In 2024, foreign students attending English language courses at 33 local licensed English Language Teaching (ELT) schools amounted to 80,946, marking an increase of 2,379 over 2023, the NSO said Thursday
The majority of students attending English language courses in Malta came from Italy (24.9 per cent), followed by France (10.3 per cent) and Germany (10.1 per cent). Overall, 73.9 per cent of total students originated from an EU country.
The largest share of language students was in the 15 and under age bracket, accounting for 28.1 per cent of the total students following ELT courses, followed by the 16 and 17-year-old age group, which accounted for 22.0 per cent. Students aged 50 and over were in the minority and numbered 7,237 (8.9 per cent). Female students outnumbered males, and accounted for 61.3 per cent of the entire ELT student population.
July was the busiest month for local licensed ELT schools for courses attendance, accounting for 17.0 per cent of the annual total. August and March followed at 14.5 and 10.4 per cent respectively.
The most popular course uptake in local licensed ELT schools was 'General English: Standard', whereby a total of 62,299 students, or 77.0 per cent opted for this course. This was followed by the 'Intensive English' courses, with 14.8 per cent of total students.
Foreign students enrolled in local licensed ELT schools accounted for 256,868 student weeks. The absolute majority of courses (99.8 per cent of total student weeks) were held physically while online courses accounted for only 0.2 per cent. The average number of student weeks during the year under review stood at 3.2, a decrease of 0.3 compared to previous year. With an average of 13.9 weeks, students from Colombia recorded the highest number of student weeks, followed by Chilean and South Korean students with average student weeks at 12.0 and 8.9 weeks respectively.
In 2024, teaching and academic staff in local licensed ELT schools numbered 743, with the largest proportion (24.5 per cent) being in 25-34 age group. Female teachers and academic staff accounted for 66.4 per cent of the total. Non-teaching staff amounted to 638, of whom 69.4 per cent were employed on a full-time basis.