English for sale in a world market

The English language is a hugely successful export, and a lucrative one. Every year about 600,000 overseas students crowd into British language schools, according to figures collected by the airlines, filling Victorian classrooms and redundant offices throughout southern England and, of course, London – the global capital of Teaching English as a Foreign Language or TEFL.

Bicycling Italians and Spaniards are known for playing havoc with the summer traffic in Oxford, Cambridge and Canterbury. But the annual influx of foreigners has become an essential part of both the local and national economies, bringing in an estimated £1.5bn every year.

So much for the good news. The less-good news is that our dominance in the market is under threat. Foreign students are increasingly choosing to learn their English with an antipodean twang, an American drawl or even an Irish lilt. There are no official statistics, but British language schools confirm that their share of the world trade is declining as would-be students investigate cheaper, closer and climatically more advantageous locations, including Australia, New Zealand and even Malta.

The Association of Recognised English Language Services (Arels), which represents half the private language colleges in Britain, says the market here is static even though the global business continues to expand, driven by the dominance of English in business and academe.

Michael Carrier is the director of International House group, which has 125 schools in 38 countries. Although the world headquarters of IH is on London's Piccadilly, he says the real dynamism is to be found elsewhere in the world, including, surprisingly, Ireland and Malta, which are proving popular with European students.

Alarmed at this trend, the British schools are attempting to hit back. Arels, which represents about half the private tutorial colleges, is pushing for a more effective marketing campaign through organisations such as the British Council, promoting the quality and value for money of the tuition available here. Other countries may have sun and clean sand, says Arels's chief executive, Tony Millns, but his members offer experience, expertise and, of course, the British accent, which is still valued abroad.

Just as important, the British market is so cosmopolitan that foreign students are more or less obliged to speak English to each other once they arrive. "Our argument is that it may be cheaper to go to Australia or New Zealand and take a course there," he says. "But the chances are that, if you're Chinese, you'll end up in a class with a lot of other Chinese students speaking Cantonese in the breaks."

The emergence of successful rivals in the southern hemisphere has not happened by accident. It is part of a calculated strategy that, belatedly, the British market is now looking to copy. Students have been drawn to Australia, New Zealand and, closer to home, Ireland because tuition has been sold on the basis that it is the first step on the way to a full degree in those countries.

Mr Millns and the private language schools believe Britain could benefit from a clear link between learning to speak the language and gaining access to Britain's prestigious universities. "English language teaching ought to be positioned at the front end of UK education promotions," he says.

Arels is negotiating with the British Association of State English Language Teaching (Baselt), with a view to establishing a worldwide marketing strategy. Baselt represents universities and colleges that offer accredited English language courses from vacation to business and teachers' courses. There are some big players in the field, including Oxford Brookes and the University of Cambridge.

The United States was, until recently, among the growing commercial threats. But since the attacks of 11 September and the clampdown on foreign nationals, its TEFL teaching market has been less successful. This is another important factor behind the success of Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, all of which have agreed to relax visa restrictions for certain nationalities. Britain remains comparatively strict, and in the current climate that looks likely to remain the case.