ESL Marketing – Know your student demographics

June 3, 2010

Do you know what countries your students come from? Better yet, can you articulate what percentage of your students is from which countries? Although most program coordinators or managers could tell you where the majority of their students come from, you might be surprised how many do not know basic statistical information about their own programs and students. Depending on what privacy laws apply to business and schools in your area, you may be able to ask your participants’ age, occupation, gender, marital status, number of children and so on. The more information you can collect, the clearer picture you can build of your typical student. Before you go ahead and design a questionnaire though, I would recommend that you familiarize yourself with any privacy laws that may apply in your country with regards to the collection of personal information.

Most programs keep statistical information in some form, either on registration forms or in a database. Few actually use the data for any real purpose. If you have statistical information, it really is worth the time and effort to compile it into useful reports that can help you assess who has been registering in your program over the past little while.

I suggest that you go back at least 3-5 years to compile your data. You want to know:

  • where your students are from
  • what is their first language
  • how old they are (age range and average age)
  • ratio of males to females
  • information on education or occupation

The idea is to build yourself a “big picture” of who is registering in your program.

After you have that picture, you can assess whether or not the demographics you have fit the demographics you want. For example, if you have mainly female students and you think some gender balance would benefit your program, you could tweak your marketing materials to attract more males (for example, appealing to all-male schools or men’s sports teams).

An analysis of your student population costs you little money, just an investment of your time. It’s an investment that could help your program grow in phenomenal ways.

This post is adapted from “Idea # 9: Assess your current program demographics” in 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on ESL Marketing – Know your student demographics | 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program, ESL, language program administration, languages, leadership, marketing, recruitment, research, second languages, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

The truth about language learning and job prospects

June 2, 2010

Today’s tech-savvy students have a world of resources and information at their finger tips. They balk at vague promises that language learning will get them better jobs. Today’s job market requires more than knowledge of another language. In the twenty-first century, a comprehensive essential skill set is needed for employment. This includes competence in areas beyond languages such as:

  • numeracy
  • thinking skills
  • computer use
  • the ability to work well with others

This isn’t just my opinion, by the way. These skills are recognized by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada as being essential skills for all adults. Not only are the skills needed in Canada, they’re needed in just about every other country, too.

Today’s young people understand that lifelong learning is going to be the norm for them. The idea that learning a second language is a ticket to a higher-level job or an international position is an outdated myth. Today knowledge of second or other languages is just one of the skills which may help an individual acquire meaningful employment.

Further reading on this topic:

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | education, ESL, languages, second languages | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

5 qualities of the perfect host family

May 25, 2010
Family pillow fight

The perfect host family knows how to have wholesome fun.

Finding super host families for home stay students is key for a successful home stay program. Here are the top things that the best host families do.

1. Act like a family. This may sound obvious, but you really want families who act like a family. They eat dinner together around a table (not in front of the television and not all at different times). They engage in conversation. They may not always agree, but they do listen to one another. They spend evenings and weekends together and understand the value of “family time”.

2. Know that safety and security come first. A good host family understands that it is their responsibility to keep the student they’re hosting safe and secure. This means that they set reasonable rules to help keep the student safe. This may include things like a curfew, checking in with a host parent during late excursions with friends and advice on safety in the local area such as avoiding certain areas of town. An ideal host family understands that having and following safety rules is a good thing.

3. Include the student in family life. The ideal host family thinks of their home stay student as part of the family. They include the student in dinner conversations, family outings and activities. The ideal host family never lets on that they’re being paid to host a student. Instead, they see their role as both giving and receiving. In addition to the fee they receive to billet the student, they also receive a tremendous opportunity to learn about another culture, as well as the chance to learn how to house international guests. In turn, they give their student the opportunity to experience life as part of their own family, offering a safe place to live, support, encouragement, opportunities to learn new things in the informal setting of the family unit.

4. Know when not to include the home stay student. This may sound counter-intuitive but one difference between a good host family and a great host family is that great host families know when not to include the home stay student. They understand that while they want to make the host student feel like part of the family, they also keep in mind they they are still a guest. All families have their ups and downs. Great host families don’t burden their home stay students with things like obligatory visits to the hospital to see a terminally ill grand parent. They also avoid having heated arguments in front of the home stay student. Ideal host families shield their home stay student from distressing experiences, understanding that the student is experiencing his or her own stress from culture shock, missing their own family back home and stress from school. While it is normal for family members to disagree from time to time, the best host families understand that “domestic drama” does not make for a pleasant home stay experience.

5. Know how to have good wholesome fun. Families who do activities together such as play board games, enjoy sports, go for walks and have family gatherings such as dinners and birthday parties are ideal. Together, these create long-lasting happy and warm memories. Your best home stay families strike a balance between work (including school work), responsibilities around the house and time to relax and have some fun together as as a family. These families understand that spending time together doing fun activities creates opportunities for sharing, laughter and positive bonding. And that in the end, happy memories are the best souvenir the student can take with them when they leave.

Related posts:

Sample Host Family Application http://wp.me/pNAh3-fv

How to Find the Perfect Host Family http://wp.me/pNAh3-61

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | education, ESL, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

How to find the perfect host family

May 20, 2010

Lots of families want to host foreign students. But not all of them want to do it for the right reasons. How do you find excellent home stay families? Here are a few tips.

Offer a Prospective Host Family Information Session about your school. Host families should know what a typical school day is like, what kinds of things the students will be learning and what type of extra-curricular activities you offer. Having them tour the school and meet a few key staff members will give them a sense of how the school operates. You can make this mandatory for prospective host families. The way to do that is to schedule Prospective Host Family Information Sessions on a regular basis – say once a semester or even once a month. Hand out the Host Family Application Package at the Information Session. If families want to apply to host a student, an adult member of the family must attend the information session because that’s when and where the application packages are handed out. If a family can’t be bothered to attend an information session, you probably don’t want them hosting a student.

At this meeting, outline your expectations of the host families. Typical expectations are:

  • Provide 2-3 well-balanced nutritious meals.
  • Provide laundry-facilities that are not coin operated.
  • Provide clean linens (towels, face clothes and bed linens).
  • Spend time with the student practicing the language they’re learning every day.
  • Invite (but don’t oblige) the student to take part in family activities.

Have them fill out an application. In addition to the usual name, phone number and address, the application should ask:

  • How many children are in the home – including their names and ages
  • If they have pets and if so, how many and what kind
  • Why they’d like to be a host family. (Hint: If they respond, “Because we need the money”, think twice before accepting them as a family for one of  your students.)
  • What types of foods do they eat?
  • What kinds of activities do they like to do?

Asking questions like these will help you match students with families. For example, you don’t want to pair a student who is allergic to dogs with a family of dog enthusiasts. Vegetarian students may be well matched with a family that doesn’t eat much meat. A host family that loves to go geocaching may be the perfect fit for a techie student who loves the outdoors. You get the idea.

Request references. Your application form should also include a spot for the names of two or three references, as well as their contact information. References should not be other family members. Examples of good references include pastors, family doctors, work colleagues and even family friends. The reference check doesn’t have to be intensive, but it is part of your due diligence in selecting families. You want to ask these references questions such as:

  • How do you know this family?
  • What kind of people are they?
  • Do you think they’d be good hosts for an international student? If so, why? If not, why not?
  • Would be comfortable allowing your son or daughter to live with them? Why or why not?

Request a police checks for all adult members of the household. Sound harsh? Not really. More and more schools and non-profit organizations are requesting police checks from their staff and volunteers. Check with your local police station about how to get police checks done. If there’s a form to fill out, include a copy in your host family application package as a courtesy. A speeding ticket or other minor offense may not disqualify them as a host family, but if you don’t check, you may not know the whole picture. Who pays for these checks? The host family does.

Conduct a home inspection. So, the host family has attended your information session. Their application looks good. Their references were glowing. Their police check is clean. Everything looks good. But to be sure, send a staff member to inspect the home. Garbage and old tires piled on the front porch is not a good sign. (And yes, I’ve actually seen this.) Inspect the home as if you were the student arriving from another country. The host family needs to provide:

  • A private bedroom for the student. This may seem obvious, but that room should have a door that closes. Curtains are not an acceptable “door”.
  • A window. Basement bedrooms without windows are not only dark, they are a fire hazard.
  • Somewhere to store clothing and other personal belongings. A closest stacked with old linens with no room for the student’s belongings is unacceptable.
  • A desk and chair for studying.
  • A clean bed, with linens.

There are no guarantees that following these steps will get you the perfect host family every time, but they’ll certainly help you eliminate those who are just in it for the money, or who think of foreign students as extra help around the house.

Related posts:

5 qualities of the perfect host family http://wp.me/pNAh3-6c

Sample Host Family Application http://wp.me/pNAh3-fv

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Share or Tweet this post: How to find the perfect host family http://wp.me/pNAh3-61

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | ESL, second languages, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Using Skype in ESL and Literacy Programs: Webinar Follow up

May 18, 2010

How thrilled was I to see more than 50 participants in today’s webinar from as far away as Egypt and Kyrgyzstan?! We also had people join in from across Canada and the U.S.

If you couldn’t make the webinar and you’re interested in what we talked about, here’s Link to the webinar recording. Note that this link may ask to download Java onto your computer. If you click “yes”, you’ll be able to access the recording, slides and all the chat that happened during the session.

If you just want the slides for today, I’ve archived them on Slide share for you here:

Click here to get a copy of the handouts from the webinar.

Dr. Peggy George was kind enough to offer this additional resource that she put together on using Skype AzTEA WOW (Way Out West) Conference, May 1, 2010. Birds of a Feather Lunch Conversation: Skype in the Classroom. Thank you for sharing your resource, Peggy.

Check out my research article on this topic:

Eaton, S. E. (2010). How to Use Skype in the ESL/EFL Classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, XVI(11). Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Eaton-UsingSkype.html

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

4 Comments | ESL, languages, Literacy, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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