Teacher training open afternoon

Find the language teacher training course that is best for you and discover where a teacher training qualification could take you.

Our next Teacher Training open afternoon of 2014 is 16.15 - 18.15 on Wednesday 12 March. 

   

If you’re interested in training as a language teacher or looking to build on your current teaching knowledge come a long to our Teacher Training open session to find out more about how IH London can help you.

IH London teacher training open afternoon includes:

• A demonstration lesson
• A video viewing of a lesson at IH London
• A tour of the school
• A Q & A session with refreshments

IH London runs training courses for teachers training to teach English as a second language, teachingEuropean languages to non-native speakers and current teachers looking to improve their existing skills and develop new techniques to progress their career.

The teacher training open afternoon takes place at our Covent Garden language school, topics covered include:

• Why take a teacher training course
• The benefits of a Cambridge ESOL Certificate (CELTA) or Certificate in Teaching Languages to Adults (CLTA) at International House London
• What IH London can offer over other teacher training schools?
• What career prospects are there for English language teachers (ELT)?

Training to teach your native language

Having a recognised language teaching qualification can open up teaching options all over the world. 

Whilst not all language schools and training centres insist their teachers have university degrees or even A’ Levels, most will expect teachers to be trained in the teaching of language.

CELTA

CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults)  is the most popular teacher training course for those planning to teach English. It’s also the most demanding!

Many CELTA candidates say that the training was more intense than they’d expected – often recommending that prospective CELTA trainees put as much of their lives on hold as they can while training.

They also say it’s an incredibly rewarding and stimulating experience, providing them with the confidence and skills needed to start teaching.

Acceptance onto a CELTA course is conditional upon completion of an application task, a language awareness task and an interview. 

IH TESOL

If you’re not ready for CELTA training then the IH TESOL ((Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) has a less rigorous assessment process, applications are submitted in writing and there is no face-to-face interview, but it is still highly regarded by many language teaching centres. 

Designed for non-native English speakers who would like to teach English as a foreign language, or those who have a lower level of proficiency in English than required for CELTA training, the IH TESOL offers the same training as CELTA.

What training involves

Teacher training at IH London provides you with a toolbox of practical teaching techniques: From course planning to classroom resources to professional development.

Training will give you strategies for developing language analysis, enable you to see language from the learner’s perspective and help you understand your own use of language (including the rules of grammar).

As part of the training you will both observe and teach English language students in a classroom under the supervision of your trainer. This will be followed by group analysis of your performance in class.

Meet the teacher trainers and take a tour of our school

Book a place on our Teacher Training open afternoon on-line or stop by our Covent Garden language school at 16.15 and reception will point you in the right direction.

If you can’t make the 15 January our open days continue in 2014 on the following dates, between 16.15 – 18.15:

·         12 March 2014

·         21 May 2014

·         16 July 2014

·         10 September 2014

·         5 November 2014

Or find out more about teacher training on the International House London's website

Corporate social responsibility at IH London

With corporate social responsibility in the news, we asked Alex Hammond from ESL Language Travel which promotes sustainable development within the language education industry, to take a look at what we’re doing at IH London.

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The phrase ‘sustainable development’ probably brings to mind environmental issues. It’s hard to miss the huge debates going on internationally about combating global warming, reducing carbon emissions and energy extraction. But the ideas of sustainable development extend beyond the physical environment and ‘green’ issues. For businesses, sustainability is often divided under three headings: environmental, social and economic.

E-moderating: learning to train and teach online

Since launching last year, our online E-moderating training has become one of our most popular short online teacher training courses. The course is designed for CELTA Tutors who wish to become Online Course Tutors on the new Online CELTA programme - or for any ELT professionals who wish to develop their skills and awareness of how to teach online.

With our next course starting 6 May, we thought it was a good time to catch up with previous course participant Ana. 

In this interview Ana, who is based in Madrid, tells us about her experience and how her view of online training has changed. 

If you are interested in joining our next course visit the E-moderating course page for more information about how to apply.

Our Guide to IH London at IATEFL 2012

This week is the 46th Annual IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) Conference and Exhibition in Glasgow, Scotland. After the first morning of pre-conference events Twitter is already buzzing with reports from delegates about some fascinating sessions (search for #iatefl).

So far, we've been especially proud to see lots of praise for IH London teacher and trainer Chia Suan Chong who is part of the Business English Special Interest Group. We're looking forward to catching up with her about her research and presentation on 'English as a Lingua Franca – what should we be teaching?' after the conference.

With a whole week of TEFL talk to come, here's our guide to IH London at IATEFL. 

Celebrating 50 Years of Teacher Training

In 1962 International House London introduced the world's first teacher training qualification for English language teaching (ELT). Now we are one of the largest ELT training centres in the world - and celebrating 50 years of training in 2012!

The origin of the CELTA at IH London

IH London's original training course was the basis for the Royal Society of Arts/University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate qualification in the teaching of English as a foreign language to adults. More recently, this became the Cambridge CELTA or Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults, which is the most recognised ELT qualification worldwide.

An advert for the original teacher training course

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!
 

Your essential introduction to Wikis and more

There's still time to apply for the Blended Cert ICT course at IH London starting on 15 October. Leading up to the course, we're sharing tips and advice to help you use ICT more effectively in the classroom.

One of the many great things about this course is that each week’s tasks, and the tools you are introduced to, are built on the skills you’ve learned in previous sessions.

In our last post about the Blended Cert ICT course we talked about what’s covered in Module One, which takes up the first five sessions of the face-to-face portion of the course.

Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll learn how to do during the first half of Module Two, which is also delivered in the F2F classroom:

• How to supercharge your Internet searching skills, allowing you and your students to find the right resources for what you need more quickly
  
• How to make quick and easy podcasts that add value and fun to your teaching
  
• How to make the most of Web 2.0 tools such as social bookmarking, social networking (even if you’re not already using it, your students probably are!)
  
• How to create WebQuests that will have your students practicing their language skills as well as getting valuable “real world” online experience
  
• How to use various types Blogs and Wikis with your learners
  

All about Wikis

Wikis are a great tool for collaborative and process writing, and are easily one of the most popular “I’m so glad I now know how to use them” tools of the course. Not sure what a wiki is?

Here’s an essential overview …



Wikis are easy to set up, a doddle to administer, and are arguably one of the most versatile tools that you’ll end up with in your ICT toolbox. They end up being a one-stop shopping place where teachers can collaborate with students: delivering information and having learners produce (and hone) their own language, keeping a record of first drafts, edits and corrections (from the teacher and/or peer correction).

How to join the course

Learn more about Blended Cert ICT or contact Colin Paton our head of eLearning, with any questions.

Spaces are filling up for the course starting on 15 October. Book now to get your spot!

Missed our Blended Cert ICT taster session? Here's a quick catch up!

In case you didn't make it along to our session taster this week, here are some of the essential facts we learned about the upcoming Blended Cert ICT course at IH London:

• It's currently the only teaching with technology course certified by Trinity College.
• Teachers who take the course range from recent CELTA grads looking to continue their education to Directors of Studies who want to implement more technology in their schools. There is truly something for everyone on this course.
• You don't need any previous technical knowledge, and even IT wizards who take it have always ended up with some new tricks up their sleeves.
• There are three modules to the course, the first of which is taught completely face-to-face. Module One includes:
• Keeping your computers safe (nobody likes a virus)
• Understanding different kinds of file formats (do you know your MP4s from your WMVs? your JPGs from your GIFs?)
• Working with images (how do you get that high-res picture off your digital camera to fit on a web page?)
• Using audio (hey, that might come in handy for pron practice ... hmmmm)
• Video (can I really use free, low-tech tools to teach in my classroom? -- Yes! See below)

Get your teaching toolbox ready!

The above animation is just one of the many free, easily accessible tools you'll have in your "teaching toolbox" at the end of the course, and that toolbox gets a little more full after every session. One of the best things about the Blended Cert ICT is that it's very practical and very hands on. Every week you'll have new ways to quickly and easily add a little technology to your teaching, whether it be to spice up an existing lesson or keep a running online record with your students of what they've covered over the duration of the course.

More tips and examples from the course coming over the next few weeks.

How to join the next course

Learn more about the Blended Cert ICT course and apply online or contact Colin Paton, our Head of eLearning, with your questions.

The next course starts on 15 October and spaces are filling up. Book now to make sure you don't miss out.

Learn new skills for the classroom with Blended Cert ICT

Our Blended Cert ICT course begins on 15 October and applications are open now. Over the next few weeks we'll be posting tips and advice about using ICT in the classroom to give you an idea of what the course involves.

If you're thinking of applying, don't miss the free taster session tomorrow, Tuesday 6 September at IH London, when you'll have an opportunity to find out more about the Blended Cert ICT course and qualification and ask your questions.

Your introduction to the course

Check out the Voki below to find out some more about the course and what's happening over the next few weeks:



The course will introduce you to blogs, wikis and podcasting while you also learn how to use other simple, easily accessible, and FREE technology tools (eg, WebQuests, electronic assessments, videos, social media) that you will be able to immediately incorporate into your lessons.

The course is designed for both the novices and those with a more technical know-how who want to add to their toolboxes of classroom tips and tricks.

What to do next

Find out more about the taster session on 6 September.

Get full details about the Blended Cert ICT course and how to apply.