IH Cordoba is the birthplace of International House, which was set up here in 1953 by John and Brita Haycraft, and its partner school, IH Huelva was set up in 1965. Since then, Academia Britanica (AB) has been striving to offer the best teaching and learning environment possible for teachers and students. We offer quality assurance not only under the IH banner, but also under ACEIA, the Spanish association for quality language schools of which we are a founder member. This means that you can rely on being treated fairly and professionally if you work for us.
As well as the opportunities within the AB schools, working at an International House school also gives you the chance to find work more easily in over 150 quality IH schools worldwide with the International House teacher transfer system.
Academia Britanica Cordoba has two schools: IH Cordoba (Centro) and IH Cordoba (Sierra), with around 25 employees and approximately 1,000 students per school, located in two busy areas of the city. IH Cordoba (Centro) is in the city centre, in a traditional building of the old quarter which has been fully modernised and adapted for use as a language school; IH Cordoba (Sierra) is located in the north of the city in a purpose-built modern building with state-of-the-art facilities which are highly appreciated by both teachers and students.
Living in Cordoba
Full of winding, cobbled streets with the beautiful Guadalquivir River running through it, the old quarter of Cordoba is brimming with culture and history, and features many Roman and Arab ruins. The star attractions are definitely the 8th Century Mosque, which is the largest surviving mosque from Moslem Spain, and the ‘patios’ (courtyards) full of flowers which are open to the public. However, Cordoba is also a bustling city with a lively modern bar and restaurant culture, as well as numerous cultural events and fiestas throughout the year. The cost of living is still fairly cheap and the things teachers most like about Cordoba are the warm weather, excellent food and the way you can get around nearly everywhere on foot.
Job Information
As well as a competitive salary package and the security of working at an IH school, one of the key attractions we offer teachers is the chance to develop their teaching.
International House prides itself on its in teacher development, and IH Cordoba has always made this a high priority. The weekly in-house seminars are based on our three main development ‘threads’: Teaching Younger Learners, Using IT in the Classroom and Preparing Cambridge Exam Classes. There are 3 Directors of Studies per school (Adults, Teens and YLs), and teachers get regular observation and monthly meetings with them, so there are plenty of opportunities for them to give you help and support. In addition, there is the chance to peer observe very experienced teachers, internal teaching conferences organised between the 3 schools and encouragement to go to external conferences (e.g. ACEIA). A number of our teachers have the DELTA qualification and are conference speakers too. The schools are Cambridge Examining Centre ES030, and this means that there is a greater chance to train up to be a Cambridge Speaking Examiner for both main suite exams (KET, PET, FCE, CAE & CPE) and YLE (Starters, Movers & Flyers).
As well as using textbooks in nearly all our classes, our schools are strongly committed to using the latest technology in the language classroom: all classrooms are fitted with PCs, projector and IWBs (most are Smartboards), there is an online ‘Moodle’ platform for students, teachers and school admin (Acabri Campus) which provides us with a tool to share the huge range of teaching materials which is now available both in-house and through IH, and i-pads are widely used by teachers in class. Using IT in the Classroom is one of our main ‘development threads’ and there are regular training sessions and ideas swaps to support teachers in their use of IT.
International House has a wide range of online seminars and also runs online courses which are available to IH teachers at a 50% discount, the most popular of which are the courses in Online Tutoring (COLT), Advanced Methodology (CAM) and Teacher Training. See http://ihworld.com/online-training for full details.
Requirements
We are interested in receiving applications from teachers who are outgoing, love teaching all ages and like to make learning an effective, fun experience for the students. The minimum requirement is a ‘B’ grade in the CELTA certificate and we prefer teachers with experience in teaching Younger Learners and Cambridge exam classes.
The position involves working with children on a daily basis, and teachers are now required by European law to apply for (1) the Spanish Police Certificate for working with children and (2) the ICPC (UK Police Check for working with minors) – or the equivalent from other home countries. It will be an advantage if potential teachers have the latter certificate from their home country already.
Quality is the byword at AB, and so we expect teachers to dedicate time to class preparation and be adaptable and enthusiastic. It is essential, too, for them to be able to create an atmosphere in class which is conducive to learning and have a friendly rapport with the students.
Teachers who work at AB always comment on how it has helped them progress professionally, especially in our three main areas of expertise, Using IT in the Classroom, teaching Younger Learners, and teaching Cambridge Exam classes.
If you are interested in working with us, please send a CV and Covering Letter to info-cordoba@acabri.com.
You can also check out our other school (in Huelva)
