INFORMATION FOR TEACHING APPLICANTS 2011-12
Via Sparano 102. Bari 70121, Italy
Tel: +39 (0)80 5232686 – Fax: +39 (0)80 5241349
email: johncredico@lordbyroncollege.com
INTRODUCTION
Lord Byron College was founded in 1973 and is now one of the largest private language schools in Italy, with a staff of over fifty qualified and experienced native English speakers, computer instructors, marketing and management trainers and native speaker teachers of French, Spanish, German and Italian for foreigners.
Our school has built up a very good reputation in Italy and the rest of Europe thanks to its proven commitment to high standards of professional teaching, competitive fees and free access to a varied programme of supplementary activities. As a learning organisation, our stated mission is “top quality low cost training for the personal and professional development of our students and staff”: our school has always been committed to our own teachers’ professional development through our programme of free in house training, particularly our free in-house Diploma course.
We are looking for reliable, motivated and adaptable teachers, British nationals or North American/Australian nationals with European Union passport, TEFL qualification and teaching experience. They should be career minded, able to work well in a team situation, and interested in upgrading their skills and qualifications. We offer an exceptional opportunity for professional and personal development in a supportive, professional environment.
LOCATION
Lord Byron College is located on the main pedestrian precinct in the centre of Bari, the regional capital of Apulia, a dynamic city of 600,000 people on the South Adriatic coast. Apulia is the Italian region with the cleanest sea and the longest coastline in the country. Bari is large enough to offer a variety of places to go to but small enough to move around in easily: it has the third largest university in Italy and hosts several important international trade fairs each year. The city boasts a lively, picturesque medieval old town with more than eighty pubs, restaurants and bars, and a well-equipped public beach and lido four kilometres long within walking distance of the city centre. Our region has some of the mildest weather in Italy and many interesting towns and places of interest just a short train journey from the city. Bari is less expensive than most Italian capital cities. A full meal with wine is usually under 20 euro and transportation costs are also very reasonable.
For further information on our city and region, see:
www.comune.bari.it
www.apulia.com
www.pugliaturismo.com/Inglese/default.asp
SCHOOL PREMISES AND QUALIFICATIONS
The four buildings occupied by Lord Byron College in the centre of Bari include 30 classrooms, large staff room, free internet and computer access and TEFL library, computer training centre with thirty networked online PCs with DVD, and a large self-study centre, where students have free access to the English library (2,000 books), English video club (400 films), multimedia library (300 hours of CD ROM activities), listening centre (300 hours of recorded practice) and our own cinema showing films in English throughout the school year. (for pictures of our school see www.lordbyroncollege.com)
Our school is authorised by the Italian Ministry of Education and is the only language school in Southern Italy accredited as a full member of EAQUALS, the prestigious European Association of Quality Language Services (www.eaquals.org) which only schools passing a rigorous inspection can join. Our ongoing commitment to teacher development is evidenced by the fact that for seven years we were course provider and test centre for the Trinity College London TESOL Licentiate Diploma for teachers of English as a foreign language and, for the past five years, for the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (UCLES DELTA, revised updated version of the RSA Diploma) (www.cambridge-efl.org/teaching/delta/index)
We are also one of the largest authorised test centres in Italy for the entire range of the UCLES examinations-Cambridge Young Learners, KET, PET, First Certificate, Cambridge Advanced, Proficiency and Business English Certificate (www.ucles.org.uk), as well as preparatory centre for the language examinations for the Associazione Dante Alighieri (Italian for Foreigners), Goethe Instituts (German) and Instituto Cervantes (Spanish). Lord Byron College has been a training centre for the American TOEFL examinations for over twenty-fiveyears and is now test centre for the internet based TOEFL examinations (www.ets.org/toefl) and the SAT examinations, as well as authorised test centre for the European Computer Driving License (www.ecdl.com). We are also testing centre for the IELTS examinations.
Five years ago, our school opened Backvoice; the first dubbing school and professional dubbing centre for film and television in South Italy, with year round courses taught by qualified experts in the field for future film and tv dubbers, voice over experts and film and tv translators and adaptors. Although relatively young and far from the dubbing centre of Rome, BackVoice has already made a name for itself, working on various important projects including Italian versions of awardwinning Irish short films, English versions of a children’s series for the national RAI television network, multilingual versions of historical documentaries and medical training courses and voice over and dubbing for well known Italian director Sergio Rubini’s recent film L’Uomo Nero. Seeing this exciting technique as an ideal vehicle for deepening language awareness and building motivation, during the school year, Lord Byron College gives all its language students (and teachers!) the opportunity to take part free of charge in a recorded voiceover dubbing session in the dubbing booth. And some of our own teachers have been trained to add their voices to some of BackVoice’s professional productions as well!
COURSE PROGRAMMES
Southern Italians are sociable and friendly, and make teaching a stimulating and dynamic experience. As a large well-established school, we have an incredibly broad spectrum of course programmes tailored for all ages and levels, from children and young adults to professionals and older adults, attending individual or group General English courses (normally 6-8 students), mainly in house but also tailor made ESP courses for various companies, government offices, the Air Force and Army as well as PON (European Union Funded Projects for Southern Italian State Schools) courses in the afternoons in state schools, the majority of which are leading to Cambridge exam qualifications. We cover the full range of levels recognised by the Council of Europe, from absolute beginner children to courses for professional translators and interpreters beyond Cambridge Proficiency level. Courses normally work from a set syllabus focusing on oral/aural fluency, including regular progress tests and ending with certification according to the European framework. There is a main course book and suggested resources for each level. (This year’s main course books include the New English File series, Intelligent Business, ibTOEFL and the Gold and Ready For series for Proficiency, CAE and FCE, as well as the Stardust and Solutions series for younger students). We actively encourage our students to make full use of our well equipped self access centre, where they have free access to all the numerous facilities in the study centre mentioned above, and can also choose to do an extra twenty hour group course of either Business English, English Fluency Practice, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Computer skills, or Marketing and Management, completely free of charge.
CONDITIONS
We are currently interviewing for full time teaching positions for the five month period from January to June 2012 with the possibility of extending the period of employment into the summer period according to the school’s staff requirements. Although as a seasonal operation we cannot guarantee full hours and salary during the period from July to September we do run courses throughout the year and have excellent contacts with a number of British Council authorised summer schools in Britain who regularly hire our teachers during the summer months as teachers and course directors.
Teachers are available for a maximum of 27.5 or 29.5 hours a week according to contract: all staff meetings, DELTA and teacher development training meetings and feedback sessions and standby hours are seen as normal working hours and are counted as part of this weekly total. Teachers doing pre DELTA development have one 90 minute meeting per week for the first part of the school year, then becoming one 90 minute every two weeks. DELTA course participants have one two hour meeting per week.
The school offers lessons in the mornings, afternoons and evenings, mainly on the school premises. Teachers work a rationally organised timetable including mainly afternoons and evenings with some mornings as well. The working week is normally Monday to Friday, although teachers may be asked to teach for a maximum of four Saturday mornings throughout the entire period of employment, in all cases without going over the established maximum of weekly hours. If both parties are agreed, the contract can be renewed for a second term.
Salary and benefits
For the period indicated, teachers receive a net all inclusive sum of 900 euro per month for 27.5 hours per week, with national insurance and pension scheme payments also covered by the school. Alternatively, teachers can opt for a 29.5 hour per week contract, again including meeting hours, for which they will receive 1,000 euro net per month. Additional travel compensation is calculated for teachers handling courses in the outlying city suburbs and outside of the city, and these teachers are also reimbursed for all documented bus or train expenses required to reach these locations.
UK nationals sign UK contracts with all benefits transferable to the UK. Non UK nationals sign equivalent Italian contracts. Included in the five month package are a Carnival break from February 18 to 21st, an Easter break from April 5th to April 11th, and national holidays on November 1, December 8, April 25th, June 2nd and May 1st. Recognising the important role of L1 in a learner-based programme of learning (and the need to integrate quickly into the new environment), our school also gives all teachers the opportunity to participate free of charge in a course of Italian once a week throughout the school year.
Ryanair flies daily from Stansted to Bari, and Alitalia and British Airways also have regular flights. All UK teachers need to bring their European Health card.
Accommodation assistance
Bari is a university city, and decent accommodation at reasonable rates is not easy to find. We have managed to establish and maintain a good rapport with local landlords over the years, and for all new teachers we find well located accommodation in single rooms sharing furnished flats in walking distance from the school at monthly rates of about 250 euro plus shared water, gas, condominium and electricity costs, with the possibility of extending into the summer months at the same rate. Contracts are signed with the landlord directly by the teachers and require payment of first month plus refundable damage deposit equal to one month’s rent at beginning of stay.
IN-HOUSE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
We want your stay with Lord Byron College to be rewarding and memorable. Regardless of their TEFL experience, all of our teachers are given the opportunity and encouragement to improve their skills in a supportive learning environment. Teachers have free internet access, as well as access to a large selection of TEFL resource books, course books and materials, a library of over 200 TEFL methodology books and TEFL journals, and receive ongoing support from our team of senior teachers, all of whom gained their DELTA Diplomas through our own in house courses. There are regular observation, tutorial and feedback sessions and great attention is paid to new teachers’ progress throughout the school year. Our in-house training concentrates on upgrading the overall quality of our teaching service for the benefit of our students and teachers. Training sessions are in all cases seen as paid working hours, carefully integrated into the working week, and graded according to the experience and needs of the teacher. At the end of their Lord Byron experience, all of our teachers, regardless of their initial level of experience, the skills, acquire the creative skills, knowledge and confidence to move ahead in their chosen career, backed up by a solid reference from one of the largest and most well established language institutions in Europe.
1) for teachers with fewer than 1200 hours teaching experience:
PRE DIPLOMA DEVELOPMENT COURSE
For teachers starting their careers in TEFL, our school offers an important added value programme: a free, practical and involving course of fortnightly teacher development meetings and training sessions alternating with guided individual planning and observation sessions, feedback meetings and peer observation, designed to help the new teacher improve teaching skills and gain confidence in the classroom. This preparatory course lasts a total of forty hours and aims to bridge the gap between Certificate standards and those required to start a Diploma course. If these teachers choose to do so, they will have acquired the necessary skills and expertise to confidently start the full Diploma course in the following year.
2) for teachers with at least 1200 hours teaching experience:
RSA DELTA DIPLOMA COURSE
For the past eleven years, our school has been a recognised preparation and examination centre for internationally recognised Diploma examinations, which are held at our school each year. The course includes over 120 contact hours in addition to guided self study, written assignments and observation and involves an average of two to three hours per week during the period from October to May for the two academic years. The course has been created in strict accordance with UCLES DELTA specifications in a series of weekly workshops, seminars, lectures, study groups and tutorials designed to help our teachers bridge the important gap between Certificate and Diploma teaching standards and successfully complete all parts of the Diploma qualification by the end of their second year.
As mentioned above, the cost of this two year course is 1,100 euro for teachers not employed by our school (in Britain an equivalent course costs well over £1,200 ) excluding final examination fees. Our own teachers who have sufficient TEFL experience when they begin working with us can take advantage of this unique opportunity to apply to take part in this in-house Diploma training course completely free of charge. As mentioned above, all Diploma meetings, scheduled observation sessions and feedback encounters with observers and trainers are calculated as paid working hours as part of the normal working week. Teachers who successfully complete the 120 hour course and all of the written assignments can register for the DELTA examinations and are required to pay only the examination fees. Teachers who pass the DELTA examinations and are contracted to stay on with the Lord Byron College for a third school year will be reimbursed by the school at the end of their third year for the DELTA examination fees.
We are the only language school in Europe (and probably anywhere else) to offer our own teachers this unique opportunity and, in spite of the considerable costs and time involved, we are committed to this programme because we believe in the importance of professional development and training for our teachers, to help them move ahead in their careers.
Only 5% of all EFL teachers have a Diploma qualification, because the costs of this certification are beyond the reach of most EFL teachers. It is no longer possible to prepare for the Licentiate Diploma by distance learning so teachers either need to take time off work and pay a large amount of money for a rushed, five week course with the added costs of accommodation in England, or else find work near enough to a recognised Diploma training centre and do a part time course over at least a year, again paying for an equally expensive programme, usually on their own with little or no support.
Our teachers are given the unique opportunity to prepare for the RSA DELTA Diploma qualification free of charge, over a period of two academic years, in a supportive working environment, without having to take time off or pay expensive accommodation and course fees. They have access to a complete TEFL theory resource library and can take full advantage of being part of a team preparing for the examination together. Results our teachers have achieved reflect this advantage: we have been congratulated on more than one occasion by external examiners for the standards achieved by our candidates, and we have had a very high pass rate over the past seven years. Thirty of our teachers, many of them young and with only a years’ teaching experience when they starting the course with us, have so far successfully completely exam requirements for their Diploma qualification at the end of their second year with us, several with distinction.
These teachers have since taken full advantage of the benefits of being part of the small percentage of Diploma qualified EFL teachers by successfully applying for excellent, well paying full time positions with the British Council and in prominent schools in the UK and abroad as full time teachers in both private and state sectors, directors of studies, centre managers, senior teachers and teacher trainers, as well as careers in publishing, human resources and in a whole range of private and government positions, aided by a solid teaching background in our internationally recognised language institution and the DELTA qualification .
As a teaching and learning organisation, our school is committed to helping all our teachers, whether starting out or experienced, to upgrade their professional skills and further their careers by offering a productive and practical training and learning environment as an integral part of their period of employment with our school .
Please note that teachers interested in participating in the in house DELTA course must complete a DELTA admission test, on the basis of which the school will determine the suitability of the teacher to take part in the DELTA programme.
AN EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR PROFESSIONAL AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
written comments from some of our teachers from the past two years:
“Thank you for your continual support and trust in me.” Jessica F.
“Thank you for a great year. It has been a fantastic experience for me.” Aileen F.
I’ve learnt a lot about teaching and about myself. “Kirsty S.
My experience at Lord Byron has helped put my future teaching career on the right track”. Julie G
Thank you for all of the opportunities provided, particularly the pre Diploma course and the Italian lessons I’m sure that all I have learnt here will be of great use in the future.” Sarah M.
“I have enjoyed my time here tremendously and found Lord Byron College to be a well run and very professional school” James E
“I will recommend this school to anyone who should express an interest in teaching in Italy and developing as a teacher” Samuel D
“This year has provided me with valuable experience and enabled me to develop and enhance my own teaching skills within a friendly and supportive environment.” Joanna S.
“I had a great experience and will miss it. I am especially grateful for the chance to study for the DELTA and Cambridge exams, but most of all I will miss the wonderful people–both staff and students.” Laura L.
Congratulations
to our teachers who successfully completed the two year UCLES DELTA diploma course and received their DELTA Diploma:
Nicky Martin, Rachel Applegate, Jennifer Williams, Jenan Ismail, Malcolm Davies, Katy Crowson, Jacosta VonAchten, Mark Elliott, Stephen Howard, Zoe Robson, Laura Gerrard, Alison Millar, Sarah Morse, Laura Laubache (distinction), Becky Wright (distinction), Rebecca Palmer, Caroline Oakley (distinction) and Amy Spearman (distinction).
and congratulations
to Kiri Wood and Jonathan Ingham (with distinction) who passed Module One of the Modular DELTA in 2009, to Pippa Simmons who received her DELTA qualification in June 2010 and to Lucy Nichols who passed Module One in 2011.
and congratulations
to former teachers Mark Brooke (Diploma qualified at our school) on his teaching appointment with British Council, Hong Kong , Rachel Applegate for her London DOS posting, Jenan Ismail, who completed her PGCE course in England, Mark Elliott and Jacosta VonAchten for their teaching posting and acceptance for Masters programme at Bilkent University, Ankara and Alison Millar for her career in EFL publishing.
If you would like to apply for a teaching post at our school, please complete the following application and send it as a Word attachment along with scans of your passport, a recent photograph, your full c.v. with emails for two teaching related references, your degree and TEFL certification to: johncredico@lordbyroncollege.com.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
LORD BYRON COLLEGE
TEACHING APPLICATION FORM: 2012
FULL NAME:
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:
NATIONALITY: MARITAL STATUS:
PERMANENT ADDRESS:
CONTACT ADDRESS:
CONTACT CELLPHONE, HOME TELEPHONE AND EMAIL:
KNOWLEDGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES (specify languages and level of proficiency):
FOR THE FOLLOWING THREE QUESTIONS PLEASE ANSWER YES OR NO, AND IF NO PLEASE GIVE DETAILS:
Do you have any disabilities or medical problems that may affect your teaching performance?
Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offence?
Are you for any reason prohibited from teaching underage students and/or children?
Which of the following in house training programmes are you interested in partecipating in at our school year? (please choose one: nb–minimum 1,200 teaching hours experience are required to participate in the DELTA course) GENERAL PRE DIPLOMA TEACHER DEVELOPMENT or UCLES DELTA DIPLOMA COURSE
Signed: Date:
PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1) Please describe briefly your TEFL experience and total TEFL teaching hours to date: for your most significant and recent positions, briefly describe your duties, levels handled, werekly working hours, main coursebooks used and general level of job satisfaction.
2) What do you consider your strengths as an EFL teacher? What weaknesses are you aware of in your teaching that you would like to overcome?
3) What attracted you to this position at our school?
4) What are your career aims?
5) The following short passage was written by an Italian student of English. Identify and describe five main grammar areas of difficulty, then create a forty-five minute lesson plan for a group of Italian Intermediate level learners, focusing on one of two of these areas.
Last evening I have made a tremendous nightmare. I am found myself into a station of a town to me not known. I was just descending off the train when I have been approached by two policemen that asked to me the documents in a way enough intimidating. Therefore I have begun to search them in the pockets, in the bag and in the suitcase, first with calm, then with anxiety also because I have seen that was not the my suitcase. When I was awake my heart is beating for me so strong that it was necessary some minutes before that I would understand that all has been a dream.
