As one of the key events marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations Malta (Feltom), an EFL forum and industry workshop was held between September 10 and 13.
The event was Malta's first ever EFL industry workshop with the bonus of a discussion forum addressed by international key industry speakers.
Feltom is the national association representing 18 well-established English language schools in Malta and Gozo. The federation was set up in 1989 by a group of 10 English language schools, many of which saw the need to introduce quality assurance standards as the EFL industry in Malta began to grow. Feltom is today recognised by various local government ministries and industry organisations worldwide.
Since the arrival of the first English language students to Malta in the 1960s, Malta's share of this €10 billion global industry has grown year on year. Malta has established its reputation as a quality destination for learning English and competes effectively with other English learning destinations.
In 2008 over 83,000 EFL students visited Malta staying for 216,000 weeks. In monetary terms this means a staggering injection of well over €85 million into the local economy on an annual basis.
Mastering the English language is now considered to be one of the key skills required in an increasingly global and competitive workplace. When considering Malta as a destination to learn English, students look for quality assurance guarantees. The Feltom accreditation process goes to some way to ensure that Feltom member schools meet the highest standards of service.
The federation is the only organisation that has a system to accredit schools. Feltom schools account for 75 per cent of all inbound students on the island. Since its formation 20 years ago, Feltom has worked to promote Malta as a safe, quality destination for English language learning. The EFL industry has been instrumental in opening up non-traditional markets for Malta, attracting students from the farthest-flung corners of the world.
The three-day event was organised by Feltom in collaboration with Language Travel Magazine. Distributed to 36,000 professionals across 110 countries, the magazine is the leading international language industry publication. Its monthly issues provide a comprehensive insight into all aspects of the language training and travel industry.
Fifty agents from 28 countries were brought to Malta to experience first hand what the islands have to offer. On their first full day in Malta, agents were taken on a familiarisation tour of Malta. During the industry workshop on the second day, visiting agents met representatives from 27 local EFL schools on a one-to-one basis, to discuss the services being offered and to explore possibilities for future co-operation.
The event culminated in a discussion forum that examined the current state of the language industry and looked at its direction in the future. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi made the opening address to agents, schools representatives and a number of invited guests. He recognised the success of this "pillar of the tourism industry" which has been developed entirely through private entrepreneurship.
With 50 licensed schools, the language travel industry is now accountable for 13.5 per cent of all bed nights in Malta. It directly employs well over 2,000 people in academic, administrative and management positions. Many other sectors, such as accommodation providers, restaurants, transport providers, providers of leisure services and local retail outlets all benefit from the EFL industry.
Dr Gonzi said government was committed to transforming Malta into a destination of educational excellence by 2015. The EFL Monitoring Board within the Ministry of Education, directly responsible for licensing and monitoring all EFL operations, will review teaching qualifications and look into establishing a national accreditation scheme.
To achieve its targets within this sector, the government will strengthen the board's regulatory framework by providing it with the human, financial and physical resources it requires to accelerate reform, and government would continue to work hand in hand with Feltom and the entire industry to ensure continued and improved success.
He concluded by acknowledging the importance of looking to new source markets outside Europe, where the demand for international English education is strong, while at the same time supporting traditional European markets that have been the backbone of the ELT industry in Malta.
David Immanuel, chief executive officer of Language Studies International, delivered a presentation on 'Trends and Challenges in the Language School Industry'. Mr Immanuel, who owns language schools in nine countries and has been involved in the language learning industry for 40 years, was able to give an insight into the development and challenges facing this relatively young industry.
Masaru Yamada, Federation of Education and Language Consultant Associations president and executive director of English Australia, Sue Blundell, provided a snapshot of the most current statistics for the EFL industry in a presentation entitled 'Industry Barometer - Today's Statistics and Tomorrow's Forecast - An agents and schools viewpoint'.
These latest statistics were collected from over 100 agencies from 10 major markets and 270 schools from eight key EFL country destinations.
In her presentation, Ms Blundell put forward what agents, agents associations and schools felt about the first six months of 2009 and what they are expecting during the second half of the year.
The forum was concluded with a debate, moderated by Language Travel Magazine director Scott Wade, entitled '2020 Vision - The future of the EFL Industry'. The debate took a clear and insightful look at what's on the horizon and the best practices for the industry for the next 10 years.