Category: Language learning

  • HOELT update sees tender value slashed

    HOELT update sees tender value slashed

    In 2024, The PIE News reported that the UK Home Office is engaging with the market about proposals to build a new Secure English Language Testing model for an estimated £1.13 billion, known as the Home Office Language Test (HOELT).

    At the time, the government set out that it would be engaging with the market about tendering for the deal, which would be split into two parts; developing the Home Office-branded test and the facilitation of the tests around the world.

    In an update on April 10 this year, it was revealed that the total value of the tender has been reduced to £680m.

    The tender sets out estimated contract dates of August 2026 to August 2031, with a possible extension to August 2034. The estimated “publication date of tender notice” is August 1, 2025, while the deadline for participation in this third round of engagement is May 1, 2025.

    It is noted that one of the primary purposes of the latest round is to “confirm the level of interest in the delivery of the service under a single contract”.

    Michael Goodine, SELT expert and owner of Test Resources in South Korea, commented: “This suggests that the Home Office may be seeking a single supplier to both develop and deliver the test… The original plan was for those aspects to be handled by separate suppliers. Or at least separate contracts.”

    “This sort of change could narrow the range of acceptable suppliers. Not everyone can do both of these things, of course,” Goodine wrote in his blog.

    The PIE contacted the Home Office for comment on the changes, but it declined to respond.

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  • Ireland’s ELE sector slams sharp rise in financial threshold

    Ireland’s ELE sector slams sharp rise in financial threshold

    The national body representing over 60 accredited English language schools has warned the move could lead to mass cancellations, reputational damage to Ireland, and loss of key emerging markets that have helped rebuild the sector post-pandemic.

    Starting from 30 June 2025, students from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico will be asked to show €6,665 in available funds to study in Ireland for eight months – a 120% increase on the 2023 threshold of €3,000.

    “This change has come without consultation, justification, or notice. It is difficult to see how a 120% increase in two years can be considered proportionate when the cost of living has risen just 2% annually,” said Lorcan O’Connor Lloyd, CEO of EEI.

    The affected students are legally permitted to work part-time in Ireland, yet are now being required to show financial backing as if they were not, argued O’Connor Lloyd, who said the policy “undermines the entire work-study visa model that Ireland has in place”.

    It is difficult to see how a 120% increase in two years can be considered proportionate when the cost of living has risen just 2% annually
    Lorcan O’Connor Lloyd, English Education Ireland

    Stakeholders have also raised concerns around the short period of notice of just over 90 days, which means that students who have already paid, booked flights, and made arrangements will be forced to find an extra €2,000 or risk losing their place.

    EEI is therefore calling for an immediate pause and review of the policy, a transition period to protect students who have already booked, and a full consultation with the education sector moving forward.

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  • Korean reality TV showcases language learning in the UK

    Korean reality TV showcases language learning in the UK

    The series, premiering on February 5, was filmed at Bell English Schools’s Cambridge premisis in August 2025, which hosted Dong-Il Sung, Kwang-Kyu Kim, Ki-Jun Um, Hyuk Jang, and Seung-Hwan Shin for two weeks in August 2024.  

    The program, Shala Shala, follows the actors’ authentic experiences of learning English alongside other students, taking part in activities, and staying with host families and in Bell Cambridge’s on-campus residences.  

    “These are male, middle-aged actors who are famous in South Korea, but who have got to a certain point in their career and maybe they want to try more roles in English or maybe they want to travel personally with their families,” Rebecca Stead, head of marketing at Bell Educational Services told The PIE News. 

    “So, the premise of the show was that it’s never too late to late to learn English,” Stead added.  

    To make it as authentic as possible, 50 hidden cameras were set up around the school to capture the actors’ true experiences taking classes with Bell’s summer learners. 

    While Stead maintained that the actors were “great students”, the program’s trailer reveals a somewhat bumpy path to language learning success.  

    “It was a big operation and really interesting for us staff to see how a TV program is made, and the other students were really excited to have the actors around,” she added.  

    The premise of the show was that it’s never too late to late to learn English

    Rebecca Stead, Bell English

    With seven schools for adult students and young learners across the UK, Bell’s Cambridge institution is its flagship location offering year-round language courses to learners of all ages.  

    “We’ve got these beautiful gardens and traditional buildings, and it’s in Cambridge, which is such an attractive destination. It’s very much that quintessential image of what a lot of people from other countries imagine the UK to be like,” Stead noted.

    “Not only are we showcasing Bell but we’re also showcasing the UK and what a valuable experience it is to study and travel here, so hopefully it will be a positive thing for the industry as a whole.”  

    The program comes at a time of slowing recovery for the UK’s ELT sector, with levels likely to be a “new normal” for the sector, according to a recent report by English UK.  

    The program will be airing on YouTube as well as the South Korean television network JTBC on February 5, 2025.  

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