A new approach to English immersion that is expected to increase the numbers of international students travelling for their English education has been launched in London.
‘MyStay English‘ is the culmination of two years’ planning after the initial concept was developed from a meeting between managing partner of JH Education International, Paul Humphreys, and founder and executive director of MyStay International, David Bycroft.
“MyStay English is planning to be a significant contributor to English School recovery”
Humphreys explained that immersion is seen as the key to the new product and that the focus has been how to effectively link the student experience with the accommodation provider, the school and ensure the agents had a new unique product to sell to the market.
“English Schools in the main have been struggling due to increased global competition and cheap online initiatives, and MyStay English is planning to be a significant contributor to English School recovery,” he said.
Bycroft added: “Our group has successfully placed over 50,000 International students in homestay and we learned early the importance of training and engaging hosts to support international students in much more than just accommodation.”
To develop a market plan, the team enlisted the help of Ben Waxman, CEO of US-based education research group Intead, who said that he saw the program as a “likely game changer” for the industry.
“During our focus groups with a broad range of education providers and education agents it was clearly apparent that the immersion packaging, which includes a ‘host mentor’ program, is a key differentiator,” added Waxman.
Head of the mentoring development team for Host Family English, Joanne Clements, said that the host mentor training program is at the heart of the immersion experience.
“We have recognised that the homestay host is the key to effective immersion and all that was missing was a way of effectively engaging, training and supporting quality hosts and linking them to the right schools and support program,” she explained.
The MyStay English program will be managed globally by MyStay International, a PIEoneer Awards finalist in both the 2017 and 2018 Accommodation Provider of the Year category.