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Germany Feedback
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Small class sizes and an even spread of nationalities in classrooms got the seal of approval from students studying at German language schools this year, with high rates of student satisfaction all round.
Germany feedback at a glance
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Total number of students: female 56, male 51, (unknown 6) 113
Average age in years: 24.2
Average length of programme in weeks: 9.5
Average number of students in class: 5.3
Average number of hours of language tuition per week: 23.8
% of students who found their course through an agent: 41
% of students who booked through an agent or adviser: 36
% of students who had been on another lang. programme: 49
% of students who would recommend their school: 96 (100)
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| Respondents by world region of origin |
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Top nationalities |
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Asia (52%)
C & L America (16%)
W Europe (15%)
C & E Europe (5%)
Africa (3%)
Other/Unknown (0%)
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1. Japanese 20%
2. Koreann 18%
3. Taiwanese 6%
4. Brazilian 4%
4. Saudi Arabian 4%
6. Chinese 3%
6. Colombian 3%
6. Mexican 3%
6. Swiss 3%
6. Turkish 3%
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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 (7%)
Too many students of my language (12%)
Too many students from one other countries (18%)
None of these (58%)
Unknown (5%)
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Coll. study in the USA (40%)
For work (37%)
College study elsewhere (10%)
College study at home (8%)
For pleasure only (2%)
Unknown (3%)
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| How did you find your programme? |
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Standard of the teaching |
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It was recommended by an agent (35%)
It was recommended by a friend/relative (38%)
II found it on the Internet (22%)
Unknown (5%)
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Excellent (56%)
Good (35%)
Satisfactory (2%)
Poor (1%)
Unsatisfactory (2%)
Unknown (4%)
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| Standard of your academic programme |
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Standard of your accommodation |
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Excellent (30%)
Good (52%)
Satisfactory (10%)
Poor (2%)
Unsatisfactory (1%)
Unknown (5%)
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Excellent (22%)
Good (44%)
Satisfactory (17%)
Poor (4%)
Unsatisfactory (1%)
Unknown (12%)
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| Standard of your social programme? |
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What is your accomodation while in the USA? |
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Excellent (21%)
Good (49%)
Satisfactory (17%)
Poor (4%)
Unsatisfactory (1%)
Unknown (8%)
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Host family (21%)
Residential/single room (27%)
Residential/dormitory (24%)
Other(24%)
Unknown (4%) |
Did you book your course through an agent or an educational adviser?
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Yes (24%)
No (72%)
Unknown (4%)
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Before looking for your course, did you know where you wanted to study?
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Country
Yes (78%)
No (16%)
Unknown (6%)
City/town
Yes (56%)
No (37%)
Unknown (7%)
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School
Yes (44%)
No (49%)
Unknown (7%)
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Student nationality
The number of different nationalities represented in the classrooms of German language schools increased this year, from the 27 recorded in last year’s survey (see Language Travel Magazine, September 2005, pages 16-17) to 34. This is good news for schools in Germany that are widening their appeal to new markets. Numbers of Central and Eastern European students were back up to the more significant level of 20 per cent this year, after a dip last year when they made up just six per cent of respondents. Other world regions that appear to be growth markets are Central and Latin America, which increased from five per cent to nine per cent and North America, whose share increased from six per cent to nine per cent. Reliance on the Asian market was definitely down this year, with the top four nationalities showing a fairly even spread in numbers between Spanish, Russian, US and Japanese.
Student motivation
The average length of stay for respondents on language courses this year was down to just 9.5 weeks, compared with 16.4 weeks last year. The majority of students – 52 per cent – were enrolled on programmes lasting for six weeks or less, while a further 27 per cent were studying in Germany for between seven and 19 weeks and 16 per cent were studying for between 20 and 39 weeks. Our respondents indicated that they were most commonly learning German for either academic purposes or work reasons, with just 13 per cent learning the language for pleasure only. The percentage of students intending to go on to further study in Germany was down slightly on last year’s figure – 27 per cent compared with 35 per cent – while those using German in their studies at home increased from eight per cent last year to 22 per cent this year.
Student enrolment
A larger proportion of students found out about their course through an agency this year, with 41 per cent of students indicating that this was the first point of contact with their school, compared with 33 per cent last year. However, the number booking through an agency remained the same at 36 per cent. A relatively high 49 per cent of students had been on a previous study abroad trip with 69 per cent of these studying in an English speaking country. This indicates that German is likely to be learnt as a third or fourth language by many students.
Standard of the schools
With such a varied student mix, the majority of students were extremely happy with their experiences at our participating German language schools and 100 per cent of those answering the question said that they would recommend their school to others. Class sizes were relatively low at 5.3 students although they varied widely between two and 20 students.
Living in Germany
Our respondents looked very favourably on the German people, nominating them as their second favourite aspect of studying in Germany, after the language. Fifty-two per cent of students also found it very easy or fairly easy to practise their new language skills. The average cost of a one-week course including accommodation averaged out at e309 (US$395), an increase on last year when the same product cost e273 (US$349) on average.
Thank you to the following schools for participating in our survey:
Austin English Academy, Austin, TX; Colorado School of English, Denver, CO; English language Institute, Syracuse, NY; Fulton Montgomery Community College, Johnstown, NY; ICC, Honolulu, HI; Language Studies International, Boston, MA; Language Studies International, San Diego, CA; Language Studies International Berkeley, San Francisco, CA; Seattle Central, Seattle, WA; Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN; University of California Extension Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA; University of Dayton, Dayton, OH; University of Illinois, Champaign – Urbana, Chicago, IL; University of Nevada, IELC, Reno, NV; University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; University of Tennessee ELI, Knoxville, TN.
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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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