Frequently Asked Questions

1. How many members does FELTOM have? 

FELTOM has increased its members from 11 to 17 in the last five years: 14 full members, 2 associate members and 1 affiliate members. FELTOM's 17 member schools represent nearly 70% of all the EFL students who come to Malta to follow English language courses.

2. What type of membership does FELTOM offer?

FELTOM offers three types of membership: Full member schools operate all the year round, while associate member schools operate for up to eight months a year. Affiliate membership is only open to the smaller schools whose student population does not exceed 150 students per annually.

3. Are there only private language schools? 

All but one FELTOM member are private schools; this is hardly surprising when one considers that out of all the licensed schools, one is a Foundation of a public character and one is Governmental. 

3. What criteria do schools have to meet in order to become members of FELTOM? Does FELTOM have a code of conduct for its members? 

Applicant schools have to accept and abide by the rigorous self-regulatory FELTOM code of conduct which bonds and regulates all aspects of the operations of member schools, and includes a mechanism to ensure adherence to it. 

Some of the most important criteria include

• the role, qualifications and experience of Directors of Studies, 
• the minimum qualifications, formal TEFL training and experience of the teaching staff, 
• all matters concerning school facilities and the physical aspects of the school buildings themselves. Other non-academic criteria include the member schools’ organization of extra-curricular activities and other aspects of students' stays. 

On application for membership, school principals are visited and schools inspected by representatives of FELTOM's Executive Board, the admissions committee, which then presents its report and recommendations to the following Members Annual General Meeting, with whom the final decision rests. As from 2007, all existing FELTOM members as well as prospective members will have to satisfy the strict criteria recently introduced within the FELTOM Accreditation Scheme. 

4. What are the benefits of FELTOM membership for schools? 

There are four main areas of benefits: marketing, educational, regulatory and representational. Belonging to a professional self-regulating Association of international standing means that FELTOM member schools project greater reliability and superior quality to the trade and to the market in general. FELTOM member schools enjoy corporate advertising on FELTOM's own brochure, in the international EFL press, and on the FELTOM's website. They additionally benefit from the international exposure FELTOM receives at trade fairs and in the media. On the educational front FELTOM organizes training and refresher courses for teachers and teacher trainers. The other areas are regulatory and representational. In keeping with FELTOM's main objective of establishing and ensuring the maintenance of standards, FELTOM member schools have not only promoted the need to introduce national regulations but have collectively written these regulations and lobbied the Authorities for their enactment. The voice of FELTOM members is listened to at the highest levels as FELTOM holds very important advisory and representative positions in shaping the future of EFL in Malta.

 5. What are the advantages for students and agents of working with FELTOM members? 

For both agents and students, FELTOM serves as a point of reference, a central professional interlocutor who they can deal with and resort to in case of any difficulties that may arise. Moreover, agents have the assurance that they are working with quality schools, whose directors know and work with each other and have a commitment towards maintaining standards. For prospective students, FELTOM is mainly a source of information, and a hallmark of quality. Students also benefit as they are protected against fly-by-night or unreliable operations and have a means of seeking redress and assistance in case of any eventuality. 

6. Has FELTOM in the past organized familiarization trips for Agents? 

FELTOM is not a marketing association for member schools but provides members with corporate marketing advantages. FELTOM furthermore supports member schools in the organization of familiarization trips for their agents by providing them with a wider and fuller scenario of the value of Malta as an EFL learning destination and in acting as the interlocutor with the Malta Tourism Authority and other Authorities as necessary. 

7. No other EFL market has such a compulsory scheme to ensure minimum standards. Will the introduction of the National Minimum Conditions help Malta increase its reputation as an EFL destination? 

First of all, nationally, specific legislation and the introduction of the National Minimum Conditions for all EFL schools has finally ensured that EFL schools and their operations are now recognized by the local education authorities as separate and distinct from all other state and private schools teaching English to Maltese students. Secondly, this 'tailor-made' legislation for EFL schools is the first of its kind on the international market scene. A first tangible result of all of this was the setting up of a national Monitoring Board with full executive powers. Its brief is to look into and monitor all matters pertaining to the EFL operations locally and to ensure that each licensed school lives up to the legal minimum standards. Therefore, with regular enforcement of these regulations, minimum standards and an overall improvement in the services (both academic and extra-curricular) offered to Agents and students, quality will automatically be ensured. All this will naturally give the Malta EFL scene a hallmark of professionalism and marked advantage over its competitors where ever these may be. 

8. How does FELTOM see its role developing in the future? 

FELTOM fully understands the need to encourage the non-member schools to make the necessary efforts to 'graduate into membership' for through the recent introduction of the Accreditation Scheme for an even better management of the whole EFL profession and industry in Malta. 

FELTOM is confident that it will maintain its interlocutor and negotiator roles in the regularization of all that pertains to the EFL student profession and industry in Malta. 

FELTOM will also strengthen its corporate marketing role for the increased benefits of all members. 

FELTOM member schools will cooperate to strengthen the inflow of EFL students into Malta and to continually improve upon Malta's strengths as an EFL destination in the Mediterranean.