Bending to austerity measures, the Spanish Ministry of Education this month announced it would slash scholarships for language students studying summer immersion courses abroad. Funding will be cut from €22 million in 2012 to just €450,000 to fund studying French in France, and a yet-to-be disclosed sum to study language within Spain. Bending to austerity measures, the Spanish Ministry of Education this month announced it would slash scholarships for language students studying summer immersion courses abroad.
José Ignacio Wert, minister for education, culture and sport, announced that funding would fall from €22 million in 2012 to just €450,000 to fund studying French in France. A yet-to-be disclosed sum to study language within Spain will also be made available.
Wert said the cuts were due to the country's poor economic situation, but added that he believed domestic language courses had "proven more effective in achieving improved speaking levels of foreign languages by those who already have sufficient theoretical knowledge".
"Doing a course in England or any other country with actual contact with the language isn't the same as learning the language in Spain"
The ministry stressed the changes were credited to high levels of satisfaction with domestic immersion courses reported last year by high school and VET students.
However, they could affect study abroad uptake: last year 12,000 university students received becas to study a variety of languages abroad. The government says funding for French will only support 500 to study in France.
The Spanish association of education advisors,
ASEPROCE, have called Wert's decision an ill-suited measure. "Doing a course in England or any other country with actual contact with the language isn't the same as learning the language in Spain," said president Juan Manuel Elizalde.
However, Elizalde said the sector wasn't surprised by the announcement. "We knew the scholarships were hanging on by a thread," he said, and added that the sector will not be greatly affected. "Language courses abroad existed before the scholarship system began," he said. "The majority of people who study a language abroad aren't scholarship recipients."
In 2011, funding for the becas programme was cut from €51 million to €22 million and offered only to university students instead of the the previous range of 16-30 year olds. Last year, 12,000 university students representing almost 10% of all students who studied at a summer language course abroad benefited from the scholarships.
Trends in the Spanish foreign language market back up Elizalde's claims that despite financial troubles, people are willing to invest in learning a language abroad. Statistics from education agency
ESL show that Spanish interest in top ELT destinations including the UK, Malta and Ireland has risen.
But Australia saw a more marked increase, 30% on 2011, "as it is the only non-EU country that allows students to combine studying and working 20 hours a week".
"Despite the economic situation, people are investing in 'practical' languages like English and now German"
Interest in German courses also jumped by 103% and Chinese 100%, although Italian, Portuguese and Russian study fell by 50%.
Additionally, interest in "family language vacation packages" has climbed by 45% in the past year. ESL connects this with the level of unemployed adults who have more free time to study.
"Despite the economic situation, people are investing in 'practical' languages like English and now German," said Juan Antonio Pedraz, regional manager of ESL in Spain. "On the other hand, family programmes are increasingly popular now that every member of the family needs to improve their English and it's a good way to spend vacation together."
Bending to austerity measures, the Spanish Ministry of Education this month announced it would slash scholarships for language students studying summer immersion courses abroad.
José Ignacio Wert, minister for education, culture and sport, announced that funding would fall from €22 million in 2012 to just €450,000 to fund studying French in France. A yet-to-be disclosed sum to study language within Spain will also be made available.
Wert said the cuts were due to the country’s poor economic situation, but added that he believed domestic language courses had “proven more effective in achieving improved speaking levels of foreign languages by those who already have sufficient theoretical knowledge”.
“Doing a course in England or any other country with actual contact with the language isn’t the same as learning the language in Spain”
The ministry stressed the changes were credited to high levels of satisfaction with domestic immersion courses reported last year by high school and VET students.
However, they could affect study abroad uptake: last year 12,000 university students received becas to study a variety of languages abroad. The government says funding for French will only support 500 to study in France.
The Spanish association of education advisors, ASEPROCE, have called Wert’s decision an ill-suited measure. “Doing a course in England or any other country with actual contact with the language isn’t the same as learning the language in Spain,” said president Juan Manuel Elizalde.
However, Elizalde said the sector wasn’t surprised by the announcement. “We knew the scholarships were hanging on by a thread,” he said, and added that the sector will not be greatly affected. “Language courses abroad existed before the scholarship system began,” he said. “The majority of people who study a language abroad aren’t scholarship recipients.”
In 2011, funding for the becas programme was cut from €51 million to €22 million and offered only to university students instead of the the previous range of 16-30 year olds. Last year, 12,000 university students representing almost 10% of all students who studied at a summer language course abroad benefited from the scholarships.
Trends in the Spanish foreign language market back up Elizalde’s claims that despite financial troubles, people are willing to invest in learning a language abroad. Statistics from education agency ESL show that Spanish interest in top ELT destinations including the UK, Malta and Ireland has risen.
But Australia saw a more marked increase, 30% on 2011, “as it is the only non-EU country that allows students to combine studying and working 20 hours a week”.
“Despite the economic situation, people are investing in ‘practical’ languages like English and now German”
Interest in German courses also jumped by 103% and Chinese 100%, although Italian, Portuguese and Russian study fell by 50%.
Additionally, interest in “family language vacation packages” has climbed by 45% in the past year. ESL connects this with the level of unemployed adults who have more free time to study.
“Despite the economic situation, people are investing in ‘practical’ languages like English and now German,” said Juan Antonio Pedraz, regional manager of ESL in Spain. “On the other hand, family programmes are increasingly popular now that every member of the family needs to improve their English and it’s a good way to spend vacation together.”
