19 English language schools attend largest ever Berlin workshop

Eleven Federation of English Language Tuition Organisation Malta (Feltom) schools were among 19 English language schools from Malta which participated in one of the trade's largest events in Germany.

ICEF Berlin is a must-attend event for all education travel and international student recruitment professionals. It is one of the main events on the global language learning industry's calendar.

Feltom counts many of the country's language schools as members and aims to set, improve and maintain standards of students' experience in Malta and develop cooperation among licensed language schools.

This year's ICEF Berlin Fair was the largest yet. Educators from 451 schools and 32 work and travel providers met a record 860 agents from 92 countries.

Malta was among the 33 countries represented by a high percentage of the local ELT industry; 25 representatives from many of the most established English language schools in Malta were able to meet selected agents at pre-scheduled meetings.

The fair gave schools an opportunity to increase student recruitment through direct contact with agents. A substantial percentage of students coming to Malta do so by contacting agents in their country. These agents are able to find the most suitable courses and accommodation for their clients. It is a chance for educators to explain more about the product they offer and to sell Malta.

Access to such a broad international audience allows Maltese language schools to create a more diverse and sustainable student nationality mix in their schools. The ELT industry is key to introducing international diversity to the Maltese tourism sector.

English language schools are keen to offer their services in non-traditional tourist markets.

International workshops, such as ICEF Berlin, are also important for schools because they allow representatives a chance to assess the quality of the carefully screened agents. Establishing new contacts through face-to-face contact enables schools to be more discerning in their choice of agents.

New at ICEF Berlin 2009, the 'Work and Travel Zone' showcased international sellers and provided educators and agents with the opportunity to extend their products beyond traditional study programmes. This is an area where Maltese language schools are at something of a disadvantage compared to competitors.

English language students are not allowed to work even for a limited number of hours in Malta. There are increasing demands from long stay students to be able to practice the language they are learning in a real working environment. The benefits are twofold: students can support themselves for longer study terms while benefitting from increased exposure to English.