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Ireland Feedback
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Ireland welcomed a good mix of nationalities to its English language schools this year, while personal recommendation, either by a friend or agent, remained the preferred way for students to find their school.
Ireland feedback at a glance
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Total number of students: female 64, male 36, 100
Average age in years: 24
Average length of programme in weeks: 7.3
Average number of students in class: 9.7
Average number of hours of language tuition per week: 18.7
% of students who found their course through an agent: 30
% of students who booked through an agent or adviser: 43
% of students who had been on another lang. programme: 35
% of students who would recommend their school: 89 |
| Respondents by world region of origin |
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Top nationalities |
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W Europe (65%)
Asia (29%)
C & E Europe (2%)
Africa (1%)
South America (1%)
Other/Unknown (2%)
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1. Spanish 27%
2. Italian 16%
3. Japanese 10%
4. Chinese 9%
5. Korean 7%
6. German 7%
7. Austrian 2%
7. Nepalese 2%
7. Thai 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 (10%)
Too many students of my language (20%)
Too many students from one other countries (12%)
None of these (56%)
Unknown (2%)
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Coll. study in the Ireland (9%)
College study elsewhere (15%)
College study at home (27%)
Current or future work (45)
For pleasure only (3%)
Unknown (1%)
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| How did you find your programme? |
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Standard of your accommodation |
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It was recommended by an agent (30%)
It was recommended by a friend/relative (32%)
II found it on the Internet (25%)
I saw it advertised (5%) Unknown (8%)
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Excellent (21%)
Good (31%)
Satisfactory (22%)
Poor (10%)
Unsatisfactory (1%)
Unknown (15%)
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| Standard of your academic programme |
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Standard of the teaching |
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Excellent (18%)
Good (52%)
Satisfactory (18%)
Poor (4%)
Unknown (8%)
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Excellent (48%)
Good (42%)
Satisfactory (8%)
Unknown (2%)
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| Standard of your social programme? |
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What is your accomodation while in Ireland? |
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Excellent (..61%)
Good (42%)
Satisfactory (8%)
Unknown (34%)
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Host family (52%)
Residential/single room (32%)
Residential/dormitory (3%)
Other(11%)
Unknown (2%) |
Did you book your course through an agent or an educational adviser?
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Yes (43%)
No (46%)
Unknown (11%)
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Before looking for your course, did you know where you wanted to study?
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Country
Yes (77%)
No (19%)
Unknown (4%)
City/town
Yes (55%)
No (40%)
Unknown (5%)
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School
Yes (40%)
No (55%)
Unknown (5%)
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Student nationality
Despite the fact that Western Europeans made up the bulk of respondents in this issue';s Feedback survey of Ireland, the top 10 nationalities were made up of a healthy mix of students from different world regions of origin. The top two nationalities, Spanish with 27 per cent and Italian with 16 per cent, were unsurprising but other nationalities in the top 10 line up included Chinese, Nepalese and Thai. This was in marked contrast to last year (see Language Travel Magazine November 2005, pages 16-17), when seven of the top 10 nationalities came from European countries. Instead, this year there was a much greater proportion of Asian students – making up 29 per cent of the student body compared with 12 per cent in 2005.
Student motivation
With 74 per cent of students aged 25 years or under and 68 per cent giving their occupation as either a high school, college or university student, it follows that 51 per cent of our respondents currently used English for their studies and a further 51 per cent were going to use their new English skills for their studies either at home or overseas. Interestingly, only nine per cent of students were going on to university or college in Ireland, while 15 per cent were going to study in another English-speaking country. The lengths of stay of our respondents ranged from one to 36 weeks, averaging out at 7.3 weeks.
Student enrolment
The personal recommendation of a friend or agent remained the most significant way for students to find out about their school, according to our survey, while the Internet dropped slightly in popularity from 32 per cent of respondents using it to find their school last year to 25 per cent this year. The proportion of students booking through an agent decreased significantly, from 62 per cent in 2005 to just 43 per cent this year. At 35 per cent, the proportion of students who had been on a language travel trip before was much lower than the 56 per cent recorded last year.
Standard of the schools
Class sizes ranged from two to 16 students, averaging out at just under 10. Ten per cent of students indicated that their classes were too big – all of whom were in classes of between 10 and 15 students – and 20 per cent, most of whom were Spanish, said there were too many students who spoke their own language in their class. However, class size and nationality mix did not seem to affect the students'; satisfaction levels, as there was no correlation between those students who agreed with these statements and those who would not recommend their school. Fifty-two per cent of students were staying with host families, and among this group, 69 per cent said the standard was good or excellent.
Living in Ireland
Living costs in Ireland were relatively high according to the majority of students. This not only included most Asian nationalities but also 56 per cent of Spanish students and 44 per cent of Italians. Only three per cent of students found the cost of living in Ireland to be lower than at home, while 30 per cent found it to be the same. The average cost per week of an English course and accommodation was e298 (US$382).
Thank you to the following schools for participating in our survey:
Alpha College of English, Dublin; Dargan Language Centre, Bray; DCU Ireland, Dublin; EFL Ireland, Waterford; Emerald Cultural Institute, Dublin; Galway Cultural Institute, Galway; Griffith College, Dublin; International Celtic School of Languages, Shannon; North Mon Language Institute, Cork; Slaney Language Centre, Wexford; University College Cork, Cork.
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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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