EnglishUSA focuses on future, visas, growth, mega trends and partnerships

With the theme of Exploring New Horizons: The Evolving Role of English Language Programs, the EnglishUSA Annual Conference 2024 welcomed delegates from member schools for two days of seminars, updates and networking. Formerly the Stakeholders Conference, the 12th edition of the event was expanded to cover more areas of ELT activity, as President Daryl Bish explained in his welcome.

Mega trends: The keynote speaker for the conference was Fanta Aw, Executive Director of NAFSA Association of International Educators , who engaged delegates with her rapid overview of five mega trends in international education: global migration at an unprecedented rate; increased demand for higher education overseas with student mobility set to reach nine million by 2030; geopolitics and their impact on global talent; economic conditions, including how the strength of the dollar is challenging the sector; and that the global south will be the center of gravity in the future.

Fanta Aw, Executive Director of NAFSA, gave the keynote address.

She commented on the ‘pull factors’ for the USA, including quality and a myriad of pathways that bring people to the USA, while ‘push factors’ are costs, complications in applying to schools and visa denials. She warned that it is difficult to tell a different narrative about how visa issues are perceived, and that the sector needs to speak with one voice.

Warning that the competition for the big four destinations will get fiercer than ever, she said that there is an opportunity to position the USA as never before, and that it is essential for the sector to innovate and take care of quality.

Industry data: In a session on sector statistics, Igor Skibickij, Chief Operations Officer of Bonard presented on EnglishUSA’s 2023 market report, while Leah Mason, Deputy Director of Research, Evaluation & Learning at IIE gave an overview of the Open Doors research on IEPs in 2023.

Igor highlighted that the junior market represented around 20 per cent for the USA last year, and that the country has the fundamentals for growth in this area. Commenting on recent challenges for Australia and Canada with caps and restrictions, he said that the USA is likely to benefit, although the UK and smaller ELT destinations will also pick up share.

Industry accreditation bodies CEA Commission on English Language Program Accreditation and ACCET also presented updates and data on their accredited sites. Res Helfer, Executive Director at ACCET, revealed that tuition revenue at single accredited sites increased by 17.3 per cent in 2023 compared with the previous year, and by 15 per cent at dual sites, although multi-site schools were down by 5.9 per cent. Heidi Vellenga, Executive Director of CEA, added that student weeks at US-based accreditation sites increased by 27 per cent compared with the previous year.

Matthew Knott, News Editor of StudyTravel Magazine, also presented insights from StudyTravel Magazine’s Annual Agency Survey and regular language school surveys.

He demonstrated that the market share of agency business going to the USA for secondary (23 per cent in 2023) and tertiary study (11 per cent) is typically higher than the share for language study (seven per cent in 2023), suggesting some room for growth.

He also showed that rates of agency-based recruitment are usually lower for language providers in the USA than in competitors such as Australia, the UK, Ireland, Canada and Malta, and that commission rates were fairly consistent across all major destinations.

Delegates at the EnglishUSA Annual Conference 2024.

Student visas: During an update from the Department of State, Benjamin Brown, Fraud Protection Officer at the Bureau of Consular Affairs, said that student visas were a priority for the department and that around 609,000 visas were granted in FY23, the highest number since 2016.

He advised that the overstay rate for student visas was 4.4 per cent in 2022 and advised that the visa overstay rate for individual countries is a factor in consular decision making on visa applications.

During other sessions at the event, NAFSA highlighted ongoing lobbying work on high visa denials, particularly in Africa and the Global South, and said issues can be reported on its special survey on visa denials page.

B visas: Study on a B visa was also the topic of another special seminar, where Igor highlighted that 27 per cent of students in 2023 were on a B visa or ESTA and that this rate was higher at private sector centers and increased for university and college-governed centers last year. He argued that the B route needs more awareness in the market, both for agents and students.

Daryl said that the USA needs to position itself as an ELT market within the global study travel industry and needs to respect the different routes that students take to get to the USA. With Haviva Parnes, Head of Operations in the USA at EC English , Daryl discussed the evolution of the non-F-1 market.

STM Annual Agency Survey data showing market share higher for secondary and tertiary.

They highlighted the Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual, which states that where the purpose of travel is “non-credit-bearing, avocational/recreational study, which can itself be touristic in nature, may be properly classified B-2 visas”. The manual also states that summer programs tailored for high school and college-aged students do not meet the definition of a full-time or part-time course of study and do not quality for issuance of an I-20.

During the State Department update, Benjamin also told delegates that B visitors visas/ESTAs are fine for students taking non-credit programs in the USA.

Other sessions: Partnerships were another major theme of the event. Matthew and Vanessa Goulding, Business Development Manager-USA and Canada at ICEF GmbH , gave advice on working with agents, highlighting the dominance of agents in certain student markets and the junior sector, and the importance of responsiveness as one of the key factors for agents.

Networking at the EnglishUSA Annual Conference 2024.

During another session, Maria Arruda, at CELOP, Boston University , Dana Saif of International Language Academy , Gokhan Alkanat at Rowan University , Jackie McCafferty, of  Temple University Center for American Language & Culture , and Caroline Gear of International Language Institute of MA, Inc.  discussed the pros and cons of partnerships, including with agents and high schools, and community-based and workplace-based partnerships.

In a session on the evolving needs of TESOL and English Language Programs, Mike Mayor, Director of the Global Scale of English at Pearson PTE  introduced the organization’s research on the impact of English on people’s lives, including earnings differential. He talked about employers looking for soft skills and how the language classroom is the perfect place to teach those skills.

Debra Suarez, President of TESOL International Association, said that teachers’ jobs have become more difficult and that they need a wider toolbox.

The conference also featured a session on proficiency and language testing, pathways, AI and advocacy.

Summing up the themes of the conference in the closing session, Cheryl Delk-Le Good , Executive Director of EnglishUSA, highlighted global migration, students on non-F-1 visa streams, the rise of short-term programs, and the economic value of learning English. She underscored the need to teach skills and finding the unique value of a provider when marketing.