Feedback Italy
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Student satisfaction rates were very impressive in our latest Feedback survey of Italy with all the schools taking part recommended by their students. Agent usage to find a school, although low, also increased on last year, from 12 to 22 per cent.
Italy feedback at a glance
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Total number of students: (female 42, male 17, unknown 13) 72
Average age in years: 31.7
Average length of programme in weeks: 8.5
Average number of students in class: 5.1
Average number of hours of language tuition per week: 21.3
% of students who found out about their course through an agent: 22
% of students who booked through an agent or adviser: 26
% of students who had been on another language programme: 40
% of students who would recommend their school: 100
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| Respondents by world region of origin |
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Top nationalities |
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1. W Europe 43%
2. N America 24%
3. C & E Europe 14%
4. Asia 4%
4. Latin America 4%
4. Australasia 4%
7. Middle East 1.5%
7. Africa 1.5%
No reply 4%
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1. US 21%
2. German 12.5%
3. Dutch 6%
3. Polish 6%
3. British 6%
3. Swiss 6%
7. Japanese 4%
7. Australian 4%
9. French 3%
9. Austrian 3%
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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 (89%)
2. Too many students from one other country (4%)
3. Too many students who speak my language (1.5%)
3. Too many students (1.5%)
No reply 4% |
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1. Quite easy (44%)
2. Very easy (32%)
3. Quite hard (1.5%)
4. Very hard (1.5%)
No reply (1.5%) |
| 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 (51%)
2. Recommended by an agent (22%)
3. Recommended by a friend/relative (18%)
4. I saw it advertised (2%)
No reply 7% |
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Yes (26%)
No (70%)
Unknown (4%)
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Student reasons for school selection included:
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“It is located by the coast and has a mild climate”
“It is close to my country and by the sea”
“It is associated with my school at home”
“All my questions had a quick and kindly reply”
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| Before looking for your course, did you know where you wanted to study? |
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Country
Yes (93%)
No (6%)
Unknown (1%)
City/town
Yes (58%)
No (39%)
Unknown (3%)
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School
Yes (32%)
No (64%)
Unknown (4%)
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Student nationality
In total, 23 different nationalities were represented in our Feedback survey of Italian language schools this year and countries as diverse as Cuba, Afghanistan, Brazil and Australia were all represented by students. Western European nationalities were not surprisingly the most numerous among our respondents, although this figure had decreased from 49 per cent of the student body last year to 43 per cent this year (see LTM, February 2008, pages 16-17). Students from Central and Eastern Europe increased in number this year (to 14 per cent from eight per cent previously), while Latin Americans were down from 11 per cent to four per cent and students from the Middle East and Africa made up 1.5 per cent of the student body respectively (these nationalities were not represented last year). Americans remained in pole position.
Student motivation
The average length of stay for a student was down slightly to 8.5 weeks compared with 11.4 weeks previously, and by far the largest number of students (47 per cent) were enrolled on a course of six weeks or less. Just 12.5 per cent were studying in Italy for over 20 weeks. The most common reason given for language study was for future work plans (36 per cent) followed by pleasure only (29 per cent). A further 17 per cent of students were planning on going on to further study in Italy and five per cent of students had more than one reason for learning Italian overseas.
Student enrolment
As last year, the Internet was the favoured method of finding a language school by students (used by 51 per cent of the student body). Agent usage in contrast was relatively low, with 22 per cent of students finding out about a school through an agent and 26 per cent booking through this method. However, just 12 per cent of students used an agent to find their school last year. Many students tend to learn Italian as a third or even fourth language so the percentage of students who indicated that they had previously studied abroad is expected to be quite high. Last year, 45 per cent of the student body had previously studied a language overseas. This year, this figure was 40 per cent with English speaking destinations being the most popular places for previous trips. However, 12.5 per cent of the study body had been on a previous language learning trip to Italy.
Standard of the schools
Student satisfaction rates were very high; 100 per cent of students who answered indicated that they would recommend their school. When rating individual aspects of a programme, 85 per cent of students said that they thought their teachers were good or excellent, with 79 saying the same about their academic programme (14 per cent and 15 per cent respectively did not respond to these questions). Class sizes and the nationality mix of students were also regarded favourably with just 1.5 per cent of students saying that they thought there were too many students in their class or too many who spoke their own language.
Living in Italy
The cost of a one-week course and accommodation fees varied between e130 and e870 and averaged out at e378. This is slightly higher than last year’s figure of e334 and 39 per cent of respondents indicated that the cost of living in Italy was higher than in their own country.
Thank you to the following schools for participating in our survey: Academia del Giglio, Florence; Babilonia, Taormina; Centro Puccini, Viareggio; Comitato Linguistico, Perugia; Europass, Florence; Il Sillabo, San Giovanni; Interlingue, Rome; John Cabot University, Rome; Laboratorio Linguistico, Milazza; Lingua IT, Verona; Linguadue, Milan; Omnilingua, San Remo.
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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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