The Language Academy

The Language Academy has a reputation for its commitment to teacher development. In just the last two years several teachers have obtained Cambridge CELTA, CELTYL, DELTA certificates through our sponsorship programme.

Observation Training

All our Directors and Senior Teachers attend a two-day intensive observation training session conducted by experienced teacher trainers from within the company. In addition to the the observation training session, less experienced observers ‘shadow’ experienced trainers before being given their own teacher observation schedules.

Core Seminars

Up to twelve core seminars are conducted by Directors and Senior Teachers throughout the year. The selection and approach of these seminars are informed by the observation groups and key areas needing work which have revealed themselves during observation feedback sessions. In addition to these considerations, teacher input is also sought using questionnaires and post-seminar feedback forms.

Additional Seminars & Grammar Workshops

A number of optional seminars and grammar workshops are also offered to teachers. In fact, this is where many less experienced teachers who want to enhance their development are asked to facilitate and/or conduct their own seminars and workshops. These seminars and workshops are highly influenced by teacher input and driven by teacher interest.

DELTA Sponsorships

DELTA sponsorships are offered to teachers who have not only proven themselves to capable of advancing their theoretical knowledge and practical teaching skills, but have also made a solid commitment to the course and show potential for future management considerations. Terms and conditions of DELTA sponsorships are decided on a 1-1 basis.

Some key features of our teacher development programme:

• Our Directors and Senior Teachers are available to teachers for guidance and support
• Observations groups are formed and based on teachers’ experience and career path
• Directors and Senior Teachers attend annual observation training sessions
• Core seminars are chosen and developed based on feedback from teacher observations
• Additional seminars and grammar workshops are run throughout the year
• DELTA sponsorships are offered to qualified teachers
• Internal promotion is highly valued

The Management Team

One thing that sets The Language Academy apart from many other private English language schools is that our Directors are also teachers. In this way, their experience, expertise and advice count for a lot more when teachers are in need of guidance and support.

Teacher Observation Groups

Teachers at The Language Academy are often at different levels in their career, come from a variety of educational backgrounds and have different career goals. Therefore, we have decided to change our observations schedule to account for some of these differences. Primarily, we have divided our teachers into three groups:

Post-CELTA

• teachers with CELTA certification
• less than three years Post-CELTA experience

Pre-DELTA

• teachers with CELTA certification
• more than three years Post-CELTA experience
• capable of advancing their theoretical knowledge and practical teaching skills
• committed to obtaining the DELTA certification

Post-DELTA

• teachers with DELTA certification

In this way, we can tailor our seminars to suit the needs and goals of our teachers. For example, seminars for Post-CELTA teachers intend to follow on from their CELTA courses with practical knowledge and skills which will prove useful to them in their day-to-day teaching and will help them get the most from their first few years teaching. Seminars for Pre-DELTA teachers take on a more theoretical approach to make teachers more self-aware of what they are doing and why and to prepare them for DELTA courses. Post-DELTA teachers are promoted to Senior Teacher and management positions, and are instrumental in developing the observation and seminar schedules for Post-CELTA and Pre-DELTA teachers.