A school’s PR will be targeted at attracting new students and top-quality teachers but also at maximizing the possibility of existing students returning. This means that PR should run all the way through your activities, both in the face you show to the world at large and in how you are perceived on a day-to-day basis while working with students. While it is important to have somebody to take on the role of managing your PR, remember that all your staff are your representatives and students too can be important ambassadors by spreading the word about the quality of their experience.

Many tools exist to help you develop a solid PR base. First make use of the media in the widest possible way. Send regular press releases about your events, achievements and successes to the local press, preferably with photos. Use the talent among your staff by encouraging people to write articles for professional journals, whether print of Internet-based. Establish an interactive website that has a forum for discussion and access to learner aids such as online tests, examinations information, some free material.

Next think of all the target audiences you would like to inform about your school. If you draw your students from the local area, think about the networks that could help you: the Chamber of Commerce, careers advice services, high schools and universities, companies and organizations concerned with tourism. Identify which companies are involved in international business. When you have a list of target audiences, think of how you can inform them. You might have an open evening or go into high schools and universities to talk about the opportunities for learning English and how it can help young people in their careers.

Needless to say your brochure and all other promotional material must be professionally produced and up-to-date. In addition, it needs to reflect the image you wish to project. In an increasingly competitive market, attention to your PR could well make all the difference to your student numbers and the successful recruitment of good teachers.

Given that English language schools are so widely scattered across the world, it is impossible to apply any salary benchmarks for the profession as a whole. Pay is subject to local conditions, with the best-paid opportunities existing in western Europe, the Middle east, the USA and Australia. In Asia, Japan and Taiwan seem to offer the best prospects. However, the cost of living in these countries can be high too, so a higher salary does not always lead to more disposable income. How then can a school set a fair compensation package that will attract and keep good teachers without putting undue strain on the budget?

Much depends on the system of academic management. One model I have seen that works well for some areas is the school that has one or two senior academic managers who support a staff of freshly qualified teachers. If a school is taking on inexperienced staff, then a bottom-of-the-range salary is acceptable. The advantage is that teachers are usually keen to get started and can be trained to work in accordance with the school’s style. They will, however, need lots of supervision and support, so the amount of time that has to be devoted to this is a hidden cost of employing them. Another problem is that the school does not have a balance of experienced teachers and this may limit the kind of work that can be done. And teacher turnover is likely to be high as the newly qualified teacher gains experience and moves on to a better–paid job.

For the school that is looking for stability in the staffroom and a healthy balance of experienced and new teachers, the answer is to have a well-structured pay scale. This should involve both an annual increments and additional payments for posts of responsibility. The rates should be roughly in line with other schools of a similar kind in the area and should reflect the local cost of living. If the school can offer other benefits such as free accommodation, free transport, free meals during the working week, health insurance, then these benefits can be factored in when determining the salary. However, such benefits must be of an acceptable standard. Although teachers have to be willing to adapt to local conditions, they should not be expected to take poor-quality accommodation, for example, even if it is free.

Many employers feel reluctant to publicize their compensation packages but I think this is pointless as teachers in a region will get to know each other and compare notes. My own suggestion is that schools should form local associations and meet regularly to discuss issues of mutual interest. They could exchange ideas about compensation deals and help to establish a set of local standards that protect both the teachers’ and the schools’ interests.

What do you think? Please leave your comments on this article.

I have to say that my crystal ball for the future of English language schools is a bit cloudy. Okay, it’s clear that China continues to be a growth area and clearly technology offers all kinds of versatile learning opportunities for students. From Japan, we learn that Sharp has launched an English teaching robot! And the Internet means that students can link up with teachers cutting out the medium of the school altogether. No doubt such remote means of learning and teaching will continue to develop but, ultimately, it is the personal contact that means most in the learning process.

 Actually instead of looking forward, I want to look back at the history of the English language schools. I was privileged to meet Frank Bell in the UK. As a prisoner of war, Frank’s love of languages and his belief in education shaped desire to improve international understanding. Frank organized language classes for his fellow prisoners and after the war continued his work for peace through mutual understanding by establishing the Bell School in Cambridge to teach English. He went on to set up the Bell Educational Trust as a non-profit organization whose money from fees is reinvested in developing and improving the services and facilities for students, and the worldwide services that are offered. Today, Bell has four intensive training centers in the UK and more than 20 partners throughout Europe and in Asia.

The more commercially oriented language schools that followed in its wake and that have now spread so extensively through the world perhaps cannot be said to reflect Frank Bell’s idealism. But even so, the mere fact that English language helps the international community to have meaningful contact must be a factor for good in our complex and often tragic world. Leaving aside all issues of cross-cultural misunderstanding, the use of English internationally at least helps further E.M. Forster’s dictum: “only connect”. If we can only talk to each other, surely there is hope for mutual understanding and mutual respect.