TEFL-on industry?
Last February, Andrew Mangion took over from John Dimech as president of the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations. He spoke to Vanessa Macdonald about its main concerns, warning that there were serious obstacles to the industry's...
Last February, Andrew Mangion took over from John Dimech as president of the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations. He spoke to Vanessa Macdonald about its main concerns, warning that there were serious obstacles to the industry's growth.
Accommodation
Feltom is concerned about a lack of bedstock in this market, the result of a number of factors. The first is a lack of host families... The numbers had fallen dramatically when the issue of taxation loomed and even though this was resolved, the numbers have barely caught up with previous levels.
"It takes time for people to trust the system and to register once again as host families. It is too early to say what will happen this year as it is only now that many families start to register for the summer. But if you take the growth in the market in the last 24 months and the resulting need for bedstock, we could easily do with another 1,000 families," Mr Mangion said.
Hotel accommodation has also taken a bit of a blow, albeit for different reasons. A number of language schools use hotel beds in summer, particularly in July and the first part of August.
"Malta lost an estimated 3,000 beds in the three-star and four-star categories which were not replaced. This is an area of concern. Feltom is taking this up with the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and with government. Something needs to be done."
Mr Mangion believes that the answer would be for permits to be issued for students' residences. Private secondary schools have soaked up some of the demand by being turned into camps during the summer - but not enough. He would anyway prefer to see something tailor-made.
"Residences should be designed to suit students, whether they are new or refurbished hotels. The standards - of things like furniture and air-conditioning - would be similar to those you would expect to find in a hotel. You would also need to have no more than three or four students to a room, and an en suite bathroom," he said.
Of course, seasonality is a problem.
"Not many investors believe they would get a return on their investment in such a short time. But there are innovative ways of dealing with that. This is why we need to continue discussions with stakeholders," Mr Mangion said.
In the meantime, he pleaded for nobody to hamper EFL schools from working with hotels. The MTA recently submitted a report to Cabinet on the EFL sector, one of whose recommendations was for hotels to be classified as youth hotels if more than half their guests are students.
The thought makes Mr Mangion shudder.
"That is the sort of stigma that will make hotels afraid of doing business with schools and we will lose even more bedstock," he said.
Of course, he does not deny that there were problems when some students disturbed other guests. But he stressed that students are not only put into hotels because there are not enough host families, even if this was one of the factors. Hotels also take away any possible element of surprise.
"If you have 1,000 families, each one is different with different homes, different food, different welcomes. At a hotel, every client gets a standard product and a numbers business such as ours likes common standards. It avoids the possibility of bad chemistry between a student and the host family, which can make the difference between the best experience he or she has ever had - or the worst."
Visas
For schools, the key to profitability is maximising their infrastructure by having a steady flow of students throughout the year. But as schools try to level out seasonal ups and downs by attracting clients from different markets, they encounter the reality of visa restrictions.
"Right now, the situation is - hopefully just temporarily - not acceptable. The authorities are not yet clear themselves on how the situation should be working. For example, Schengen visas can only be issued for three months.
"What do you do for a student who wants to stay here for six months or an academic year? Well, Schengen visas cannot be extended!
"The authorities are trying to solve the problem but why can't we be proactive and avoid these problems rather than reacting after there is one?" he asked.
Schools spend time and money on developing new markets and are frustrated when their efforts are negated by visa problems, as happened in Turkey, for example.
"Agents got together and sent a letter to the Maltese schools pleading for help with the Maltese authorities. But the market has already dipped. We are trying to pick it back up but this issue needs to be treated as a matter of urgency," said Mr Mangion.
"In China, where we also faced problems, we have a very cooperative ambassador, Karl Xuereb. But the issue is not whether it is now easier to get a Maltese visa but whether the Chinese still want to come here. Once you lose momentum, it is hard to get it back. We forget this sometimes."
There has been quite an improvement in the number of adults coming from the Asian market and also a slight increase in junior business from Europe in the low season months as more schools give time to students to study during the academic year, benefiting from less crowding and better rates.
Work to attract business from the southerm hemisphere, in particular South America, is also beginning to reap rewards - at least until the visa issue crops up.
"Columbia is still closed, in spite of countless pleas from Feltom for government to re-open this market.
"The Maltese authorities say that the visa system is now functioning but the Austrian consulate, which handles visas on Malta's behalf, is saying that things are still being held up at the Malta end. So we are going round in circles and we need some clarification," he said.
Density
The English-language industry is being limited by geography. Language schools are concentrated in a small part of the north harbour area. There are a number of reasons for this. This is where the industry was established and where you find the entertainment district and watersports. But crucially, it is also where you find English-speaking host families.
"I wish we could find more host families in the west or the south," he lamented.
He believes that there could be potential in the Buġibba/St Paul's Bay area, a small element in the Mosta/Naxxar area and some potential in Valletta.
"There are some niche schools in Gozo but I do not think it could sustain more schools," he said.
Density is an issue because it means that the impact on the community is shorter and sharper, all too often leading to vociferous complaints from residents. Mr Mangion sympathises but said he sometimes feels that there is not enough appreciation for how important this sector is to the economy.
He does not deny that there is some student misbehaviour - although he believes that the biggest problems come from those who are 18-25, who cannot be given curfews and rules other than to stay within the law.
"With minors, you will find that many of the problems do not arise from Feltom school students.
"All schools need to lay down discipline guidelines and to manage their minors, including their curfews and where they allow them to go at night."
Alcohol
The issue of alcohol has many facets. At 16, the drinking age is lower than in many other European countries, so students get access to alcohol here for the first time in their lives. To make matters worse, even the current limit is not enforced. The result is children who do not know their limits and end up drunk.
"This is a topic that needs more discussion within Feltom.
"Generally, our members are very open to having the right provisions in place to safeguard students - especially minor students. But three other parties have a role to play: bar owners who should sell responsibly; government when it comes to setting the drinking age; and the police when it comes to enforcement.
"Personally, I still believe that the drinking age should be 18 and that open containers should not be allowed except in bars," he said.
Sources told The Times Business that the report to Cabinet recommends a ban on outdoor drinking.
How effective would that be?
"It will not stop people from drinking. Open containers are illegal in the US but it has absolutely not stopped people drinking.
"But it does limit the number of people that can be served as it limits them to the property size.
"In Paceville, there are crowds of people drinking on the streets. If you limit the space in which they can drink, it could alleviate the problem. It will also solve the problem of the bottle shops."
Mr Mangion understands that congregating outside is part of the Maltese culture but he warns that difficult decisions may need to be taken.
"If the majority of people feel that their right to drink on the street should be protected, well and good. But then they cannot complain about the consequences..."
The bottle shops are a good example of how difficult it is to impose rules and get the intended result.
When their hours were restricted, they merely changed their licences to confectioneries or bars and stayed within the law. Mr Mangion is not impressed.
"It is up to the law makers to set standards for where a bar can be located, what a bar should offer and how many parking spaces it should have."
Group leaders
The MTA report also recommends that the age of group leaders should be raised from 18 to 21. Mr Mangion is very concerned about the consequences of such a move.
"Group leaders tend to be students who want summer work.
"By the time they are 21 they will probably have finished their studies and be working full time. So schools would not be able to recruit enough people.
"The solution is to train them adequately as a number of schools have already done, possibly also utilising the EU-funded Merħba programme run by the MTA.
"We are trying to get more of our members to route prospective leaders through these courses.
"I think it would be very foolish to limit the age to 21 as it would wipe out a large number of the staff in our industry, which would create a massive problem.
"We would seriously recommend to government to think twice about this so that we do not end up with another unintended problem like the host family one we had two years ago."
English proficiency
Feltom members passed a unanimous resolution at the last AGM lamenting that the quality of English on the island has been deteriorating significantly over the past decade or two.
"We are concerned that if this trend continues and worsens, we will find ourselves in a situation where we can no longer call ourselves a bilingual country.
"The EFL industry will then not be able to sell itself as a total immersion programme.
"Remember that the only benefit that Malta has over other aspiring countries like Cyprus - that would love to take this business - is that English is one of the languages spoken, not just in the classroom but also with the locals. We have to be careful.
"And it goes beyond the EFL industry. English is one of our natural resources. We could lose it.
"It might not happen in the short term but unless something happens to reverse the trend, things will get worse.
"Both English and Maltese are equally important; one does not necessarily have to be pushed at the expense of the other.
"But people need to realise at a grass roots level that English is vital and that they need to expose their children to the language as much as possible if they do not speak English at home.
"It also needs to happen in schools - not just in private ones.
"The media also has a role to play, especially local television stations, which can really help the situation through increased programming in English. If all these stakeholders do something about the issue, we could reverse the trend."
Transport
The concentration of tourists and students in July and August is putting pressure on the transport system. Feltom is talking to the Malta Transport Authority but it is not clear what the solution is.
"Ask any language school and they will tell you that they have problems. There are simply not enough coaches to cope with several thousand students being bussed around every morning.
"Many schools have been talking to their transport companies to try to resolve this. Honestly, we don't have a clear solution to this problem."
Accreditation and membership
This was actually at the top of Mr Mangion's list as he believes that the quality of the schools is as vital a factor as external issues.
Feltom spent three years working on an accreditation system, which goes well beyond the current Monitoring Board guidelines.
The first two schools were accredited last year and the federation is currently refining the procedure before embarking on a drive to get all the current membership accredited, hopefully before the year end.
Six are already undergoing the requisite inspections and should be accredited within the next few months. The remaining eight are about to embark on the process, he confirmed.
The second thing the Feltom board wants is to persuade other schools - about 20 in all - to become members.
"I want us to be able to capture as large a percentage as possible of all the schools, not only the larger ones. This will strengthen advocacy as when we lobby government or the authorities it is important to speak not only for the 70 per cent of students Feltom represents but also for as many schools as possible. They should not be out in the cold," he said.
He said that there were probably a number of reasons why schools held back.
"There has been a feeling, uncalled for though it was, that it was a bit of a club. This is quite wrong and we are there to help all schools.
"Of course, it may be that a school feels that the requirements and standards that come with membership are too onerous.
But there is no reason why a professional school would have any problem meeting them. And of course Feltom can help schools. Our executive can explain what needs to be done to improve standards."
Feltom believes, however, that the burden of self-regulation cannot lie only on its shoulders. It believes the industry has evolved so much that the time has come for a review of the role of the government-appointed Monitoring Board.
"It is in the interests of the whole industry to make sure that standards are maintained whenever a new school is approved. I would go beyond that and say that, if anything, the standards should be raised....
"Feltom took it upon itself to create an accreditation system because one did not exist in Malta and it recommends that the Monitoring Board consider accreditation for the entire industry."
Feltom also wants to see more data collection, enabling benchmarking and trend analysis.
"At present, information is collected by the Monitoring Board and the National Office of Statistics. But it takes too long for the reports to come out, partly because schools should pass on the information more promptly.
"We have set up a benchmarking committee and hope to have a system in place by the end of the year. At least then, the next time we do an interview, I will be able to give you all the figures..."
Accommodation
Feltom is concerned about a lack of bedstock in this market, the result of a number of factors. The first is a lack of host families... The numbers had fallen dramatically when the issue of taxation loomed and even though this was resolved, the numbers have barely caught up with previous levels.
"It takes time for people to trust the system and to register once again as host families. It is too early to say what will happen this year as it is only now that many families start to register for the summer. But if you take the growth in the market in the last 24 months and the resulting need for bedstock, we could easily do with another 1,000 families," Mr Mangion said.
Hotel accommodation has also taken a bit of a blow, albeit for different reasons. A number of language schools use hotel beds in summer, particularly in July and the first part of August.
"Malta lost an estimated 3,000 beds in the three-star and four-star categories which were not replaced. This is an area of concern. Feltom is taking this up with the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and with government. Something needs to be done."
Mr Mangion believes that the answer would be for permits to be issued for students' residences. Private secondary schools have soaked up some of the demand by being turned into camps during the summer - but not enough. He would anyway prefer to see something tailor-made.
"Residences should be designed to suit students, whether they are new or refurbished hotels. The standards - of things like furniture and air-conditioning - would be similar to those you would expect to find in a hotel. You would also need to have no more than three or four students to a room, and an en suite bathroom," he said.
Of course, seasonality is a problem.
"Not many investors believe they would get a return on their investment in such a short time. But there are innovative ways of dealing with that. This is why we need to continue discussions with stakeholders," Mr Mangion said.
In the meantime, he pleaded for nobody to hamper EFL schools from working with hotels. The MTA recently submitted a report to Cabinet on the EFL sector, one of whose recommendations was for hotels to be classified as youth hotels if more than half their guests are students.
The thought makes Mr Mangion shudder.
"That is the sort of stigma that will make hotels afraid of doing business with schools and we will lose even more bedstock," he said.
Of course, he does not deny that there were problems when some students disturbed other guests. But he stressed that students are not only put into hotels because there are not enough host families, even if this was one of the factors. Hotels also take away any possible element of surprise.
"If you have 1,000 families, each one is different with different homes, different food, different welcomes. At a hotel, every client gets a standard product and a numbers business such as ours likes common standards. It avoids the possibility of bad chemistry between a student and the host family, which can make the difference between the best experience he or she has ever had - or the worst."
Visas
For schools, the key to profitability is maximising their infrastructure by having a steady flow of students throughout the year. But as schools try to level out seasonal ups and downs by attracting clients from different markets, they encounter the reality of visa restrictions.
"Right now, the situation is - hopefully just temporarily - not acceptable. The authorities are not yet clear themselves on how the situation should be working. For example, Schengen visas can only be issued for three months.
"What do you do for a student who wants to stay here for six months or an academic year? Well, Schengen visas cannot be extended!
"The authorities are trying to solve the problem but why can't we be proactive and avoid these problems rather than reacting after there is one?" he asked.
Schools spend time and money on developing new markets and are frustrated when their efforts are negated by visa problems, as happened in Turkey, for example.
"Agents got together and sent a letter to the Maltese schools pleading for help with the Maltese authorities. But the market has already dipped. We are trying to pick it back up but this issue needs to be treated as a matter of urgency," said Mr Mangion.
"In China, where we also faced problems, we have a very cooperative ambassador, Karl Xuereb. But the issue is not whether it is now easier to get a Maltese visa but whether the Chinese still want to come here. Once you lose momentum, it is hard to get it back. We forget this sometimes."
There has been quite an improvement in the number of adults coming from the Asian market and also a slight increase in junior business from Europe in the low season months as more schools give time to students to study during the academic year, benefiting from less crowding and better rates.
Work to attract business from the southerm hemisphere, in particular South America, is also beginning to reap rewards - at least until the visa issue crops up.
"Columbia is still closed, in spite of countless pleas from Feltom for government to re-open this market.
"The Maltese authorities say that the visa system is now functioning but the Austrian consulate, which handles visas on Malta's behalf, is saying that things are still being held up at the Malta end. So we are going round in circles and we need some clarification," he said.
Density
The English-language industry is being limited by geography. Language schools are concentrated in a small part of the north harbour area. There are a number of reasons for this. This is where the industry was established and where you find the entertainment district and watersports. But crucially, it is also where you find English-speaking host families.
"I wish we could find more host families in the west or the south," he lamented.
He believes that there could be potential in the Buġibba/St Paul's Bay area, a small element in the Mosta/Naxxar area and some potential in Valletta.
"There are some niche schools in Gozo but I do not think it could sustain more schools," he said.
Density is an issue because it means that the impact on the community is shorter and sharper, all too often leading to vociferous complaints from residents. Mr Mangion sympathises but said he sometimes feels that there is not enough appreciation for how important this sector is to the economy.
He does not deny that there is some student misbehaviour - although he believes that the biggest problems come from those who are 18-25, who cannot be given curfews and rules other than to stay within the law.
"With minors, you will find that many of the problems do not arise from Feltom school students.
"All schools need to lay down discipline guidelines and to manage their minors, including their curfews and where they allow them to go at night."
Alcohol
The issue of alcohol has many facets. At 16, the drinking age is lower than in many other European countries, so students get access to alcohol here for the first time in their lives. To make matters worse, even the current limit is not enforced. The result is children who do not know their limits and end up drunk.
"This is a topic that needs more discussion within Feltom.
"Generally, our members are very open to having the right provisions in place to safeguard students - especially minor students. But three other parties have a role to play: bar owners who should sell responsibly; government when it comes to setting the drinking age; and the police when it comes to enforcement.
"Personally, I still believe that the drinking age should be 18 and that open containers should not be allowed except in bars," he said.
Sources told The Times Business that the report to Cabinet recommends a ban on outdoor drinking.
How effective would that be?
"It will not stop people from drinking. Open containers are illegal in the US but it has absolutely not stopped people drinking.
"But it does limit the number of people that can be served as it limits them to the property size.
"In Paceville, there are crowds of people drinking on the streets. If you limit the space in which they can drink, it could alleviate the problem. It will also solve the problem of the bottle shops."
Mr Mangion understands that congregating outside is part of the Maltese culture but he warns that difficult decisions may need to be taken.
"If the majority of people feel that their right to drink on the street should be protected, well and good. But then they cannot complain about the consequences..."
The bottle shops are a good example of how difficult it is to impose rules and get the intended result.
When their hours were restricted, they merely changed their licences to confectioneries or bars and stayed within the law. Mr Mangion is not impressed.
"It is up to the law makers to set standards for where a bar can be located, what a bar should offer and how many parking spaces it should have."
Group leaders
The MTA report also recommends that the age of group leaders should be raised from 18 to 21. Mr Mangion is very concerned about the consequences of such a move.
"Group leaders tend to be students who want summer work.
"By the time they are 21 they will probably have finished their studies and be working full time. So schools would not be able to recruit enough people.
"The solution is to train them adequately as a number of schools have already done, possibly also utilising the EU-funded Merħba programme run by the MTA.
"We are trying to get more of our members to route prospective leaders through these courses.
"I think it would be very foolish to limit the age to 21 as it would wipe out a large number of the staff in our industry, which would create a massive problem.
"We would seriously recommend to government to think twice about this so that we do not end up with another unintended problem like the host family one we had two years ago."
English proficiency
Feltom members passed a unanimous resolution at the last AGM lamenting that the quality of English on the island has been deteriorating significantly over the past decade or two.
"We are concerned that if this trend continues and worsens, we will find ourselves in a situation where we can no longer call ourselves a bilingual country.
"The EFL industry will then not be able to sell itself as a total immersion programme.
"Remember that the only benefit that Malta has over other aspiring countries like Cyprus - that would love to take this business - is that English is one of the languages spoken, not just in the classroom but also with the locals. We have to be careful.
"And it goes beyond the EFL industry. English is one of our natural resources. We could lose it.
"It might not happen in the short term but unless something happens to reverse the trend, things will get worse.
"Both English and Maltese are equally important; one does not necessarily have to be pushed at the expense of the other.
"But people need to realise at a grass roots level that English is vital and that they need to expose their children to the language as much as possible if they do not speak English at home.
"It also needs to happen in schools - not just in private ones.
"The media also has a role to play, especially local television stations, which can really help the situation through increased programming in English. If all these stakeholders do something about the issue, we could reverse the trend."
Transport
The concentration of tourists and students in July and August is putting pressure on the transport system. Feltom is talking to the Malta Transport Authority but it is not clear what the solution is.
"Ask any language school and they will tell you that they have problems. There are simply not enough coaches to cope with several thousand students being bussed around every morning.
"Many schools have been talking to their transport companies to try to resolve this. Honestly, we don't have a clear solution to this problem."
Accreditation and membership
This was actually at the top of Mr Mangion's list as he believes that the quality of the schools is as vital a factor as external issues.
Feltom spent three years working on an accreditation system, which goes well beyond the current Monitoring Board guidelines.
The first two schools were accredited last year and the federation is currently refining the procedure before embarking on a drive to get all the current membership accredited, hopefully before the year end.
Six are already undergoing the requisite inspections and should be accredited within the next few months. The remaining eight are about to embark on the process, he confirmed.
The second thing the Feltom board wants is to persuade other schools - about 20 in all - to become members.
"I want us to be able to capture as large a percentage as possible of all the schools, not only the larger ones. This will strengthen advocacy as when we lobby government or the authorities it is important to speak not only for the 70 per cent of students Feltom represents but also for as many schools as possible. They should not be out in the cold," he said.
He said that there were probably a number of reasons why schools held back.
"There has been a feeling, uncalled for though it was, that it was a bit of a club. This is quite wrong and we are there to help all schools.
"Of course, it may be that a school feels that the requirements and standards that come with membership are too onerous.
But there is no reason why a professional school would have any problem meeting them. And of course Feltom can help schools. Our executive can explain what needs to be done to improve standards."
Feltom believes, however, that the burden of self-regulation cannot lie only on its shoulders. It believes the industry has evolved so much that the time has come for a review of the role of the government-appointed Monitoring Board.
"It is in the interests of the whole industry to make sure that standards are maintained whenever a new school is approved. I would go beyond that and say that, if anything, the standards should be raised....
"Feltom took it upon itself to create an accreditation system because one did not exist in Malta and it recommends that the Monitoring Board consider accreditation for the entire industry."
Feltom also wants to see more data collection, enabling benchmarking and trend analysis.
"At present, information is collected by the Monitoring Board and the National Office of Statistics. But it takes too long for the reports to come out, partly because schools should pass on the information more promptly.
"We have set up a benchmarking committee and hope to have a system in place by the end of the year. At least then, the next time we do an interview, I will be able to give you all the figures..."