Language learning

Defectors from North Korea will be given the opportunity to live in Australia and study English at a university through a first of its kind agreement between the governments of South Korea and Australia.

International Education Connect Ltd, the publisher of English language course search portal, English in Britain, has created a new online plugin for language school websites that aims to help students understand the true cost of studying abroad.

ELT providers in the UK are waiting anxiously to find out if funding for Italy’s PON scheme will be released this year. This, along with the programme's challenges and opportunities, was a hot topic of discussion among providers in London this week.

Global English language group, EC English Language Centres, is expanding its 30+ offering worldwide, answering growing demand for adult language learning with new schools in New York, Toronto and Malta.

Highlighting promotional packages and communicating the appeal of cities outside London can help when marketing UK ELT to Mexican students, a British Council report recommends. It identifies cost as a big deterrent for Mexican students when choosing their ELT destination.

Just over half of all secondary school pupils in the EU studied two or more foreign languages in 2014, new statistics from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, have shown.

The world’s biggest English lesson was organised by English Australia in Sydney, Australia this week, breaking the world record, with an estimated 3,000 students expected to take part.

In roundtable discussions organised by The PIE News at the English UK marketing conference, students said word of mouth recommendations were the most powerful when choosing where to study, while many expressed a desire for more informational videos.

From 2018, "stocks and bonds" will be replaced with "study and travel" when EF moves its headquarters to the building currently housing the Swiss Stock Exchange. The move will centralise 1,000 employees in Zurich.

The Department of Homeland Security has released a report outlining issues brought forward by international education stakeholders at the NAFSA conference in May. The document promises solutions will be made to key concerns throughout 2016.

English UK has appointed an interim chief executive to take on the responsibilities of former CEO Eddie Byers who died suddenly in November. Richard Day, owner of English in Chester, will start in the position immediately.

The Irish Department of Justice has confirmed reforms it laid out in May for Ireland’s international educators will come into force this month, including the publication of an updated list of providers eligible to accept international students.

The LondonSchool Group, which operates ELT centres in the UK, has opened a new arm of the business, the London School of International Communication, it has announced this month. LSIC offers in-company training as well as public courses.

English UK is championing a new report which has found that the UK’s ELT sector generated £1.2bn in export earnings in 2014, supporting some 26,500 jobs. But business is getting tougher, and younger, a separate report and panel discussion has revealed.

As of next year, learning English language will be compulsory for state primary school students in Mexico, in a bid to better prepare students for a globalised world and encourage more students to study abroad.