South Africa hopeful

Jens von Wichtingen from Cape Studies in Cape Town says that South Africa, and Cape Town in particular, is becoming an increasingly popular destination for language students. "Our winter season, in particular, seems to have extended and become busier," he confirms. "The easy visa applications and flight availability also make Cape Town an easy destination to visit."

While the language teaching industry in South Africa has been traditionally focused around Cape Town – one of the region's most popular holiday destinations – the increase in number of language schools located elsewhere in the country also points to a maturing of the industry. Karl Rutti, Managing Director of LAL Group South Africa, says that student weeks increased by 25 per cent across their two schools in Cape Town and Durban last year. "Our new school in Durban has been received very well by our agents, as many of them are starting now to promote two cities in South Africa," he says.

Wits Language School, based at the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, has experienced positive growth in enrolments recently. "We have had an increase in student numbers of about 30 per cent [over the last year]," says Trish Cooper at the school. "We attribute this to the relative ease with which students are able to acquire visas, and to the growing attraction of Johannesburg as a financial capital, and, with that, the growing awareness of Wits University as an internationally recognised institution."

However, 2005 did not bring a boom in business for all language schools throughout the country. Boston College in Cape Town recorded a 20 per cent decrease in student numbers in 2005, says Alan Lester, the college director. "Changes in China have had the biggest impact on our school," he relates. "This is complex but includes bad press about crime in South Africa and currency changes affecting affordability."

Andy Meyer from Shane Global Language Centre in Cape Town also points to the strengthening of the rand against the dollar as a possible cause of the decline in enrolments they experienced in 2005. "Last year did not quite live up to the expectations of 2004, but this was mainly due to the second quarter dip," he explains. "While we still haven't quite found a reason for this, we are happy to say that since then there has been an upward trend."

With schools keen to ensure 2006 is a successful year, they are turning their attentions to their products and introducing new language-and-activity combinations. Many schools are tapping into the growing adventure sports market. Joan Cihan from International House Durban says that their student numbers have increased by 30 per cent in the past year, largely as a result of changes to their leisure and activity programme. "The language course options have not changed but the leisure options have increased in variety and this is what has increased the student numbers," she says. "We now offer wildlife tours and safaris for a weekend and longer trips."

Meyer notes that the extensive array of language plus courses offered at his school were developed largely in response to agent demand. "We have just introduced a language plus golf package over eight or 16 weeks," he says. "We will also be introducing packages such as [English] plus extreme sports, where students have the chance to learn or hone their skills in windsurfing and kyte boarding at an internationally recognised venue. There are also language plus volunteer courses available."

Interlink School of Languages in Cape Town is another school where language plus activity courses will soon be a prominent feature of the course menu. "In 2006 we are going to offer language plus activity courses for the first time," says Luanne McCallum. "South Africa has so many specialities to offer that we think are a major draw for us as a destination."

Breaking into new student markets

In many areas of the world, the attractions of South Africa as a language travel destination are relatively unknown. Yet schools report that this is starting to change. Luanne McCallum from Interlink School of Languages in Cape Town says that prospects for the future are looking good. "There has been an overall increase in the interest shown in South Africa as a credible language travel destination," she asserts.

The largest nationality groups studying English in South Africa include the Swiss, Germans and Koreans, but schools have noticed increasing interest from other regions in recent years. "We have noticed that other markets are now increasingly becoming aware of South Africa and there has been an improvement in the Japanese, Italian and Brazilian markets," says Andy Meyer from Shane Global Language Centre in Cape Town. "We do believe that there is bigger potential in the Far East market than what we are getting and we hope to improve numbers from this region in the medium term."

At Cape Studies in Cape Town, Jens von Wichtingen reports an increase in the number of nationalities represented at the school. "The German and Swiss markets have always been our primary target," he says. "However, we have become a popular destination with the South American market like Brazil, Chile and even Bolivia. We have students from South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and all over Europe, making us a melting pot of cultures."