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The Irish Department of Justice has confirmed reforms it laid out in May for Ireland鈥檚 international educators will come into force this month, including the publication of an updated list of providers eligible to accept international students.

The LondonSchool Group, which operates ELT centres in the UK, has opened a new arm of the business, the London School of International Communication, it has announced this month. LSIC offers in-company training as well as public courses.

English UK is championing a new report which has found that the UK鈥檚 ELT sector generated 拢1.2bn in export earnings in 2014, supporting some 26,500 jobs. But business is getting tougher, and younger, a separate report and panel discussion has revealed.

As of next year, learning English language will be compulsory for state primary school students in Mexico, in a bid to better prepare students for a globalised world and encourage more students to study abroad.

New College Group has a new school site in Liverpool to complement its Manchester school. A focus on tech-linked learning and courting the corporate market will ensure the ELT company stands out in the marketplace, it says.

The chief executive of English UK, Eddie Byers, passed away suddenly this week the organisation has announced. Byers, 48, began his role in February 2014 after a position at the British Council.

English language providers in Ireland are enjoying a boom in numbers, as anecdotal reports from Marketing English in Ireland show 2015 is set to be a year of growth, after a 3% fall in student numbers last year.

The International Education Association of Australia鈥檚 plans to create a robust agent code of ethics are underway after receiving government funding for the second stage of development.

Steve Phillips, Head of UK Schools at the Eurocentres Foundation will replace Sarah Cooper as chair of the board of directors at English UK. Phillips has been vice-chair of the organisation since December 2014.

After a tough summer of economic drops in key student markets and heavy discounting, discussions at the ICEF Berlin workshop this month were dominated by serious concerns from ELT operators about the next 12 months.

Recent closures among UK-based English language schools, including Anglo European School of English, Callan School London and inlingua Cardiff, underline tense trading conditions in the sector.

The Bournemouth branch of English language school chain British Study Centres is set to close, with the owner, Simon Cleaver, citing market conditions as playing a role in the decision to close the centre.

Victoria will celebrate the contribution of international education at next month鈥檚 prestigious Victorian International Education Awards, and 17 international students and 19 education providers have been profiled as finalists.

The quality of English language teaching globally is being compromised by corporate exam providers, and the role of teachers is being squeezed by more cost effective, technology driven alternatives ELT experts have said.

The Quality Assurance in Language Education Network, a worldwide network of English language accreditation bodies, has officially launched its website and branding this month, following a symposium in Malta. The developments put the organisation on track to create a forum for sharing best practice and comparing accreditation systems used in different countries.