Global developments

in ELT: preparing for

change

Michael Carrier

Highdale Consulting

CAFL Conference

Zagreb, February 2018

Outline

1 – Changing landscape

2 – Reasons to be cheerful

3 – Policy Trends

4 – Reasons to be worried

5 – Innovation:

• Offer

• New markets, new niches

• Diversification

• Technology

2

Boards:

About me…..

1 – Changing landscape

• Schools closing in some locations

• Enrolments up & down

• Change in flows – shorter stays, last minute

• Adults down, Juniors up

• Commodification

• Tighter profits

• Schools losing out to university language centres?

• Moving to pathways and university entrance?

• Move to other languages?

4

Are we

doomed?

2 - Reasons to

be cheerful

• 1500+ million learners of English globally

• ca. 0.5 million come to UK for English each year.

UK student market is only 0.3% of world demand

• “More than 1m students from 175 countries study in

the USA, with over 100,000 on short-term intensive

ELT programmes” EnglishUSA

• Ca.15m teachers of English globally – ca. 250,000

language school teachers, or 1.6% of global

profession

Demand still high

Economically important

• Salary uplift

• GDP enhancement

• Global knowledge access

• Global research engagement

6

Salary Gap

The average salary gap of

someone who can speak English

vs. someone who does not is

approximately 20%Adequately Educated Workforce

•Over 50% of companies interviewed said that their

workforce was required to speak English

•30% of students in higher education aim to continue

their studies abroad, especially in English-speaking

countries, such as the UK, US and Australia

7

Students are still learning & travelling

8

UK experience valued

British Council 2017

Why are they learning?

9

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Australia Malta UK USA

Reasons for studying English

Work Study in target country Study elsewhere Pleasure

Sitrep?

Reflection

• What are the pressures on

your school?

• Do a SWOT and/or

PESTEL of your school

3 - Policy

trends

Language policy

Policy components include:

• Goals of English programmes

• Which standards are set

• Targets for learner outcomes

• When English begins

• How much time is spent

• How budgets are prioritised

• How teachers are trained

• Which content is taught

• How learners are measured

• How teachers are measured

We need a ThinkTank operation to keep track of

Language Policy changes in our key markets

State school problems?

12

Challenges in nonEU state schools

• Classes of 40-50

• Insufficient class hours - ‘Drip feed’ teaching eg 2-3 x 40mins per week

• Lack of English exposure outside school

• Multiple choice exams for English grading

• Low learner outcomes at 18

• Low student graduation levels at BA degree

• Students unprepared for post-grad study

• Graduates unprepared for international company work

• Teachers demotivated and overstretched - lack of investment in teachers

• Teachers underpaid – linguists tempted to other jobs

• Over-theoretical PRESETT

• Teacher language proficiency

• Lecturers/professors unprepared for EMI

13

Policy trends

Language policy changes

• Ministry of Education reform

ambitions

• EYE programmes

• EMI expansion

• MTB-MLE directions

• Large-scale teacher upskilling

Rise of instrumental English

• Decline of general English:

ENPP

• Rise of ESPs

• Link to content (CLIL/CBI)

A clear driving force has been

the push towards language for

career development…

students want to put the

language into ‘action’

Study Travel magazine

Digital disruption &

adaptivity

• Personalisation

• Adaptive learning/testing

• Auto-marking research

Policy targets for social goals

Learners:

• Reaching min. B1 at 18

• Reaching min. B2 at BA graduation

Teachers:

• Entering teacher training with min. B2 level

• Leaving teacher training with min. C1 level

Society:

• A bilingual workforce who can compete

internationally

• Globally-oriented, multilingual citizens

who gain access to the world’s knowledge,

employment and business opportunities

15

CEFR levels First language (Skills averaged)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

UK-

ENG

(FR)

FR

(EN)

BE nl

(FR)

PL

(EN)

ES

(EN)

PT

(EN)

BE fr

(EN)

BG

(EN)

BE

de

(FR)

EL

(EN)

HR

(EN)

SI

(EN)

EE

(EN)

NL

(EN)

MT

(EN)

SE

(EN)

Pe

rce

nta

ge B2

B1

A2

A1

Pre-A1

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

SurveyLang: EU Survey on Language Competences

“A language is learned better where motivation is high, where learners perceive it to be useful, and where it is used outside school; for example in communicating over the internet, for watching TV, or travelling on holiday. The more teachers and students use the language in class, the better it is learned. “

The Trilingual world

Country L1 L2 L3

Peru Quechua Spanish English

Kazakhstan Kazakh Russian English

Malaya Bahasa Malay Chinese English

Rwanda Kinyarwanda French English

Switzerland German x 2 French, Italian English

Senegal Various local French English

Globalised

middle class

Home School &

Community

Higher education,

world of work

Multilingual index

Reflection

• Add 5 points if you can speak a 2nd language

• Add 5 points if you speak it higher than B1

• Add 5 points for each other language @ A2 or

higher

• Add 5 points if you lived in a foreign country for

6 months+

• Add 5 points if your partner speaks a different

L1 to you

• Add 5 points if you speak to your kids in your

L2, not L1

30 or more - you’re a global multilingual citizen20 - 25 - impressive – a person of the future!10 - 15 - you need to see more of the world…Under 10 - you’re a native English speaker

4 - Reasons to

be worried

about ELT

External factors, harder to influence:

• Political issues:

• Visas for study abroad

• Value of £ -for UK exams, study abroad

• Brexit

• Economic issues:

• price sensitivity

• cheaper nonUK alternatives

• Societal issues:

• Perception of value of UK experience

• Fashions in applied linguistic orthodoxy

• F2F-replacement technology

Reasons to be worried

Internal factors :

• Competitive pressure on pricing

• Reducing Enrolments

• Homogeneity / commodification

• Price pressure on quality / commitment / facilities

• Poor Traffic

• Pedagogical philosophies (methods, content, activities)

• Face-to-face replacement technology

20

New

competition

Local Intensive Courses

Alternative learning modes

22

Online

tutoring

Lack of UK-

specificity

More UKness in courses?

• Business links – famous

companies, products, inventions,

innovators eg Hauser, Brunel etc

• Culture, folk music, folk art,

famous writers

• Links to ethnic community topics

– Asian food/music, Caribbean

art/food, Welsh & Scots history,

Pakistani guest lecturers etc

• History & place in the world

• Virtual visits to

cathedrals/castles/music venues

23

Which English?

Models?

• UK & Anglo varieties

• World Englishes

• Globish?

• ELF - undermines value of

‘standard’ English

• Multicultural London English (MLE)

Issues?

• Welcome explicit accent /regional

diversity

• Balance shared & English ownership

• Address linguistic imperialism concerns

• Avoid undermining value of UK

experience

24

Preparing for

change

Issues:

• Brand perception

• Markets & sub-markets, niches

• Products & services update

• Digital outreach

• Innovation strategies

• Price strategy

• Staff development

• Technology offer

Diversification

Internal

• Design new courses & services

• Move from product to experience

External

• Provide remote & online services

Left field

• Sell consultancy to ministries

• Add Culture, leadership

Disrupt yourself:

• ‘premium brand’ development

• ‘value brand’ development

Challenge internal assumptions:

• Levels/hours/methods/materials

26

Segments & niches

• Business / professional

• Culture

• Junior

• 30+

• ESP (eg TVET, health)

• EAP, Pathway, foundation

• EMI

• Online, blended, adaptive

• Remote, Synchronous tutoring

• Consultancy & Ministry

• Family courses

‘’Recently clients do not request

‘normal’ English lessons only’’

Study Travel Jan 2017

5 - Innovation:

offer

What we can change

Attitudes, perceptions:

• Understanding of customer needs and

wants

• Perception of Anglo experience

• Responses to Brexit, news, media gossip

Learning offer:

• Product range

• Service quality

• Customer service quality/style

• Technology

• Lived experience of learning

• Emphasise Anglo context & culture

Change pedagogy

Principles

• Approaches to assessment & short-term progression

• Approaches to structure, intensity of course, learning

load (age-dependent)

Course

• Curriculum content needs to be student-centred and related to their real

needs

• More emphasis on spoken output than skills development

• More time on task through out-of-class digital learning and activity learning

• Increased emphasis on Pronunciation and ‘Accent Reduction’

Materials

• Need to be more easily tailored to student(s)

• More local material (A3 units)

• More UK-specific contexts

28

Change materials & content

• Textbooks – more UK specific?

Too many global topics?

• Materials & content should

reflect anticipated use of the

language

• Propose a survey on cultural

context preferences

• Contradiction between ‘cultural

neutrality’ & ‘please come to

UK to study’

• Students are global in outlook

but locally focused for this

course29

Future of teaching materials

30

A3 printer:

auto-duplex,

colour, A3 fold

to A4

Is your school a CD or a concert?

Emphasise Learner Experience

• Is your course a product or a service or a

personal experience?

• Can the learner influence, modify, adapt,

affect, change the experience to suit their

needs, wishes, desires?

• Are you like RyanAir or Jules Verne

tailormade holidays in flexibility?

• Are you EasyJet or Emirates in service

levels?

31

Change experience

• Personalise student

experience

• Choice of intensity &

speed

• Reduce F2F lessons

& travel commitment

• Delight customers

through extra

services

• Make school a

language community

– invite others

32

• Before booking

• After bookingBefore

• On arrival for course

• During the courseDuring

• At the end of the course

• After the courseAfter

Delighting your customers

Before they start:

• 360 immersion of school & classroom

• Video of school & teachers

• ‘MySchool’ online space

• Learning plans & syllabus

for parents/sponsors/learners

• Pre-start study page on website: re-

activate passive knowledge

• Demonstrate Value Proposition

During the course:

• Personalised learning plans

• IWB, handheld, BYOD, Kindle effect

• Teachers’ materials & video bank (like

Khan Academy)

• Social nexus – eg Events app

partnered with local Tourist Board (for

international contact)

After the course:

• Language Maintenance

• Alumni newsletter

• Alumni community

• Alumni discounts

• Alumni get-togethers

• Alumni = WOM x NPS

At the end of the course:

• Rigorous measurement of progress

• International certification of level

• Graduation ceremony with certificate,

photos, video, & live stream on

Periscope for parents to watch

Vox Pop Cashless service

Missed a lesson….?

Digitally enhanced experience

Touchpoints

Intercultural competences

Individual-oriented culture

• Personal goals valued over

group goals

• Values autonomy

• Few obligations to others

• Confrontation acceptable

Group-oriented culture

• Group goals valued over

personal goals

• Values inter-dependence

• Many obligations to others

• Harmony expected

• Offer:

Class content on interculture

• Activities comparing C1 (student’s

home culture) vs C2 (UK culture)

• Tandem programmes in school

city

• CPD in Intercultural literaciesG.Hofstede

Knowing customers

Reflection

• Analyse Customer Personas for your school

• Draft a client survey on wants / needs

Innovation:

New Markets

The Top 5:

• China

• India

• Indonesia

• Nigeria

• Philippines

The emerging middle classes

Innovation:

Capacity-

building

The ELT value chain

System consultancy

Curriculum

• Do local needs

analysis

• Use the British

Council–

EAQUALS

inventory as

basis

• Match to local

language policy

• Tailor-make

curriculum

goals &

sequence

• Develop

detailed

schemes of

work

39

Assessment

• Baseline

• Diagnostic

• Placement

• Proficiency

• School

graduation

• Preparation

courses

• Train own staff

to write low

stakes

assessments

• Offer tailor-

made (low

stakes only)

Teacher

training

• PRESETT

• INSETT

• Language

upskilling

• CPD

• Teacher

resource

bank

(OER)

SachsenAnhalt

‘sandwich’:

State school-specific qualifications

British Council

• CiSELT

• CiPELT

Cambridge English

• CELT-P

• CELT-S

• ICELT

Less urgent:

• Masters, CELTA, DELTA,

TKT

40

Teacher language upskilling

Innovation:

New products

& services

21st century skills & jobs

The 7 skills:

• Critical thinking

• Creativity & innovation

• Collaboration

• Cross-cultural

understanding

• Communications - media

literacy

• Digital literacy

• Learning to learn

Plus:

• English

Jobs that didn’t exist 5

years ago:

• UX manager

• SEO specialist

• Social media manager

• Content marketer

• App designer

• Online advertising

manager

• Cloud services specialist

• Chief Listening Officer

• Sustainability manager

• Vlogger

• Digital risk officer

• 3D printer engineer

• Digital inclusion officer

What employers want

‘6 useful skills every employer will be looking for on

résumés in 2018:

• Project Management

• Excel

• Email marketing

• Google Analytics

• Web development

• Public speaking &

presentation skills’

(BusinessInsider.com)

Re-purpose content from Lynda.com, Skillshare, GoSkills, Udemy,

Coursera; build course cost (from £0.99) into language course cost

42

Take Aways – 5 areas of focus

TAILOR learning to individuals’ needs, real lives & work skills & ambitions1

2

3

5

INNOVATE in course design, content, materials & method

BUILD links to new markets to gain students from unfamiliar new

sources

FOCUS more on spoken competence, phonology & communication skills

ENHANCE the relevance to students’ lives

4