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Malta Feedback
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Agent usage among students going to Malta appears to be on the up. Meanwhile, a shift in the top nationalities has made way for a new market leader.
Malta feedback at a glance
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Total number of students: (female 56, male 38, unknown 3) 97
Average age in years: 25
Average length of programme in weeks: 7.1
Average number of students in class: 9
Average number of hours of language tuition per week: 20
% of students who found out about their course through an agent: 26
% of students who booked through an agent or adviser: 67
% of students who had been on another language programme: 30
% of students who would recommend their school: 93
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| Respondents by world region of origin |
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Top nationalities |
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1. W Europe 50%
2. C & E Europe 30%
3. Asia 9%
4. Middle East 2%
5. Africa 2%
6. Latin America 1%
No reply 6%
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1. Russian 11%
2. Swiss 10%
3. Czech 9%
4. Spanish 8%
4. Italian 8%
6. German 7%
6. Korean 7%
8. French 6%
9. Turkish 5%
10. Austrian 4%
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| In my class there are... |
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How easy is it to practise English with native speakers? |
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1. The right number of students (51%)
2. Too many students from one other country (19%)
3. Too many students (13%)
3. Too many students who speak my language (10%)
No reply 7% |
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1. Quite easy (51%)
2. Very easy (24%)
3. Quite hard (21%)
4. Very hard (2%)
No reply (2%) |
| 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 (43%)
2. Recommended by an agent (26%)
3. Recommended by a friend/relative (21%)
4. I saw it advertised (6%)
No reply 2% |
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Yes (67%)
No (28%)
Unknown (5%)
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Student reasons for school selection included:
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“It is cheap and convenient”
“Because it seemed a good school where every student is important”
“Location, price and weather”
“I have read many positive reports from other students”
“Because of the possibility of one-to-one lessons”
“Because the school is brand new!”
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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 (14%)
Unknown (8%)
City/town
Yes (39%)
No (53%)
Unknown (8%)
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School
Yes (41%)
No (53%)
Unknown (6%)
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Student nationality
There was a slump in the number of Asian students studying English in Malta this year, down 13 percentage points to just nine per cent. Only two Asian nationalities were represented in this year’s poll – seven per cent of whom were Korean in origin (down two percentage points on last year) and two per cent were Japanese (9.5 percentage points fewer than previously). Chinese students, meanwhile, were noticeably absent from this year’s survey. However, when we compare the number of Asian respondents with previous surveys – 23 per cent in 2005, 10 per cent in 2006 and 22 per cent in 2007 – it is apparent that this trend fluctuates year on year. Western Europeans, however, were more numerous, with a 50 per cent share of the nationality spectrum (up two percentage points on last year), but it was the Central and Eastern European contingent that made the biggest splash, now accounting for a 30 per cent of the student body. Russian students (11 per cent) knocked the Germans (seven per cent) off the top spot – a position they have held for the past two years.
Student motivation
Business and service professionals were far less likely to be taking an English language course in Malta this year – just 20 per cent of respondents fell into this category compared with 47 per cent in 2007 (see LTM, September 2007, pages 18-19). Instead, a majority (60 per cent) were university students; a finding that is also reflected in the average age of Feedback respondents – down from 31.6 years in 2007 to 25 years in this year’s survey. However, learning a language for future work purposes appears to be the biggest driving force, with 45 per cent saying that they were learning English with work in mind.
Student enrolment
In terms of how students found out about their school this year, a majority utilised the Internet (43 per cent). But recommendations from agents (26 per cent) or friends/relatives (up four percentage points to 21 per cent this year) still appear to pack some punch. A higher proportion of respondents said that they actually booked their language course via an agency this year (67 per cent compared with 57 per cent in 2007).
Standard of the schools
Average class size topped nine students this year, compared with 7.4 previously. However, 13 per cent of respondents reasoned that there were too many students per class with a further 19 per cent agreeing that there were too many students from one other country. Those that shared either of these views were Turkish, French, Spanish or German. However, respondents were clearly satisfied with the standard of teaching – 86 per cent agreed that it was either excellent or good, slightly less than the 89 per cent recorded in 2007. The academic content of courses also scored highly with students – 71 per cent said that the programme was either excellent or good compared with 63 per cent previously.
Living in Malta
Forty-five per cent of survey respondents said that the cost of living was on a par with living expenditure at home. A further 31 per cent agreed that costs were in fact lower, proving that Malta is cheaper than many other English-speaking destinations. The nightlife, language and local people all scored highly in terms of things that students liked the most about their study abroad experience.
Thank you to the following schools for participating in our survey: Alpha School of English, St Paul’s Bay; Chamber College, Gzira; Clubclass Residential Language School, Swieqi; EC Language Centres, Ta ‘Xbiex; EF, St Julians; European School of English, St Julians; IH Gozo, Gharb; inlingua Malta, Sliema; Linguatime, Sliema; NSTS, Valletta.
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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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