business model for language school

International Conference on Information Systems Architecture and Technology

ISAT 2019: Information Systems Architecture and Technology: Proceedings of 40th Anniversary International Conference on Information Systems Architecture and Technology – ISAT 2019 pp 74–85 Cite as

Business Model Environment in the Segment of Language Schools

Part of the Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing book series (AISC,volume 1052)

The paper presents a part of the research on business models of language schools from Lower Silesian Voivodeship. In Poland. The influence of the surrounding elements of the enterprises on the components of the business models according to the template of A. Osterwalder was assessed. The analysis covered the majority (96 – approx. 66%) of language schools in the Voivodeship. A survey consisting of 31 surrounding elements of the enterprises was prepared, and its respondents included owners or managers of these enterprises. The results allowed to isolate the most important elements according to two dimensions of the assessment of the surroundings, i.e. according to significance and favourability. In the further surroundings, such an element was constituted by, among others, seasonality of the demand on the language services market, and in the immediate surroundings, among others, the threat from the substitutes. The components of the business models in the analysed segment which should undergo modifications as a reactive form of adaptation of the models to the conditions of the environment were indicated. Concrete solutions depend on recognising the gap between the value offer expected by the clients and the value proposition of the enterprise.

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business model for language school

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Based on: Central Statistical Office, Activity of non - financial enterprises in 2017, https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/podmioty-gospodarcze-wyniki-finansowe/przedsiebiorstwa-niefinansowe/dzialalnosc-przedsiebiorstw-niefinansowych-w-2016-r-,2,12.html?pdf=1 (access: 19.11.2018).

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http://psz.praca.gov.pl/documents/10240/1012429/RIS%20raport%202013%20PDF.pdf/b839706c-03ee-46fe-a6fc-229a560512b3?t=1417694996000 (access: 24.12.2018).

A convention for language schools that a segment is a part of the education sector was adopted in the paper. A branch of industry is equivalent to a sector.

A persona is possibly the most detailed description of a model group of target recipients, characterising their profound needs and priorities. Personas are created based on consumer questionnaires and quantitative behavioural data.

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https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/podmioty-gospodarcze-wyniki-finansowe/przedsiebiorstwa-niefinansowe/dzialalnosc-przedsiebiorstw-niefinansowych-w-2016-r-,2,12.html?pdf=1 . Accessed 19 Nov 2018

http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf . Accessed 23 Oct 2017

http://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/podmioty-gospodarcze-wyniki-finansowe/zmiany-strukturalne-grup-podmiotow/zmiany-strukturalne-grup-podmiotow-gospodarki-narodowej-w-rejestrze-regon-2015-r-,1,17.html . Accessed 19 Nov 2018

http://psz.praca.gov.pl/documents/10240/1012429/RIS%20raport%202013%20PDF.pdf/b839706c-03ee-46fe-a6fc-229a560512b3?t=1417694996000 . Accessed 24 Dec 2018

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Zbigniew Malara, Janusz Kroik & Paweł Ziembicki

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Prof. Zofia Wilimowska

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Prof. Jerzy Świątek

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Malara, Z., Kroik, J., Ziembicki, P. (2020). Business Model Environment in the Segment of Language Schools. In: Wilimowska, Z., Borzemski, L., Świątek, J. (eds) Information Systems Architecture and Technology: Proceedings of 40th Anniversary International Conference on Information Systems Architecture and Technology – ISAT 2019. ISAT 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1052. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30443-0_7

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business model for language school

Operations Research and Decisions

Issue: 2020/Vol.30/No.2 , Pages 77-89

INFORMATION GAP IN VALUE PROPOSITIONS OF BUSINESS MODELS OF LANGUAGE SCHOOLS

business model for language school

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Cite as: J. Mazurek, K. Kulakowski. Information gap in value propositions of business models of language schools. Operations Research and Decisions 2020: 30(2), 77-89. DOI 10.37190/ord200205

Abstract We examine the satisfaction of the condition of order preservation (COP) concerning different levels of inconsistency for randomly generated multiplicative pairwise comparison matrices (MPCMs) of the order from 3 to 9, where a priority vector is derived both by the eigenvalue (eigenvector) method (EV) and the geometric mean (GM) method. Our results suggest that the GM method and the EV method preserve the COP almost identically, both for the less inconsistent matrices (with Saaty’s consistency index below 0.10), and the more inconsistent matrices (Saaty’s consistency index equal to or greater than 0.10). Further, we find that the frequency of the COP violations grows (almost linearly) with the increasing inconsistency of MPCMs measured by Koczkodaj’s inconsistency index and Saaty’s consistency index, respectively, and we provide graphs to illustrate these relationships.

Keywords: pairwise comparisons, eigenvalue method, geometric mean method, condition of order preservation,numerical simulation

Received: 4 February 2019 Accepted: 20 July 2020

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business model for language school

Brighter futures: The 'Uber-fication' of ELT

business model for language school

Professional Development Technology and Digital

This is our final installment from the Brighter Futures blog series, as we reflect on the key topics that were considered during our Brighter Futures Summit 2021. Nik Peachey, education technology expert, wrote here about the pros and cons of physical vs virtual language schools .

In this follow-up blog, he considers different business models that language schools may adopt. With an increasing reliance on digital teaching, some schools may consider a new model of moving everything online. He will look at the implications of this, including how it may disrupt the teaching industry. If the physical school business model is under threat, what are the possible models that may replace it?

Blended schools

Many physical schools have already made the move to a blended or hybrid model offering a mix of physical face-to-face classes with virtual ones.

This builds on the existing strengths of the school’s relationship with its existing customers and local reputation. However, it is ultimately making the school more expensive to run and offering it none of the cost cutting, scaleability and increased potential market that benefits the virtual school.

Independent online teachers

Now that anyone can set up a virtual school or classroom for almost nothing, more tech and social media savvy teachers are moving towards cutting out the school and delivering classes independently. This model may not be immediately scalable but if these teacher are successful there’s no reason why they can’t start expanding by hiring in other teachers or creating partnerships.

Online schools

Many schools may decide to drop the expense of the bricks and mortar school building and decide to go 100% virtual. This is a very scaleable business model and helps them reduce costs and prices. The competition for online students is very fierce though. This approach will require schools to adopt a new mindset and new processes regarding how they recruit, train and manage students and how they market their courses internationally.

Teacher cooperatives

As more teachers start to work independently they are already starting to realise the benefits of working together through cooperatives. Schools run as teacher cooperatives can offer a very strong and scaleable model for the future virtual school. They can combine the benefits of scalability and low cost with the unrivalled commitment and determination that working for a business in which you have a genuine stake can bring.

The virtual marketplace

For independent teachers who don’t want to take on the additional work of marketing themselves and running an independent business, the virtual marketplace is an option. These marketplace platforms offer the tools and in some cases the teaching content and do the marketing to attract students. The students can then select their teacher from the site based on price or preferences and book their lessons with the teacher through the platform. This gives students great choice and variety and enables teachers to set their own price and build their own schedule. This model is an easily scaleable and low cost model to run.

The Uber-school

Finally there is the ‘Uber-school’ model. In this scenario a powerful tech company steps into the market with a simple app that connects students to teachers on demand for a set fee and handles all the marketing and transaction cost. Teachers post themselves as available and teach a lesson to whatever student wants one at that particular time.

This offers students maximum convenience and is a hugely scaleable model that (like the taxi company it takes its name from) could, with enough financial backing, create a global monopoly.

This may seem like an unlikely scenario, but we have seen it happen in so many other industries. Once a huge global market becomes accessible through a digital platform, that platform can be replicated across countries and continents very rapidly. All it takes is enough financial backing to lose money for a few years.

So what can language schools do to prevent this from happening?

Some have suggested that focussing on niche or specialist areas could be the way forward. It may even be that sticking with the face-to-face model and looking for ways to enhance it by playing towards its strengths, such as the social element of meeting with real people could help ensure physical schools survive.

Perhaps things aren’t so bad, after all some hotels have survived AirBnB. There are still some taxi companies in business. Even Nokia has survived the onslaught of the iPhone, though its share of the market dropped from 50.9% in 2007 to 3.1% by 2013.

If we see a similar transformation in the English language teaching industry over the next 5 – 6 years where will you be? It’s worth thinking about this now and making sure you have the skills and the mindset to adapt to whatever is coming because one thing is very certain… There will be no going back to the old normal.

If you found this article of interest, try reading more of Nik Peachey’s blogs, such as this one on building rapport in the remote classroom .

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Business Model Environment in the Segment of Language Schools
The paper presents a part of the research on business models of language schools from Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The influence of the surrounding elements of the enterprises on the components of the business
Information gap in value propositions of business models of language schools
Operations Research and Decisions 2020: 30(2), 77-89. Abstract We examine the satisfaction of the condition of order preservation (COP) concerning different levels of inconsistency for randomly generated multiplicative pairwise c
INFORMATION GAP IN VALUE PROPOSITIONS OF BUSINESS MODELS OF LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
The paper presents the results of the second stage of research on business models of language schools. It was assumed that there is a significant difference in the value propositions of schools and the expectations of their clients
The 'Uber-fication' Of ELT
With increasing reliance on digital teaching, some schools may consider a new model of moving everything online, so this article explores different options
Language School Business Plan Sample
Do you need a template guide for language school? Click here for a sample language school business plan pdf you can use for FREE
Language School Excel Financial Model
Language School Excel Financial Model provides you a comprehensive financial plan for your school and budget all your expenses
Getting Down to Business in the High School Foreign Language Class: A Model_爱学术
ICT in Teaching a Foreign Language in High School. Teaching a Second Foreign Language in the Russian School. Getting down to business: developing the underlying law in Papua New Guinea
EconPapers: Information gap in value propositions of business models of language schools
By Jiri Mazurek and Konrad Kulakowski; Abstract: We examine the satisfaction of the condition of order preservation (COP) concerning different levels of inconsistency