A dive into the market forces that cultural institutes must navigate: Embassy-affiliated cultural institutes — such as the UK’s British Council, Germany’s Goethe-Institut, and France’s Institut Français — offer robust language courses as part of their mandate to promote their culture and help cultivate diplomatic relationships. In part one, we looked at why language instruction is an integral part of their mission, what sets them apart in the market, and what their business models look like. In part two, we’ll delve into how these players are leveraging market trends and demand to expand their operations, as well the setbacks that they face along the way.

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THE TRENDS-

Following the urban sprawl: To meet growing demand for learning French, the French Institute is strategically expanding in locations where new urban centers are emerging. “We try to reach people who can no longer come to our original locations because they’ve moved to newer neighborhoods,” said Nancy Ibrahim, the director of the French Institute’s language center in Egypt’s Mounira office. “Our buildings in Mounira and Alexandria are old and very chic, with beautiful architecture, but they’re located in old neighborhoods,” Ibrahim explained, adding that the “building in Alexandria is in the city’s downtown, where it can be hard to park.” To address these demographic shifts, the institute has opened branches in the Fifth Settlement and El Sheikh Zayed and is in the process of opening another branch in Alexandria.

Rolling out customized courses: Officials from both the Goethe-Institut and the French Institute have stated that they have responded to growing demand by offering customized language courses tailored to the objectives of different groups, such as academics embarking on postgraduate studies abroad or Egyptian employees hired by foreign companies. The rise of job openings across Africa has led to a surge in requests from firms — chiefly in the fields of engineering and communications — looking to sponsor French courses for their employees, Ibrahim said. While English is often the primary language of work for these employees, French is essential for navigating daily life in many African countries. For this cohort, the French Institute offers customized programs that are typically faster-paced and focused on workplace-related language, she explained.

Ditching the rigid schedules: One way in which the British Council has responded to the evolving needs of its learners is through its main adult program, MyClass, said Kevin McLaven, the organization’s MEA cluster and country lead for English teaching. “The program recognizes that people have very busy lives and are increasingly time-poor,” he said. “It’s very different from a traditional program — students are able to book classes on the days they want, at the times they want, and with the teachers they want. A student could, for example, choose to attend three classes this week and no classes at all next week.”

Building robust partnerships:The Goethe-Institut works with the Education Ministry to train school teachers and provide them with scholarships to train abroad, and is prepared to help the ministry with its plan to roll out German as an elective second foreign language in public schools for students in grade seven and above starting September, Nivin El Sioufy, head of the Language Department at the institute's Cairo office, told Enterprise. The Goethe-Institut also struck an agreement with the Supreme Council of Universities in 2019 to help teach German to all doctors and engineers in Egypt’s public universities as part of a presidential initiative, El Sioufy said. Since then, the institute has been training lecturers and assistant lecturers to teach the language, and the project will continue for another three years.

Leveling up to the digital age: Digitalization is one of the most significant ways in which cultural institutes have evolved over the years, all of our sources told us. The institutes offer a range of formats to suit the preferences and needs of different students, including online courses and blended learning. “Goethe-Institut had a digital platform for remote learning ten years before Covid, but students preferred face-to-face learning. It was only after the pandemic that doubts about online learning started to dissipate and people became more receptive to the idea,” said El Sioufy.

THE HEADWINDS-

Sourcing the right teachers is a major challenge: Both Ibrahim and El Sioufy cited difficulty finding qualified language teachers as one of the biggest challenges faced by their institutes. Both institutes, as well as the British Council, pride themselves on providing extensive training to their language teachers. However, finding instructors who possess not just the skills, but also the passion for teaching can be difficult, said Ibrahim. “Language proficiency alone is insufficient,” said El Sioufy, adding that a rare blend of professional competencies is required. Instructors hired by Goethe-Institut receive a preliminary training that’s about a year and half in duration. In tandem, they can start teaching within six months.

Cultural institutes are feeling the squeeze from the float and inflation: Pricing courses and exams in a way that strikes a balance between the institute’s income and students’ ability to pay has been challenging given today’s inflationary environment, said El Sioufy. Following the EGP float, Goethe-Institut was obliged to hike up the prices of its exams by nearly 40%, but was able to apply a smaller increase to the prices of its courses, El Sioufy said, adding that the institute thought very carefully about these decisions.

FX restrictions are a sticking point, too: Due to FX restrictions on debit cards, some students are unable to register for courses on the Goethe-Institut’s online shop, said El Sioufy. “As a result, we’ve had to increase the number of on-site personnel to accommodate the people who pay in person at the institute, where we charge the EGP equivalent of EUR fees.”

Some students are opting out of language courses: “Because of the current economic climate, learning foreign languages is not a priority for everybody,” said Ibrahim. While children and university students are still flocking into language courses, the institute has seen less demand from some of the older student segments, she explained. “For example, after Covid, the cohort of mothers who attended courses in the morning has completely disappeared. That’s because other online courses and cheaper alternatives by small private language centers, while often subpar, are available in abundance.”

But, overall demand remains robust: “Despite the economic challenges, we're still seeing year-on-year growing demand for our English courses, and that's both from adults and from the young learners,” said McLaven. “One of our concerns two years ago was that nobody would be able to afford to take an English class. But I think simply because it's recognized that if you want a better job — or a job in the Gulf, for example — you have to have the best possible qualifications, you're going to have to somehow find a way to get a decent English language education.”

THE ROAD AHEAD-

How will these institutes evolve over the next few years or decades? “I think, without doubt, it's going to be technology, technology, technology,” said McLaven. “I'm not suggesting that face-to-face interactions will disappear completely. But, technology just offers so much in the way of opportunity, efficiency, flexibility, choice. The education market will have to respond to those technological advancements.”

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