You have been asked to join a team of advisors from the European Union in Brussels, as the team's International Marketing Strategy Specialist. The team is to advise the governments of new member states, which have joined the European Union, about developing Further and Higher Education facilities in their countries. The first country the team is to work with is the Island of Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Your key role will be to produce a report, addressing the critical assessment of the positives and negatives that a new private English Language school may experience in entering and establishing itself into the Maltese English Language schools market-place. Your report should be addressed to the Directors of The Regal English Language School, Malta. The Regal College is a United Kingdom group of businessmen who are keen to invest in Malta through the establishment of a new English Language School Assignment – Education Abroad broad Background: The Republic of Malta is a cluster of three main islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Malta, Gozo and Comino. It is located 80 km south of Sicily, 84 km east of Tunisia, and 333 km north of Libya. The country covers just over 122 square miles, and has a population of around 450,000 people. This makes it one of the world's smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union. Two official languages are spoken, Maltese (a mix of Italian, Arabic, Latin and Greek) and English. Malta has a long history and, due to its location in the Mediterranean Sea, it possesses a strategically important position for shipping. Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George VI in 1942, for the country's bravery during the Second World War, and The George Cross continues to appear on Malta's national flag. The country became a republic in 1974 and, although no longer a Commonwealth realm, remains a current member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004; in 2008, it became part of the Eurozone. Page 3 of 6 International Marketing Strategy © NCC Education Limited 2015 As a country, Malta has, for many years, been one of the world's centres for the study of the English Language. In 2014 it ranked seventh, behind the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Ireland, in terms of the number of students from across the world that travelled to Malta in order to study the English Language. Some of these students undertook long term studies (in excess of twelve months), whilst other students combined holiday during the summer sunshine and shorter study periods of two to three weeks. Some students simply enrol and study General English in order to improve their spoken ability whilst others study to the international IELTS standard in written, spoken and listening in English with a view to progressing into undergraduate higher education studies somewhere in the world where the course is being delivered in the English Language. English language teaching is well established on the Maltese Islands, so schools have a pool of experienced teachers to cater for all ages and varying levels of English. There are over 40 language schools in Malta and Gozo, offering a range of courses and, sometimes, combined with leisure-time activities. FELTOM - the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations in Malta, is the body that represents many of the private schools based in Malta. In terms of student ages, the Maltese market attracts 15 – 18 year old students, generally for the shorter English courses of 2-3 weeks, where a typical week of the course might involve two hours of English classes in the morning and, in the afternoon, beach games, a boat trip or swimming. Students who study in Malta for longer periods of time, sometimes in excess of twelve months, are often focusing upon future undergraduate studies at a university and require the IELTS 6.5 band of study, as an integral part of their university entry requirements. The Maltese Ministry of Education licences all English Language schools after a preopening inspection and audits/inspects them annually. This is conducted and managed by the English as a Foreign Language Monitoring Board, which is responsible for overseeing professional standards in language schools in Malta and the island of Gozo. English language colleges are heavily regulated in Malta and, once a new college has attained their licence, they can be assured of an annual inspector's visit to audit all of the college's documents and paperwork. Whilst accommodation is available for new schools, it is essential the any new college locates in the main student areas of St Julien's and Sliema. In both areas commercial properties, suitable for an English Language school, can be quite expensive in terms of rents and leases, and accommodation for studying students can be equally costly. New businesses entering the market-place also need to be aware of strict and often protruded planning consent, if the chosen property requires "change of use" to a school from another type of commercial use. - End of Case Study - Page 4 of 6 International Marketing Strategy © NCC Education Limited 2015 Tasks Task 1 – 25 Marks Critically assess the cultural diversity of Malta in terms of being: a) A suitable place to establish a new English language school (13 marks) b) A suitable place for students from around the world to base their English language studies (both short-term, 2 - 3 weeks and long-term, up to12 months) (12 marks) Task 2 - 25 Marks a) Critically assess how a new English language school establishing itself in Malta might market itself in order to compete with forty other English language schools. (8 marks) b) Develop a draft International marketing plan for the first 12 months of the new English language school, using an academically accepted marketing planning structure/format. (17 marks)