Teaching opportunities
2021-22
WHETHER YOU ARE JUST STARTING IN TEFL OR ALREADY AN ESTABLISHED TEACHER, BUILD YOUR SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS AND GAIN THE RANGE OF EXPERIENCE YOU NEED FOR YOUR CAREER AT LORD BYRON COLLEGE, DEDICATED TO QUALITY TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1972
Lord Byron College was founded forty-eight years ago and is now one of the largest private language schools in Italy, with a staff of over fifty native English teachers in addition to native speaker teachers of French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Arabic and Italian as a Foreign Language. computer instructors and dubbing experts. With around 2,000 students of all ages, levels and backgrounds attending every year, teachers, both new and established are given the unique opportunity to gain valuable experience with an incredible range of courses , including every imaginable type of programme from Young Learners and nine level fluency building to exam preps for all major certifications, English for Special Purposes and intensive one to ones. No matter what you have been teaching so far, at Lord Byron you will be able to fill the gaps in your experience.
Our school has built up an excellent 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 both for starting teachers and more experienced teachers, with our free in-house teacher development course and free DELTA Diploma course.
We are looking for motivated and career minded EFL teachers with native level English, degree, European Union passport, TEFL qualification and teaching experience for employment for the period from October 2021 to June 2022 with possibility of extension. Unfortunately for the time being we cannot consider American, Canadian, Australian or British applicants who do not have European Union passports or EU work permits. if you are career minded, able to work well in a team situation, and interested in upgrading your skills, experience and qualifications fast 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 number one tourist destination for Italian tourists and has recently become a top destination for foreign tourism as well, with its picturesque towns and villages, excellent local cuisine and miles of beautiful unspoiled coastline. Bari is large enough to offer a variety of thing to do 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 and transportation costs are also very reasonable. For further information on our city and region, check out these websites:
www.comune.bari.it
www.apulia.com
www.pugliaturismo.com/Inglese/default.asp
www.viaggiareinpuglia.it
OUR QUALIFICATIONS
Lord Byron College is authorised by MIUR, the Italian Ministry of Education and since 1996 has been the only language school in Southern Italy accredited as a full member of EAQUALS, the leading professional association for language education throughout the world (www.eaquals.org) with membership restricted to schools passing rigorous regular inspections. 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 ten years, for the Cambridge English DELTA Diploma. We are also one of the largest authorised test centres in Italy for the entire range of the Cambridge English Assessment examinations-Cambridge Young Learners, KET, PET, First Certificate, Cambridge Advanced, Proficiency., TKT and Business English Certificate (www.cambridgeenglish.org) as well as preparatory centre for all certifications for major European languages. Lord Byron College is the only language school in Italy accredited as test centre for all three of the major international certifications–Cambridge English and IELTS both paper based and computer delivered (https://it.ielts-europe.org/) and has been a testing centre for the American TOEFL examinations for over thirty-five years (www.ets.org/toefl). We are also authorised test centre for the SAT examinations and for the European Computer Driving License (www.ecdl.com). Many of our courses are focused on preparation for these international qualifications and we examine several thousand candidates each year.
In 2005, 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. Our dubbing centre has already made a name for itself, working on various important projects including Italian versions of award winning 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, audiobooks for the blind and dubbing for well known Italian director Sergio Rubini’s 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 our dubbing centre’s professional productions as well!
COURSE PROGRAMMES
Southern Italians are sociable and friendly, and make teaching a stimulating and dynamic experience. Teachers appreciate the unparalled range of course and levels taught at Lord Byron. As a large well-established school, we have an incredibly broad spectrum of course programmes tailored for all ages and levels, from very young children and young adults to professionals and older adults, attending intensive and extensive individual and group General English courses ( normally 5-10 students), mainly in house but also tailor made ESP courses for various companies, government offices, the Air Force and Army as well as some PON (European Union Funded Projects for Southern Italian State Schools) courses 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 from one of the major ELT publishers and suggested resources for each level. 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 focusing on exam skills, Business English, Mastering Oral Skills in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese and Computer skills, and, for children and teens, making their own movie in English, all completely free of charge.
During the initial Covid lockdown, we successfully transferred nearly 2,000 students of all ages and on all levels from classroom to online lessons with Zoom Professional and will be continuing to offer this option along with classroom lessons for the coming school year: students will be able to choose to do their lessons either in class or online or in the hybrid classroom/online format. Our online courses have attracted students from all parts of Italy and from other European countries as well. Teachers new to this system will be trained up by our senior staff who have two years’ experience with online teaching, and they will have a wealth of online resources to choose from.
CONDITIONS
We are currently interviewing for full time teaching positions for the period from October 2021 to mid June 2022 with the possibility of extension.
Teachers are contracted for a maximum of 29.5 hours a week. Included in these hours are all teaching hours, stand by on call hours and 1.5-2 hours paid training hours per week. We are one of the few if not the only language school anywhere that budgets into the weekly school timetable 50 standby on call hours, the equivalent of two full time teachers, so each time slot has a teacher available in case of an illness or need to cover, without needing to call a teacher to come in at the last minute. We do lessons from Monday to Friday from 930am to 1945 and Saturdays from 9am to 1315. Lessons are set out set out in blocks of around five hours a day spread out rationally from Monday to Friday and on Saturday mornings, mainly on the school premises but with some hours in state school afternoon PON projects. Teachers teaching Saturday mornings will not start on Mondays before 2pm. Teachers will have a mix of group and individual lessons. With 35 classrooms and 12 levels we are able to insure a high degree of level uniformity in our groups while at the same time offering teachers the unique opportunity to experience a broad range of levels.
All staff meetings, DELTA and teacher development training meetings and standby “on call” hours are seen as normal paid working hours and are counted as part of this weekly total. Teachers doing Teacher Development training sessions have one 90 minute meeting per week. DELTA course participants have one two-hour meeting per week. We are presently working on developing a school blog and all teachers will be asked to make at least one contribution during the school year. Teachers will also participate in school social events during the year as part of their working hours.
SALARY AND BENEFITS
For the period indicated, the standard salary for teachers is 1,100 euro per month net, with salaries paid monthly in arrears on the 5th of each month. Teachers selected for the position of senior teacher receive €1,200 net per month.
We also do some courses in state schools and companies. Additional travel time compensation is calculated for courses in the outlying city suburbs and outside of the city as normal hourly pay, and these teachers are also reimbursed for all documented bus or train expenses required to reach these locations. In addition, teachers who take part in the two-year DELTA training programme and complete all three modules within two years amd decide to stay on for a third year will receive an increase in salary and be reimbursed for their DELTA exam fees.
All teachers need to bring their European Health card, their passport and a laptop computer.
TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION AND ASSISTANCE
Ryanair and Easyjet fly direct from the UK to Bari, and Alitalia and British Airways also have regular flights. Bari is a university city, and decent accommodation at reasonable rates is not always 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 centrally located accommodation in single rooms sharing furnished flats a short walking distance from the school at monthly rates of about 260 euro plus shared water, gas, condominium and electricity costs, with the possibility of extending into the summer months at the same rate., or a limited number of studio flats at around 400-450 euro monthly plus bills. Contracts are signed with the landlord directly by the teachers and require teachers to make payment of first month plus refundable damage deposit equal to one month’s rent at beginning of stayor alternatively payment of the first and final month when moving in.
INDUCTION WEEK: New teachers will participate in an induction programme under the guidance of our senior staff in the week prior to starting lessons. This year’s induction week will be from Thursday 23 to Wednesday 29 September.
HOLIDAYS AND ITALIAN LESSONS:
We offer a generous package of 31 days paid holidays: Friday 29/10 to Monday 1/11, Wednesday 8/12, Monday 20/12 to Thursday 6/1, Friday 25/2 to Tuesday 1/3, Thursday 14/4 to Tuesday 19/4, Monday 25/4, Thursday 2/6.
Recognising the important role of L1 in a learner-based programme of teaching (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.
BECOMING A CAMBRIDGE SPEAKING EXAMINER: Lord Byron College is one of the largest test centres for Cambridge English in Italy, with over 3,000 candidates tested by our team of Cambridge speaking examiners both on the premises and in state schools throughout the year. All of our teachers are trained up as invigilators for these examinations, and those with three years’ teaching experience and CELTA or equivalent are also trained up as Cambridge Speaking Examiners, receiving an International Cambridge examiner code number that remains with them permanently and a special salary rate for all oral examining which is equivalent to more than double the normal hourly teaching rate. Although there are sessions running throughout the year, our Cambridge speaking examiners are particularly busy with examinations during the months of May and June, with most taking home a sizeable bonus packet for these examining hours at the end of June.
IN-HOUSE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: AN EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR PROFESSIONAL AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT:
Our mission gives equal importance to in house training for both students and teachers. We want our teachers’ stay with Lord Byron College to be rewarding and memorable and to give them the experience they need to move ahead in their teaching career. Regardless of their TEFL experience, all of our teachers are given the opportunity and encouragement to improve their skills in a supportive learning environment with a carefully planned training programme as an integral part of their teaching week. Teachers use widely recognised coursebooks and have free internet access, as well as access to a large selection of TEFL resource books, supplementary course books and materials, a library of over 200 TEFL methodology books and TEFL journals, and receive ongoing support from our Director of Studies and senior teachers, many of whom gained their DELTA Diplomas through our own in house courses. Teachers have ebook versions of all course books with all audio materials and all the main classrooms are equipped with projectors and high quality audio systems.
There are regular observation, tutorial and feedback sessions and great attention is paid to new teachers’ progress throughout the school year. The school invests in training programmes for all of our 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) THE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT COURSE
For newly qualified teachers and teachers with fewer than 2000 hours teaching experience who want to gain a broad range and depth of experience in a relatively short time. Lord Byron College offers a practical and involving programme of teacher development– plenary and focus group meetings and training sessions, guided individual planning, supportive 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 runs on Friday mornings straight through the school year and aims to give newly qualified teachers the confidence and skills to handle any course situation, and teachers with one or two years experience the practical and theoretical skills to bridge the gap between Certificate standards and those required to start a Diploma course. At the same time this programme gives our teachers valuable input and provides a forum to exchange ideas and experiences in a supportive and constructive environment. If these teachers have acquired the necessary skills and expertise they can then apply to start the Diploma course in the following year.
Teachers who wish to add to their present qualifications can also join our free in house three module TKT course leading to the Cambridge TKT certification (http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/tkt), for which our school is an accredited test centre, paying only the exam fees.
2) THE CAMBRIDGE DELTA MODULAR COURSE
For teachers with at least three academic years’ teaching experience who see TEFL as a career choice and want to take that important step up. For over two decades, our school has been a recognised preparation and examination centre for internationally recognised Diploma examinations, which are held at our school each year. Our school makes a sizeable investment annually to run this course each year. The modular DELTA course extends over a two school year period and includes 120 training hours in addition to guided self study, written assignments and observation . The course, which is recognised by Cambridge English, has been created in strict accordance with Cambridge 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. Teachers are chosen each year to take part in the DELTA course on the basis of an entry examination and interview and over the years we have seen dozens of our teachers move from entry level teaching experience to DELTA qualifications, many achieved with Merit and Distinction.
The cost for external participants in the DELTA course is close to €3,000 excluding exam fees, which is nearly what the course costs our school to run for each teacher taking part in the course. Those of our teachers chosen to take part in this in-house DELTA training course do so completely free of charge with all weekly DELTA meetings also calculated as working hours. 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 stay on with the Lord Byron College for another school year during which they are also involved in teacher development, observations and mentoring will receive an increase in salary, reimbursement of their DELTA exam fees and can apply to train to become DELTA trainers themselves.
We are the only language school in Europe (and quite likely 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 not possible to prepare for the DELTA solely 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 DELTA 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. Fifty-five of our teachers, many of them with little or no teaching experience when they started us, have so far successfully completely exam requirements for their Diploma qualification, several with distinction.
These teachers have since taken full advantage of the benefits of being part of the small percentage of DELTA qualified EFL teachers by being able to choose from top tier TEFL positions–both teaching and management–both with 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 insuring a productive and practical training and learning environment as an integral part of their period of employment with our school.
OUR TEACHERS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE AT LORD BYRON
“I received my DELTA results – a PASS on Module 3 and a PASS with Merit on Module 2! …I would like to extend my gratitude to you for offering this opportunity. As a result, more doors have been opened in terms of employment and I am seeing what my options are here in Canada and abroad….Reflecting on my experiences at my time at Lord Byron has reiterated the fact that very few other schools (especially in Toronto) offer any professional development at all. Thank you for seeing the value in helping your teachers grow. I sincerely appreciate all that you have done for me. ” Celine D.
“I’d like to thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to work in Lord Byron. During my time there I met so many fantastic people and I learned so many things, not only on a professional level but also on a personal level. It is, without a doubt, an experience that will stay with me forever.” Lena M.
“I’m extremely grateful for all of the opportunities that I was afforded whilst working at your school. After just two years , I’m now a Cambridge speaking examiner with what I hope will be a future in EAP teaching thanks to the DELTA that you provided for me.” Terry S.
“It’s been a pleasure working for you and the experience and
qualifications I’ve had the opportunity to get have been priceless. Thank you. ” Sarah W.
“Thank you for your continual support and trust in me.” Jessica F.
“I’ve learnt a lot about teaching and about myself. “Kirsty S.
“Thank you for a great year. It has been a fantastic experience for me.” Aileen F.
“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 recently received their DELTA qualification: Claire Kirkbright, Cameron Marklew, Edwina Laycock, Celine DeAlmeida,: Rowena Smith, Lucy Shakespeare, Francesca Berlen, Kate Taylor (Pass with Merit Module Two), Gillian Scott, Malachy Byrne (pass with Merit Module Two) and Sebastian Shead (pass with Distinction Module Two)…
and to all our teachers who have taken part in our Cambridge DELTA course over the past eleven years and received their DELTA qualification, many with merit and distinction. These include Steven Cameron, Catherine Spiers, Alice Kilpatrick, Terry Scott, Alison McKay , Caroline Collier, Khara Burgess, Rachael Jones. Rachel Jeffries, Benedict Reekes , Brooke Fleming, Rhiannon Fitzgerald, Sarah Wordsworth. Nicky Martin, Rachel Applegate, Jenan Ismail, Malcolm Davies, Katy Crowson, Jacosta VonAchten, Mark Elliott, Stephen Howard, Zoe Robson, Laura Gerrard, Alison Millar, Sarah Morse, Laura Laubache , Becky Wright , Rebecca Palmer, Caroline Oakley, Amy Spearman, Kiri Wood, Jonathan Ingham , Pippa Simmons, Lucy Nicholls , Melanie Drake, Niamh Finn, Naomi Rabin, Natasha Arain and Beatrice Shelley.
AND CONGRATULATIONS….
to former teachers Lucy Nicholls for her British Council senior appointment in the Far East, Allison Millar (DELTA qualified at our school) for her executive position at Pearson Publishing, 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 her Masters programme at Bilkent University, Ankara, and Natasha Arain, Sarah Forbes and Rachel Jeffries for their new careers in EFL publishing in London, Madrid and Dubhai.
WELL DONE EVERYONE! WE ARE SO PROUD OF ALL OF YOU!
If you would like to apply for a teaching post at our school, please copy and complete the:
LORD BYRON COLLEGE – TEACHING APPLICATION FORM: 2021-22 (COPY AND COMPLETE IN WORD)
FULL NAME:
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:
NATIONALITY:
MARITAL STATUS:
PERMANENT ADDRESS:
CONTACT ADDRESS:
CONTACT CELLPHONE, HOME TELEPHONE AND EMAIL:
ITALIAN CODICE FISCALE IF YOU HAVE ONE:
KNOWLEDGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES (specify languages and level of proficiency):
FOR THE FOLLOWING FOUR QUESTIONS PLEASE ANSWER YES OR NO, AND IF YES PLEASE GIVE DETAILS:
– Do you have any disabilities, medical problems or other issues 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 partIcipating in ? (minimum 2,000 teaching hours/three academic years experience are required to apply for the DELTA course)
____TEACHER DEVELOPMENT COURSE ____ DELTA COURSE
Signed: __________________________________ Date:__________________
PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1) 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, weekly 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? What would you like to be doing in three years’ time?
5) Read the following ì passage written by an intermediate level Italian student of English, then identify three main grammatical or structural difficulties and describe a teaching activity that will help solve one of them.
Last evening I have made a tremendous nightmare. I 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 that I give them documents in a way intimidating. Therefore I have begun to search them in the bag, first with calm, then with anxiety also because I have seen that was not the my suitcase. When I waked up 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.-