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France's slow incline
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The demand for language travel experiences among French students is growing, according to the French agents who took part in our survey, who are offering a greater diversity of programmes and forecasting future expansion.
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The total number of students placed by the 12 agencies in our survey was 12,080
Individual agencies placed between 25 and 5,200 students on courses per year
Average business growth was 11 per cent in 2005
The average length of stay for French students was three weeks
Overall, 71 per cent of French students stayed in host family accommodation when studying overseas
Five agencies charged their clients a handling fee of between e35 (US$42) and e100 (US$120)
On average, agencies had worked with 26 institutions in the last 12 months
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| Top destinations |
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Most popular courses |
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1. UK 29%
2. USA 26%
3. Ireland 15%
4. Spain 7%
5. Malta 3%
5. Germany 3%
7. Canada 2%
8. Italy 1%
8. Australia 1%
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1. General 25%
1. Junior progs.25%
3. Other 19%
4. Lang + work. 11%
5. Intensive 10%
6. Summer vacation 4%
7. Academic/exam prep. 3%
7. Business lang. 3%
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| Reasons for language travel |
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Top languages |
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1. Studies at home 52%
2. Studies overseas 16%
3. Current work 14%
4. Pleasure 13%
5. Other 5%
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1. English 78%
2. Spanish 14%
3. German 4%
4. Italian 1%
4. Russian 1%
6. Chinese 0.5%
6. Japanese 0.5%
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How do agencies recruit students?
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How do agencies find new schools to represent? |
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Website 44%
Word of mouth 31%
Advertising in press 9%
Other 7%
Mail shots 5%
Seminars to students 4%
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Workshops 38%
Internet 20%
Fairs/expos 16%
LTM/ETM 16%
Other 9%
Other press 1%
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| Percentage of agents who recognised each of the following organisations |
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Australia
Acpet 33%
English Australia 33%
Canada
Capls 25%
CLC 17%
France
Souffle 50%
L'Office 58%
Unosel 50%
FLE 33%
Ireland
MEI~Relsa 58%
IEAI 8%
Italy
Asils 25%
Italian in Italy 0%
Malta
Feltom 50%
New Zealand
Appel 0%
Ed. NZ 0%
English NZ 17%
Fiels/Eng NZ 25%
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Portugal
Aeple 0%
South Africa
Eltasa 8%
English SA 8%
Spain
Fedele 58%
UK
ABLS 8%
English UK 67%
British Council 100%
Europe
Eaquals 50%
USA
AAIEP 33%
Accet 58%
CEA 25%
UCIEP 0%
International
Ialc 25%
Quality English 25%
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Market growth
The year 2005 was a good one for the "séjours linguistiques" business in France, with none of the 12 agencies that took part in this year's Agency Survey reporting a decrease in business last year. Overall, business growth for 2005 was calculated at 11 per cent, a similar figure to the 10 per cent growth recorded in 2003 – the last time this market was covered in our Agency Survey feature (see Language Travel Magazine, October 2003, pages 12-13). Agents who commented on the reasons behind business trends said that changes to French society meant that studying abroad was more of a priority for students.
Language and destination trends
English was by far the most popular language requested, followed by Spanish and German. However, other less common languages were also requested by French students last year, including Russian, Japanese and Chinese, perhaps indicating a growing sophistication in the language travel market in France. The UK was the most popular destination for French students wanting to learn English, although the USA had increased its market share from 16 per cent in our previous survey to 26 per cent last year. This trend may not continue in the short-term, however, as French agents are currently experiencing difficulties with the US market, due to the requirement for French citizens to apply for a visa to enter the USA – if they have a passport issued after October 2005. New electronic passports, which are required by the USA from all EU nationals issued with passports since October last year, are expected to be ready for issuance in France from May only.
Student and course trends
A greater proportion of agency clients (16 per cent) were learning a language overseas in order to go on to further education outside France in 2005, compared with our previous survey, when just two per cent of students had this motivation. The number of students opting for academic preparation courses, however, did not show a corresponding increase in popularity, with just three per cent of clients undertaking these types of courses compared with six per cent previously. Junior and general language courses instead attracted the lion's share of clients (25 per cent each), up from three per cent and 17 per cent respectively.
Agency business
Workshops are becoming an increasingly valuable way for French agents to meet new schools, with 38 per cent of new business partnerships formed this way in 2005, compared with 26 per cent previously. In contrast, methods for attracting new student clients among French agents have not changed significantly in the two years since we last undertook an Agency Survey. The Internet and word-of-mouth recommendation attracted 75 per cent of clients in 2005, compared with 79 per cent in 2003.
Looking ahead
All of the agents who ventured an opinion regarding business trends over the next 12 months said that business would grow by between five and 40 per cent. One agency said that the demand for work experience programmes would rise and another was planning increased marketing efforts.
Economic overview
The French economy grew by 1.4% in 2005, slightly lower than the predicted growth rate of 1.5 to 2%, and less than the previous year's growth of 2.1%. The lower than expected
growth was attributed to a sharp downturn of exports in the fourth quarter of 2005.
French consumer prices fell in January because of a sharp drop in prices for clothes and shoes. The consumer price index fell by 0.1% in January 2006 compared with the previous month, but was up by 2% on January 2005.
France's trade deficit for 2005 was e26.5 billion (US$31.8 billion), more than three times the e8.3 billion (US$9.9 billion) in 2004.
Sources: BusinessWeek online, Finfacts
French agents named a range of language programmes they work with, including, in Australia: Global Village English Centres, various. In Canada: Global Village Language Centres, various. In Germany: Horizonte, Regensburg. In Ireland: Alpha College, Dublin; Dublin School of English, Dublin; Emerald Cultural Institute, Dublin. In Malta: EC English Language Centre, St Julians; European School of English, Gzira. In Spain: Enforex, various; Escuela Montalban, Granada. In the UK: Anglo-Continental School of English, Bournemouth; Bloomsbury International, London; Hampstead School of English, London; Regent Language and Training, various; Scanbrit, Bournemouth; St Giles Colleges, various; St John's Wood School of English, London; Studio School, Cambridge; Torquay International School, Torquay; Twin Training International, London. In the USA: Embassy CES, various; The Language Academy, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Worldwide: Aspect ILA, Bell.
Thank you to the following agencies for taking part in this survey: Accent D'Ailleurs, Association "Vacances Scolaires", Calvin Thomas, Centre Comptoir des Horizons, Easylangues, Effective, Exis, ISPA, La Ligue de l'Enseignement, LSI Paris, Nacel, YFU France.
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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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