A total number of 39 schools operated in the business of English-language teaching during 2008, however, only 36 schools provided information on students following English-language courses. 83,288 students followed EFL courses during 2008. This means that in 2008 there was a decrease of 664 students, or 0.8 per cent, over the figure registered in 2007.

The younger age cohorts were highly represented in the student population, with the 16-17 age group having the highest frequency, at 22.3 per cent, followed by the ’15 and under’ age group, at 18.6 per cent. Female students were predominant in the student population, making up 57.1 per cent of total incoming students. Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Russian Federation show the highest frequencies for student nationalities respectively. Collectively, students from these countries amounted to 72.3 per cent of the total. When comparing the number of students arriving from these countries in 2008 and 2007, one can observe a net increase of 3,485 students from Italy and a net decrease of 4,576 from Spain. In 2008 the ’15 and under’ and ’30 and over’ age groups registered increases over the previous year. The largest increase of 3,859 was registered for the ’15 and under’ age group, while the largest decrease of 3,146 was registered for the ’21-25′ age group.

When analysing students with respect to their continent of origin, European students accounted for 95 per cent of total EFL students. Students coming from ‘Other European’ countries registered the greatest decrease over 2007: 1,294 students less. By contrast, students coming from EU countries registered an increase of 628 over 2007.

During 2008 students visiting Malta to study English amounted to 6.5 per cent of all incoming tourists, compared to 6.8 per cent for 2007. The majority of these students, 54.9 per cent, chose to follow a course during the summer months. On the other hand, 10.1 per cent of stays occurred during the winter months and 35 per cent during the shoulder months. When compared to 2007, the number of students as a percentage of total incoming tourists in summer decreased by 1 per cent, from 10.8 per cent to 9.8 per cent, amounting to a net decrease of 4,808 students. On the other hand, students studying during winter and shoulder months increased by 714 and 3,430 respectively over 2007.

The average length of stay for 2008 was 2.6 weeks, almost at par with the average stay for 2007, 2.5 weeks. Winter stays were on average 1 week longer than summer and shoulder month stays, with 3.5 weeks compared to 2.3 and 2.6 weeks. Longer stays were prevalent among students from Asia and America, with 9.8 and 6.7 weeks respectively. On the other hand, students from EU countries and ‘Other European’ countries tended to have shorter stays, of 2.1 and 2.3 weeks. The longest stay per student was 44 weeks, while the shortest stays were of one week. Students between 21-25 years have the longest average length of stay, of 3.9 weeks per student, while students aged 15 years and under have the shortest average length of stay, of 1.9 weeks.

In 2008, 1,340 teachers were employed with English-language specialised schools. Of these, 91.4 per cent were working on a part-time basis. Female teaching personnel comprised 75.2 per cent of total teachers working in these schools.

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