Professional development
Development is very important to BKC-IH. Every opportunity is used to train the staff in our school and help them to develop as language teachers.
Initial Arrival in Moscow
New teachers have a paid orientation period of two to three days (depending upon their prior teaching experience) in order to settle into the school and Moscow.
The orientation and training take place from Wednesday/Thursday to Friday. It serves as an introduction to the school and touches on teaching and training questions teachers might have.
During this period teachers are given:
- an overview of the school
- an introduction to the course books that we use in our schools
- a training session about teaching young learners and dealing with their specific issues
- an introduction to the exam classes we offer, with a special focus on FCE,
- a detailed explanation of all aspects of their teaching contract
- training on how to conduct placement tests.
- a brief tour of the our three bigger schools in the centre of Moscow
- Observations of our more experienced teachers. This will allow them to get an idea of what Moscow (and Russian) students are like and the communicative approach used in our school
After the orientation and training period teachers are free to enjoy their first weekend in Moscow.
Ongoing Training
"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Teaching our teachers...
Our commitment to teachers' professional development does not end with orientation. To maintain our position as the most respected language school in Moscow, all our teachers are regularly observed by our Directors of Studies and Assistant Directors of Studies.
We also have an active in-house training programme, consisting of regular monthly training seminars and teaching workshops on topics directly related to our teachers' needs. These seminars take place on the third Saturday of every month. Teachers are given a choice of about five one-hour seminar topics and they are free to select whichever one they feel most suits their individual teaching needs. As each of the five seminars is repeated, they can attend two seminars each month.
A list of seminar training topics for the last academic year can be seen by clicking here.
Keeping our teachers in the loop...
We also have a meeting before the seminars in order to inform our teachers about what's happening in the school and to get feedback from them. The teachers' meeting and the seminars are included in our teachers' non-teaching hours (approx. 10 academic hours per month) so in effect, teachers are being paid to attend these seminars and meetings. This financial commitment reflects how deeply BKC-IH believes in teacher development.
Furthermore, our teacher-training department offers many courses to further aid teacher development. We currently offer CELTA, DELTA, and IHCYL (International House Certificate in Teaching Young Learners) courses, and we are planning to expand in the future. As a BKC-IH teacher, you would enjoy a significant discount on these courses in Moscow.
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