A Look Back at Modern Languages Conference 2011

Recently we sat down with Vicens Colomer, Assistant Director of the Modern Language Department at IH London, to talk about the fifth annual Modern Languages Conference (MoLaCo) on 12 November 2011. 

With separate workshops for Arabic, French, Italian and Spanish teachers, this year turned out to MoLaCo's busiest yet. There were nearly 150 delegates, with several from abroad, at IH London's school in Covent Garden for the conference.
 

Can you tell us about the different workshops this year?

This year we had four workshops running simultaneously - one for each language - with the whole programme in the target language. 

The conference programme for each language included both presentations from expert speakers and a chance for discussion. We had some fantastic guests!
 

IH London Directors on the road in Egypt

IH London is part of a network of schools that make up the International House World Organisation (IHWO). Last month, two of our directors travelled to Cairo for the IHWO Directors’ Conference and Agents' Workshop. The conference was held in the historic Palace Al Gezira, built for guests who attended the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

IH London Director Steve Brent attended the Directors' Conference - a good opportunity for schools to share ideas and discuss future plans for the organisation. There was also time to discover some of Egypt's ancient civilisation, and Steve is pictured above visiting the Pyramids.

Duncan Jackman, our Business and Marketing Director, attended the very successful Agents’ Workshop, which is a chance to meet agents from all over the world. He is pictured on the right with the Sphinx (the Sphinx is the one without the nose).

Farewell!

Dear Bloggers,

This is going to be one of my last posts for the IH London blog as I will be leaving to start a new role at a school in Tanzania (the east coast of Africa) in March, for a charity called the Cicely Foundation. I might also be working on an English scholarship scheme in Palestine so watch this space...!

These are two very different countries and very different roles but I am sure that both projects will be just as rewarding as each other. I am going to miss International House London so much! It's been great working with so many lovely teachers, and of course let's not forget the students! My favourite memories of my time here have to include meeting students from all over the world, hearing their stories about life in their own country, watching them form long term friendships and of course being a part of their excellent progression in English...

This will not be the last of the blog however.... on the contrary! It is only the start of what I hope will be an interesting and useful site.

For those of you staying at IH London, continue the good work, but if like me you are going on to something new, then keep in touch and follow this blog wherever you might be...

Goodbye!

Lucy

Introducing IH London

Hi everyone,

Welcome to International House London's first foray into the unfamiliar world of blogging. I'm Sarah, the Online Marketing Manager at IH London. We're a teacher training and language school in central London, a few minutes' walk from Covent Garden.

International House London has been around for about 50 years, so we're pretty well established. We teach English to students from around the world; train English language teachers and modern European language teachers; run evening classes in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic; run cultural training programmes; teach professional English to business people; and run foundation courses for overseas students wanting to go to a British university.

I'll be using this blog to talk more about International House London - what sort of courses we offer, what it's like to be a student here, our teaching methods, and of course the social scene!

I'll end with a reminder about our modern languages evening classes. The next and final intake for 2009 is next week. You can take a 'survival' course over 5 weeks - where we teach complete beginners the basics of a language. Or you can take an 'academic' course over 11 weeks, which covers vocab and grammar in more detail. Academic courses start at beginner level, and go up to advanced speakers. Classes are small - generally 5 or 6 in a group, so you get lots of personal attention.

At the moment we have 10% off any of our language courses starting next week. You just need to use the code MLAP4 when booking online through our website.

The nights are drawing in and it's becoming a bit too chilly to spend evenings in the park after work. The perfect time to start learning a new language, or to brush up on a language you learnt at school or university. I for one will be starting an elementary German course next week. Hope to see you there!