Page 10 - ELG2205 May Issue 480

OPINION .

Beyond Covid and Brexit

A reader suggests why else the UK’s ELT industry is declining

ith reference to
your news piece,
‘Brexit bashes UK
Wlanguage schools’,
on the EL Gazette website, I read
the original Guardian article last
weekend and found it interesting
that the two reasons given in the
article for the drop in numbers
attending UK language schools
are Brexit and the pandemic.
Personally, I believe there’s
another, more fundamental, reason,
which is that the model the UK
ELT industry operates for teenagers’
courses (in particular) has fallen
behind the times. Teenagers the
world over have far greater access
to English input these days, both on
a direct (through their education
system) and indirect (through PHOTO BY SHUTTERSTOCK
media of various types) level. The
need to travel to the UK to learn
and use English has been steadily
diminishing since well before
Brexit, and the ELT industry has kind of response I’ve been hearing is a highly rewarding formative active use). We would be wise to
not been proactive enough in its from people in the industry for experience, and at the same time focus our attention on what we,
response. The last thing European years. This may be true, but if it begin to see English as a genuinely as an industry, can do to realise
high school students need or want is, then the industry has a duty to life-enhancing skill, rather than this potential rather than allow
to do in their holidays is have re-train its agents so that they in simply another school subject, ourselves to be distracted by what,
yet more of the same old English turn can re-train parents about as it were. to my mind, are secondary factors.
lessons, yet this is what most novel, inspiring ways the sector While our departure from Best wishes,
language schools in the UK still try can engage young students in the EU may not have done the Mark Lloyd
to sell to them. language learning. This is exactly UK ELT industry many favours,
Certainly there are huge benefits what I’ve spent much of the implying it is the main reason for Mark Lloyd is
to be had from the cultural and past five years or so doing in my declining numbers is disingenuous. Regional Principal
social experiences teenagers from capacity as principal of a school More importantly, doing so also for Kaplan
overseas can have here in the UK which relies heavily on junior masks the key fact that our industry International
during the summer, but I am well business. Although it is a time- still offers enormous potential Languages Bath
aware that many course providers consuming process not without benefits, be these economic (for
in the UK – perhaps the majority its frustrations, the pay-off is both course providers and for the & Torquay.
– are reluctant to repackage their real and valuable – in particular many stakeholders within the UK He has also worked as a DoS,
programmes to make much more when our teenage students see at services sector) or educational (for trainer or teacher in many
of this side of their operations. “It’s first hand how successfully using young people desperately in need of different countries, and has
because agents expect classroom- English in real-world contexts the chance to put their classroom- published several ELT course
based, teacher-led tuition”, is the for purposeful communication gained knowledge to practical, books and resource books.

Response
I could not agree more that the 40-year-old formula of 15 hours of classroom English lessons buttressed by activities and excursions is out of date.
However, the main subject of both The Guardian article, and ours, was the European school-trip market, which is worth £2.5 billion a year, £I billion
more than the entire accredited EFL industry.
Not all school trips involve an accredited language school and many may involve no language teaching at all. But they do involve the
governments who pay for them and European governments are unwilling to force families to fork out for a passport for their child because
post-Brexit Britain has chosen not to accept ID cards.
Instead, the kids are going to Malta and Ireland, both markets where the “15 hours of English and some fun stuff” routine still reigns supreme.
Outside the private language-school sector, there are plenty of UK summer schools offering English as an optional extra. Among the boarding
school offerings are: Bishopstrow College (BC accredited), with a six-hours-a-day academic programme, including English; Windermere School
(previously BC accredited), offering sailing courses with or without English; and Marlborough College (not BC accredited), where English is one of
many options available to kids from the ages of 3 to 19 and their families.
Some UK language schools have gone into the market for summer study without the English, but agents remain sceptical. “I’m looking for a
physics course taught by a proper physics teacher,“ as one Italian agent explained, “not an English language teacher.”
Melanie Butler
Editor-in-Chief, EL Gazette
10 May 2022