Page 17 - ELG2104 Apr Issue 475

FEATURES & COMMENT

Learning from international schools
Lear ning fr om inter national schools

International parents know what they want and we should all pay

attention, says Melanie Butler

hat do parents want? It’s not
a question the language travel
industry ever asks – though
Wtheir agents might. But for
local language schools, as for the international PHOTOGRAPH BY SHUTTERSTOCK
school down the road, the question is critical.
In truth it doesn’t matter what kind of
school you’re running, English language or
English medium, if you’re enrolling under 16s
you should be analysing parental choice and
tracking trends, because it’s the parents who
pay your bill.
Luckily for you, the International Schools
Consultancy (ISC) has already done the
research. In mid-pandemic they surveyed
admissions officers in a wide variety of
schools around the world and their findings
will ring a lot of bells with both the smallest
language schools and the largest educational
conglomerates. Most of the respondents
were in the key areas for international school
enrolment: Europe, the Middle East, East Asia
and South East Asia, all also key markets for
language schools.
Number one on the ISC list of parental
concerns reported to them is that their
children will be learning in English. Bearing
in mind that 80% that the 5.98 million The problem, of course, is that native- Which brings us to that other expensive
children worldwide enrolled in international speaker teachers and small class sizes almost parental obsession: native-speaker teachers.
schools are from local families and do not inevitably mean higher fees. Teachers and There is no empirical evidence at all
speak English as a first language, this should parents obsess about class size, although that L2 language teachers are any worse
come as no surprise. research suggests it has a positive but limited at teaching the target language than L1
To quote the report: “English is considered effect on student outcomes, according to teachers, as long as their L2 language level
by many families in non-English-speaking Andreas Schleicher, head of the OECD is at least C1 on the Common European
countries to be a major factor in achieving Programme for International Student Framework. Indeed, the evidence from
global higher education success and, Assessment (PISA). one longitudinal study suggests they might
ultimately, international career opportunities be better, as long as they have the right
and prosperity.” language level.
Another key parental criteria, according Native-speaker While the trope about native speakers
to 83% of the admissions officers, is teaching their mother tongue makes a
good academic outcomes and accession teachers and small class convincing old wives’ tale, what has it
to global university education. The got to do with teaching, say, maths in an
former will come as no surprise to local international school? Why would a parent
language schools, but they may need to sizes almost inevitably object to a maths teacher from Singapore
pay more attention to the latter: a little or Estonia, countries which excel at English
more CLIL-style content, more emphasis mean higher fees and top the PISA rankings in maths?
on EAP, offerings for academic exams like Ironically, if either teacher applied to
IELTS and, as we highlight on the opposite teach EFL in England, as long as they had a
page, IGCSE English. “Everywhere, teachers, parents and work visa and a four -week training course
Let that be a warning to language travel policymakers fuss about small classes for more under their belt, nobody would ask them to
chains whose mantra is “it’s all about the personalised education. Reductions in class prove they could speak English.
student experience”. Not for the parents who size have driven up expenditure per student in That’s because, in the UK, the main
pay your bills, it isn’t. Why do you think the most countries over the past decade. And yet, accreditation scheme has gone the whole
fastest-growing summer school market is for PISA results show no relationship between hog: allowing non-graduate teachers,
programmes featuring STEM subjects, 21st class size and learning outcomes, neither academic managers who are not fully
century skills and pre-university coaching? within nor between countries,” Andreas wrote qualified and non-native teachers, frankly
Three other parental priorities which in a 2014 paper on schooling myths. the least problematic of the changes, without
emerge from the ISC report will sound familiar More interestingly, the highest performing any external proof of language level. All
across all sectors of international education: education systems in PISA tend to reference to class sizes have gone from the
native-speaker teachers, small class sizes and, systematically prioritise the quality of teachers accreditation report.
especially post-pandemic, cheaper fees. over the size of classes.” Just pray the parents don’t find out.
editorial@elgazette.com 17