Too Small and Too Far Away?

Once governed from afar, and still a young country, New Zealand has always looked beyond itself, far away to 'Mother England' and the Great World as a way of knowing its place in the scheme of things.

Even now, with the colonial apron strings well and truly cut, New Zealanders typically know a lot about the world beyond their shores and consider the trip that crosses two hemispheres from Oceania to Europe almost an obligatory rite of passage. Kiwis, as New Zealanders name themselves for their national flightless bird, spend a lot of time flying. They also spend a lot of time wondering how the World see them, whether it returns the compliment of curiosity.

People involved in New Zealand's successful tourism industry, including those who promote New Zealand education overseas, obviously have a professional interest in the same question.

What are people's perceptions of New Zealand as a language study destination? Specifically, what is there to encourage or discourage a language traveller planning a trip abroad, and how true are the common perceptions?

School marketers report remarkably uniform comments from students and language travel agents, the further from New Zealand, the clearer the message. "We are seen as lean, green and friendly," says Susan McAllister, Chairperson of Combined Registered English Language Schools (CRELS) NZ, who is a member of a working party recently convened by the NZ Trade Development Board to work on a marketing plan for country's export education industry. "We are perceived as an exciting destination for the adventurous traveller, but in many parts of the world we are also seen as too small, too rural, and too far away to be a serious destination," says McAllister.

Distance, of course, means higher airfares. But this is a point worth inspection. Recent changes in passenger patterns following the Asian financial crisis has led to discounting by some carriers and fares to New Zealand. The cost of an airfare also has to be balanced against relative study costs and living expenses. Barbara Takase is the Chairwoman of the Federation of Independent English Language Schools (FIELS) in NZ, and also a member of the trade NZ working party. She comments:

"Numbers from some Asian Countries have dropped because of the financial situation there. But New Zealand's weak dollar, in comparison with UK and US currencies, mean that courses in New Zealand have become better value than ever."

Education marketing professionals used to cite the 'twelve week rule', which stated that the relatively lower study and living costs in New Zealand meant that a course there, even allowing for the airfare, became cheaper than one in the UK or the USA after the twelve week mark. Current comparisons have people talking of a 'six week rule', or better. 'Far away', then, need not mean 'more expensive'.

Is New Zealand small? It is about the same size as the British Isles, or Japan. But in terms of population, yes, it is small. The country still has fewer than four million people, most of who live in urban areas. Students studying in New Zealand will never have a 'London' or a 'Los Angeles' experience (most do not want it), but cities such as Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are among the most attractive in the world, and are increasingly vibrant and exciting multi-cultural centres with world-class educational facilities. Visitors who remember the country of a decade ago, and returning expatriate Kiwis, are pleasantly surprised at the changes they see.

Language students who choose to forego the urban experience can study at a growing number of schools in small centres. The dramatic surf beach of Mt. Maunganui, Rotorua's geothermal wonderland, an old mission estate in Art Deco Napier, the lakeside resort of Queenstown, gold-rush boom towns in Coromandel and lake Taupo at the foot of the North island skifields all host English language schools. In between the cities and the smaller centres, of course, are mile upon mile of the landscape New Zealand is famous for. It is a small country, but it is one where the landscape changes by the hour as you travel from mountain to plain, through sleepy country towns and farmland to the forest and the sea, along rugged coastlines and tree-shaded golden beaches.

Some complain that New Zealand is behind the times. But it is a pioneer in many fields, from being the first country to grant women the vote over a century ago, to the recent uptake of new technologies in communications and information science, Kiwis have shown they are not afraid of the new. Of course, just being new is not enough - New Zealand is well known for its anti-nuclear stance, and public sentiment has budged on that issue.

Being small and far away means New Zealand has to work harder not to be left behind. Innovation and a striving for quality are particularly evident in education. Schools are well aware that it is difficult to attract students from afar, and they simply try harder. Standards are moderated by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, which registers language schools offering courses in excess of twelve weeks. The competitive nature of the industry ensures that practically every teacher employed has an internationally recognised TESOL qualification and that academic and student welfare support systems are of the highest standard.

"Students", says Susan McAllister, "appreciate the quality of the tuition they receive in New Zealand schools. They also comment on the relaxed life-style of the home stay families they stay with and the way families are prepared to spend time with the students, talking, playing and taking the students out on family excursions."

Small and far away, perhaps a little old fashioned? Yes, but that means clean, green and friendly, too. When the negatives are not really negatives, in fact they make New Zealand what it is, and New Zealanders what they are, it can do no harm to admit that the common perceptions are essentially true. What better reason is there for a student to choose New Zealand?

Article supplied by

CRELSNZ
FIELSNZ

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