The Australian English Language Barometer 2011 NEAS Conference May 2012 Sharon Calvert (i-graduate) Sue Blundell (English Australia) All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 1
Language Barometer Objectives Student feedback important to ELICOS sector for many reasons lobbying, reputation, continuous improvement, promotion: to provide a better understanding for individual participating colleges of the experience of international students to provide a platform on which to share best practice and raise the quality of the student experience across the sector to provide students with a voice and ensure that their concerns and requirements are being met across key elements of the student experience to provide an opportunity to benchmark the Australian experience against a similar cohort of students internationally and other sectors in Australia to offer a mechanism to understand better the student decision-making process to inform future marketing strategies for individual colleges and the sector to provide evidence that supports English Australia s statements about the quality of the English language to government and to markets All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 2
Language Barometer Overview initiated and organised by English Australia as the ELICOS sector peak body supported by Australian Education International (AEI) 2 nd time the survey has run provides longitudinal data comparison with 2009 49 English language colleges across Australia participated a cross-section of different provider types, including private colleges as well as those attached to a university every state & territory represented 8,722 responses received from international students online survey was active between October and November 2011 responses were collected, collated and analysed centrally by i-graduate each participating college received their own confidential individual results All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 3
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Response Response Population Response Rate AUS ELB 2009 10,716 approx 21,500 50% AUS ELB 2011* 8,772 13,330 66% AUS Entry 2011 ISB 43,483 143,749 30% *Three schools were unable to calculate the number of students that their survey was sent to and therefore, the response rate was calculated based on student numbers from 46 of the 49 schools. All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 4
Nationality (n=8772) All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 5
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION 2011 dataset vs 2009 and vs general population 2011 ELB 2009 ELB Difference China 34% 23% +11% Korea 8% 14% -5% Japan 8% 7% +1% S. Arabia 8% 13% -5% Vietnam 4% 9% -4% Taiwan 4% 4% 0% Brazil 4% 5% -1% Thailand 3% 5% -2% Colombia 3% 4% -1% Indonesia 2% 1% +1% Other 21% 16% +5% 2011 ELB 2011 overall Difference China 34% 20% +14% Korea 8% 15% -7% Japan 8% 15% -7% S. Arabia 8% 3% +5% Vietnam 4% 3% +1% Taiwan 4% 4% 0% Brazil 4% 7% -3% Thailand 3% 5% -2% Colombia 3% 4% -1% Indonesia 2% 2% 0% Other 21% 22% -1% All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 6
What type of visa do you have? (n=8509) All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 7
What type of course are you currently studying? (n=8320) All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 8
How long is your English language course? (n=7967) All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 9
Overall All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 10
Overall, how satisfied are you with the English Language course you are currently studying? All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 11
Learning All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 12
Satisfaction Australia English Language Barometer 2011 Elements in the top right quadrant are important to students and perform well. Those in the bottom right quadrant are important, but do not perform as well and should be improved. MONITOR Matrix MAINTAIN Elements in the top and bottom left quadrants are of lower priority. These elements should be reviewed and monitored to ensure that we focus on the most important issues for students. REVIEW IMPROVE Derived Importance All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 13
Satisfaction Australia English Language Barometer 2011 Learning Matrix Derived Importance All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 14
Learning (n=7703) All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 15
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Worse in 2011 Learning 2011 vs 2009 Better in 2011 All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 16
Learning All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 17
Reflections All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 18
Living All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 19
Satisfaction Australia English Language Barometer 2011 Living Matrix Derived Importance All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 20
Living (n=7554) All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 21
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Worse in 2011 Living 2011 vs 2009 Better in 2011 All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 22
Living All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 23
Support All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 24
Satisfaction Australia English Language Barometer 2011 RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Support Matrix Derived Importance All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 25
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Support (n=5943) All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 26
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Worse in 2011 Support 2011 vs 2009 Better in 2011 All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 27
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Support All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 28
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Recommendation All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 29
Would you recommend your English language school/centre to other students thinking of applying for a similar course? All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 30
Would you recommend your English language school/centre to other students thinking of applying for a similar course? by school All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 31
Language Barometer Summary UK International Student Summary Autumn 2011 Areas where satisfaction has notably improved since 2009: (Top 5) Aus ELB 2011 Aus ELB 2009 Areas where satisfaction has declined since 2009: (Top 3) Difference Opportunities to earn money while studying 66% 52% 14% Social organization 83% 73% 10% Handling a complaint 82% 72% 10% Advice and guidance on finding part-time work while in this country 68% 59% 9% Availability of internet access 76% 67% 9% Aus ELB 2011 Aus ELB 2009 Difference The weather 76% 82% -6% The cost of living (food, drink, transport and social) 49% 52% -4% Transport links to other places 74% 76% -2% All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 32 32
Next Steps Report to be released in May, Maximising the ELICOS Student s Experience which will outline the outcomes from the 2011 Australian English Language Barometer and provide a practical guide to marketing, administering, teaching and supporting ELICOS students. Session at English Australia Conference in September on how colleges are using the Barometer to improve the student experience. All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 33
Learning comments I really glad to study in Australia and this school. There are some reasons. All teachers are very good for me, becasue they are very friendly and talk to me a lot of time in English, but it's the same for everyone, it's not just to me. Moreover, ther teaching is also fantastic. Normally, English is their first language, so it might be hard thing for them to understand us. However they have fantastic guessing skill!! And, the cuilding and equipments for studying are also good. I can use computer and Internet at school anytime I want. There are many stuffs I can focus on my study!! Student, Japan I think that has already known that we have a lot of Chinese students in the class. Mostly they speak their own language. This makes me feel not good. Sometimes, the teacher have different accent, I can say that it is not really native English speaker. Thus, it leads me confuse sometimes. Class size (18) is a bit big. it should less than that. Therefore, it is easy for teacher to look around. Student, Cambodia More activities in the English classes will be better for oversea students as me, because it helps us more active, and as a result of this, our English skills will be improved. Student VietNam Note: Grammatical and spelling errors in verbatim comments have not been amended All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 34
Learning comments Verbatim comments I hope if we have more chance to practice our speaking skills,sincwe as for me I can understand English easly but my comminication skills still need to improve Student, Other 'i'd like to have more non-classroom activitis like visit some place in sydney, have a barbecue. i think it's very good for practice speaking and make friends and good atmosphere in class. Student, Slovakia 'I prefer to have more non-classroom activities to improve my English as well as my communication ability and social knowledge about Australia. I can study effectively and have fun with my classmates at the same time during the activities. Student, Vitenam There are many people in one class. I want to study in class below 10 people. In my class, most people are Chinese except for 2 people. I want you to consider the ratio of people who are from different countries. Student, South Korea Note: Grammatical and spelling errors in verbatim comments have not been amended All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 35
Living comments Verbatim comments I am satisfied with living in Australia, yet it is not the 100% satisfaction. One reason is the living cost, especially the accommodation. The other is the transportation. It is not flexible to use because of the punctuality and accessibility. Student, Japan 'Room charge is expensive. I have to cost 70% of my living expenses for a room and a monthly ticket. If these is cheaper, it will be fantastic. Student, China 'I'm in homestay. It's very comfortable for me. I can talk with my host family in English, so I can practise and improve my English more and more. And they usually give me breakfast and dinner. They are sometimes Australian food. Therefore, I can feel Australian culture also Student, Japan I have found living in homestay during my english study is more important for people who would like to improve his language. Student, UAE Note: Grammatical and spelling errors in verbatim comments have not been amended All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 36
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Living comments Verbatim comments Very expensive..(everything is expensive..) Hard to use public transportation. Difficult to guess the day's weather. Hard to communicate with Australian people, especially servicerelated people(like electricity, internet, telephone, mobile phone, water, etc.) Student, South Korea Train network and service is great. Bus services not as great but ok. Quality of accomodation suprised me with lower standard than in my country (especially bathrooms and moist in the air) but overall experience is positive. Prices seem very high when you recalculate into home currency but once You get to earn in AUD it all gets better Student, Poland would be better if we could get to know our homestay for a bit before we were sent off straight from the coach. Student, Hong Kong Accomodation is expensive for students. Student, Nepal Note: Grammatical and spelling errors in verbatim comments have not been amended All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 37
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Support comments Verbatim comments The information about homestay, school and documents arrived only 10 days before the trip started. Some contact information with the homestay wasn't correct. It's usefull to get in touch with the hostfamily as early as possible. Student, Switzerland It is necessary to improve the resources that the collegue offers to students about job opportunities and how to apply. We dont recieve any induction about it and we find difficult to know how to apply and which job can suit for us according to our current english level and background Student, Colombia Social activities are required occasionally or regularly. For example, it is better to give one hour free time like coffe break time for students in the time table, which allows students to interact with other students, teachers, and staff. Quite a few students seem stressed out in a busy lifestyle Student, Japan Note: Grammatical and spelling errors in verbatim comments have not been amended All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 38
RESPONSE DESTINATION APPLICATION EXPECTATIONS OVERALL LEARNING LIVING SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION Support comments Verbatim comments Hoping to how medical care, or how to respond to emergency situations (such as encountered visa is lost, stolen items or experience violent crime), some guidance Student, China I'm served SUPPOT and ADVICE by may agent. I'm satisfied with this service. Student, Japan Every where are some informations for jobs and accommodations but if you have some question about it noboy really can help you. I had some problems to find a single bed room and actually I didn't got a lot of help. Student, Germany Many students don't go to the adviser to get help and many of them think they don't get help anyway which is sad. Myself didn't have any troubles but I hard other class mates often had troubles with home stay. It is hard for them to seek the help and they suffer with the problems so what can school do to help those who suffering?? Student Japan Note: Grammatical and spelling errors in verbatim comments have not been amended All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 39
THANK YOU! For further information about the 2011 Australian English Language Barometer please contact Sue Blundell sueblundell@englishaustralia.com.au at English Australia or Kevin Brett at i-graduate (kevin.brett@i-graduate.org) For further details of any of i-graduate s other research services, please contact: Kevin Brett, Director of Client Relations, Australia or Sharon Calvert, Consultant (sharon.calvert@i-graduate.org) All material strictly copyright IGI Services Ltd 2011 40