ES London - Teachers Manual 2024

WELCOME TO

ES LONDON

ES London

school on the 15th floor of Mazaya Business Avenue BB1, near the trendy JLT/Marina part of Dubai. From these humble beginnings of one classroom, two teachers and seven students, the school expanded to three floors of the building and in August 2023 opened up another site at Wollongong University in Academic Park in Dubai.

ES London opened in May 2022 with a skeleton staff and a small cohort of students. By January 2023, the school had reached 50 students and by July the school reached 100. Our first summer was so successful that we had to rent extra rooms.

ES London could be considered a boutique school, sandwiched between Russel Square and a private garden. We aim to provide the students an affordable luxury with our premium location and small number of classrooms, which allow us to provide a very personal service to our students.

The school continually strives to maintain the balance between high academic standards and friendly informality.

THE SCHOOL & GENERAL INFORMATION

Who’s who in the office?

School Director / Welfare Officer: Niel Pama

Academic Director / Director of Studies: Ryan Hannan

Assistant Director of Studies: Ben James

Administrative Staff

Office Manager: Angie Escobar

Finance: Sara Accommodation: Anna Prada

Compliance Officer / Student Services Coordinator: Carolina Jimenez

Business Development Manager: Sonia Olaya

Social Programme Coordinator: Maarya Abaasi

Your role

Dates:

Name:

Position description

A teacher of “English as a Foreign Language”, also called “English as a Second Language” responsible for teaching English to non-native students.

You will be working in a team of EFL teachers to deliver effective EFL programmes. You will be expected to work with all teachers and Academic Teams and liaise with all staff at the school to fulfil the duties of the role.

Position description

Academic Department

Reports to Director of Studies

Covered by Freelance cover teachers

Based in London, UK

Minimum Qualifications

Experience and skills

• TEFLI status - Cambridge CELTA or Trinity Cert.TESOL (QTS/PGCE/TEFL qualifications may be accepted, but aren’t considered TEFLI status)

• Basic Safeguarding Certificate (can be acquired during onboarding)

• Minimum one year’s experience teaching English as a foreign language

• Must have experience teaching adults and (desirable) U18 students.

• Ability to teach all levels of English.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

• Flexible and comfortable taking constructive feedback on board

• Positive and professional attitude

• Experience using interactive classroom technology

• Inclusive approach to teaching, taking into account equality and diversity

Key responsibilities Teaching

• Teaching on a range of EFL courses of varying age groups as required and in line with the set syllabus schedule devised by the Academic Management team and the needs of the learners.

• Providing a safe learning environment for all students and treating students with dignity and respect

• Appropriate planning and preparation of lessons (including gathering of resources, devising, writing and producing new materials including authentic audio and visual resources, photocopying, setting up of technical equipment etc. in advance of class commencement) for different course types as provided by ES London.

• Teaching lessons according to the teacher handbook and all PDR and accreditation criteria for your role.

• Marking and providing appropriate feedback on oral and written work

• To undertake other duties such as accompanying students on educational and cultural visits as required, or any other duties as management may, from time to time, reasonably require, commensurate with your position.

Working hours

• Preparing information for inspection visits and other quality assurance exercises

• Completing all administration relating to your classes and your role in a timely manner and to the standard required.

• Co-operating with the Director of Studies and other teachers on the preparation of courses, teaching materials, teaching programmers, methods of teaching, assessment and pastoral arrangements.

• Liaising with other teachers, colleagues and professionals.

• Attending staff meetings and teacher-development seminars; participating in departmental meetings and whole-school training events.

• Being familiar with the staff handbook and any relevant updates.

• Supporting and advising new and less-experienced or less-qualified teachers.

• Participate in observations for CELTA trainees, agents and other internal or external clients, according to business needs.

Student Focus

• Monitoring student progress through review tests and adapting these to the needs of the class if necessary

• Ensuring that all students receive the necessary amount of time designated for tutorials

• Supporting, monitoring, assessing and maintaining records of the progress and attainment of students through the giving of tests and tutorials and providing or contributing to oral and written assessments in the form of tutorial documentation/reports and references relating to individual students and groups of students.

• Always challenge students – we believe that students are always capable of more.

Continuous Professional Development

• Participating in arrangements for future training and professional development as a teacher.

• Reviewing methods of teaching and programmes of work through Professional Development Reviews and observations, and in discussion with Academic Management staff.

• Participating in all observation programmes, for both developmental and quality control purposes.

• Reviewing methods of teaching and programmes of work through Professional Development Reviews and observations, and in discussion with Academic Management staff.

• Keeping up to date with developments in the EFL industry, new resources, methods and objectives by researching new topic areas, maintaining up-to-date subject knowledge and applying these to classroom practice where appropriate.

• Taking part in all aspects of the CPD cycle (observations and PDRs)

• Full-time (9:00am – 4.00pm including one hour lunch break)

• Monday to Friday

The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will be expected to perform different tasks as required by your changing role within the organisation and the overall business objectives of the organisation. All staff are expected to attend training sessions as considered appropriate by their line manager.

Membership and Accreditation

The school is a member of English UK, the world’s leading language teaching association. We are accredited by the British Council and follow their guidelines to ensure a minimum standard of quality. We are also a member of ALTO.

Company Structure

Many of our school functions are centralized and based in our Dubai school, which holds our head office. The London School has its own academic and student services departments, which are overseen by the school director, Niel Pama.

ES London Organisational Chart

Inductions

• New or visiting teachers are emailed a welcome pack before arriving at the school. This includes an induction PowerPoint presentation, the teachers’ manual, as well as any other materials or documents pertaining to the role in the school.

• The Director of Studies or the Assistant Director of studies will conduct an induction covering all aspects of your role, if there are any aspects of the induction you are still unsure of, please ask for a refresher.

Meetings

• All teachers are expected to attend staff meetings in the staff room– these are currently held during test time at 9:30 on Friday mornings. The meeting time will be adjusted in 2024.

• Extraordinary meetings will come up from time to time - these may be group wide meetings and announcement and will usually take place over Zoom.

Class times

You should be in the building by 8:45 am. Please let us know if you’re running late.

We run two sessions a day for our year-round school. These sessions are from 9:00 -12:15 (with a fifteen-minute break around 10:30am) and from 12:45 to 16:00 (with a fifteen-minute break at around 14:15).

Classes should start at 9:00 and 12:45 promptly. All photocopying should be done and the teacher should be ready in the class to start the lesson at 9:00 or 12:45.

Teachers are expected to set a clear example for timekeeping and to demand the same good practice from their students. Any lateness or absence must be recorded accurately in the class register on the teacher’s portal.

Staffroom and Resources

Course books and supplementary materials can be found in the resource room for any class assigned to you. Please look after them.

There are two computers in the staffroom for the teachers to use for lesson preparation, marking and any other class-related tasks. If you use the computers for personal use during the break, please give priority to those teachers who need the resources to do their admin work.

You must return what you borrow, replace material you take off the shelves or out of the resource room files. You must take good care of any teacher’s books entrusted to you, as these

are a precious resource and expensive or difficult to replace. Please inform the Academic Team if you cannot find any resources or they are damaged.

Teachers are assigned a locker to keep any valuable items.

The staffroom has a code which will be shared with you during the induction. Please don’t leave the staffroom unlocked when you leave it.

We have a small kitchenette in the staff room – please be respectful of others when using it as the staffroom is used by all members of staff.

Photocopier

Teachers must respect all copyright laws and regulations. Any photocopied material to be used in class must be accredited with the title of the book or article, the author, date of publication and publisher if applicable. You can use a Post-It note for this.

Please be gentle with the photocopier. Do not slam doors or pull drawers too hard as this may break it. If the photocopier is jammed or not working, please let someone know – don’t just leave it.

There is no code for using the photocopier, but please consider costs and the environment when using the photocopier – if you can do the lesson effectively without using the photocopier, please try the more sustainable option.

Teacher absence

If you are sick, or are unexpectedly delayed for a class, please contact the DOS (07490 342596), ADOS (07449 250648), or the school Director Niel Pama (07843 663431), in their absence as soon as possible to give us the maximum time to arrange a substitute teacher. During busier times, a cover teaching rota will be circulated at the beginning of each week and a teacher appointed to replace absent teachers for that week. During quieter times, the ADOS will step into teach your class if a cover teacher cannot be arranged.

All new teachers will be added to the ‘ES London Teacher” WhatsApp group. You can send a message on the group if you feel too unwell to speak. Please try to phone or message by 9.00 pm the evening before or between 7.00 - 7.30am on the day.

Bearing in mind the importance to students of continuity throughout their course, teachers are requested to avoid asking for time off to attend private matters as far as possible, unless it is essential. Every effort should be made to arrange appointments outside teaching hours. In the event of this not being possible, the DOS should be consulted. If you need time off, please

submit a leave application through the Teacher Portal.

Teacher absence due to illness should also be recorded in the Teacher Portal.

Appearance

Your appearance should reflect your professional attitude to your job. ES London does not operate a strict dress code as such; for example, we do not insist on jacket and tie for male teachers. However, teachers should not appear to be scruffy e.g. torn, dirty or over-revealing clothing should not be worn.

For full details of what is deemed acceptable and unacceptable, please refer to the Staff Handbook.

Code of Conduct

Please refer to the Staff Handbook for detailed information.

Disciplinary Code

Please refer to the Staff Handbook for detailed information.

Taking attendance

An accurate attendance record is essential for the following reasons:

• Sponsors often request this information. (Embassy sponsored students)

• Evidence of good attendance is a major factor when deciding whether or not to issue a student with a reference for attending a university or college of further education.

• The Home Office may request this information.

• Evidence of poor attendance can be put before a difficult student to act as a concrete basis for discussion.

• Poor attendance can lead to exclusion from the school.)

Teachers must take the attendance in the first half of the lesson. To take the attendance of your class, sign into the teacher portal with your provided username and password.

Teacher Portal Link: https://teacher.esdubai.com/index.php

Login to teacher portal

Active classes show under “My Classes” section on the home/main page

Active Classes will show on the “Assigned To” teacher’s portal from the morning of the start date with at least 1 student on the class list (“Students” tab)

Click “Take Attendance”

Select Present, Absent, Tardy or Holiday

Click “Save” when attendance is done

If attendance needs to be modified, you can click on the relevant date on the calendar and modify as necessary

If a teacher forgets to take attendance, the attendance can be taken and backdated by selecting a date in the past.

Tests

Unit tests are conducted every Friday and should only take up half the lesson. The other half of the lesson should be teaching time and an opportunity to bring local flavour into the lesson. Teachers are encouraged to focus on London in this or even do some team teaching or live lessons outside the classroom.

The admissions team will assign all of the tests to your students’ mid-week, and these tests will appear on their student portal under ‘My Tests.’ The students will be able to access their test on the allocated test date. Once the test is ‘submitted’ you will be able to view it in your portal. The test is now ready to mark.

Students should be encouraged to do the test to see how far along the road they are, as this helps both student and teacher to establish if there are any areas that need to be thoroughly or briefly reviewed. Students travel the learning journey at different speeds. Depending on their progress, we might decide to move faster or slower with our teaching aims for some learners.

Marking tests

All weekly General English tests are single-choice tests. The system is designed to self-mark most of the test. However, the system does not mark any questions with free text. This section has to be manually corrected by the teacher who also adds the points for each question. Please be careful when entering the points.

Tests must be marked every Friday by 4pm. Students will eagerly be checking their student portal for their marks and will complain if not marked on the same date as the test.

If there is a cover teacher, he/she is responsible for marking the tests every Friday.

• Login to teacher portal

• Click on “My Tests” tab in the left-hand menu

• Sort by “Test Date” or “Status”

◦ “Pending” status = test has been assigned but NOT submitted by the student

◦ “Submitted” status = test has been submitted by the student but NOT yet evaluated/marked

◦ “Evaluated” = test has been marked. Score should be displayed

• Click “Evaluate” for the test you wish to evaluate

• Tests are auto-marked by the system. Teachers can check the submitted responses / system marking

• Go through the questions and click “Next” at the bottom of each page

◦ If the student answered a question correctly, a point value will be displayed in the box under that respective question. If the student’s response is incorrect, 0 point value will be displayed

◦ If the student selected the correct answer but the system marked it as 0, the teacher can manually edit the point value by overriding the 0 by typing the correct point value

◦ Also flag with the DOS so that she can inform Ivana / Nicky in Dubai so that the correct answer can be programmed correctly in the back-end and auto-marked correctly next time

• Feedback box can be used if the teacher wants to write the correct answer or write any comments for the student to see

• Click “Submit” on the last page to submit marking

• Test marks are displayed next to “Evaluated” status (Marks are out of 100)

Progress Reports

These are to be completed in weeks 6 and 12 of the Unit cycle.

• Login to teacher portal

• Click on “My Students” tab in the left-hand menu

• If a teacher has more than 1 class, select class from “Classes” dropdown at the top

• Active students show on this page. Scroll to the right and select “Progress Report” under “Report” column

• The progress report will automatically open. Complete the report then click “Submit Form” (Ignore Unit field if it’s not mid-course or final course report) Repeat for each student in your class.

Submitting end of course student reports (visible to students in Student Portal)

• Login to teacher portal

• Click on “My Students” tab in the left-hand menu

• If a teacher has more than 1 class, select class from “Classes” dropdown at the top

• Active students show on this page. Scroll to the right and select “Midcourse / End of Course Report” under “Report” column

• The report will automatically open. Complete the report then click “Submit Form” Repeat for each student in your class.

Placing students

Pre-course assessments

Prior to arrival, all students are required to take a placement test via the student’s portal. After being enrolled, students are automatically sent their login details to their email address. The student can then login to their portal to take the placement test. The placement test on the

student’s portal includes an oral and written component along with a grammar component. The grammar component is automatically marked by the system and the written and oral components are evaluated by the DOS who can access the entry tests via the CRM. This test enables our students to be placed in a class suited to their level of competence.

For walk-in students, we ask that they complete the online free Cambridge test at: Cambridgeenglish.org ( General English Test )

The student will receive their result instantly after completing the test. They can email a screen shot of the result directly to the DOS after completion if they decide to do the test at home. If a student wishes to do the test in school, a lap-top can be provided for them to complete the test in a quiet room.

In addition, we have an oral placement test in the teacher’s room (in the black folder) which can be used alongside the online Cambridge test. Although this test is quite reliable as a rough indicator of level, teachers should pay attention to new students as they settle into the class and report any possible misplacement immediately to the DOS. If a student moves class, i.e., up or down a level, take back their course book, as they will be issued with a course book at the new level. For this reason, a student should not write in their course book within the first week of their course. The cost of the course book is included in the course price when a student books a course with us, so there is no extra charge for this.

Needs Analysis

Needs Analysis is the process of collecting information about students’ needs and wants as well as areas which are in need of improvement. This information can then be interpreted and used to develop a more studentcentred syllabus. Although curricula and syllabi are planned by school it is impossible to cater for every learner’s need in advance, as no learners and no teaching contexts are alike. Conducting a mini scale Needs Analysis to identify learners’ needs, wants, and lacks seems an effective practice so that appropriate materials can be created, or the existing ones can be modified to address any inconsistencies.

It is always helpful to find out about students’ motivation, their prior learning experiences, the situations they are likely to use English in and which skills/language items they need to extra practice with. Prior to or on the first day of a new course, a student will fill in a needs analysis questionnaire together with the DOS. The DOS will pass this information onto the relevant teacher. Armed with this information, the teacher can then select and create the most appropriate and useful learning materials and activities for their students.

Class Changes

Despite the efforts we make to place students correctly, some students may need to change class. It is of the utmost importance that the DOS is consulted at the earliest possible stage and, above all, before anything is promised to the student. It is absolutely no use for you to tell a student that he can, for example, go down a class if, in fact, there is not a place available in the next class down. If you feel that a student should move, you should first consult the DOS

about the various possibilities. If a student approaches you requesting a move, you should ask them to generate a ‘request’ on the student portal, (see “Raising Tickets” ) and make no comment at this stage.

For students studying with us for one week, a student can be moved immediately if they have been put into a class at completely the wrong English level. This is very unlikely to happen though due to our thorough testing procedures. 9 Should it not be possible or desirable for a student to change class immediately, you and the DOS will need to agree on a suitable strategy until a move is possible. If you do not follow this procedure, a student may end up in your class without anyone being aware of it.

Struggling students

Not all students learn in the same way or at the same pace. In addition, aptitude for language learning varies widely. After about a week, you may notice that a particular student appears to be gaining little benefit from the lessons and seems to prefer more time in which to carry out tasks and assimilate knowledge. In such cases, it is the teacher’s responsibility to take such students aside and sensitively point out that they would gain more from studying in another class and at a different pace. Please ensure that a tutorial takes place with new students within the first two weeks so that any issues can be discussed.

Class changes should only be done after consulting the DOS (see section 'class changing'). When a student is firmly convinced that the proposed move is in their own interests, operate the class changing procedure as outlined above.

Students who say “It’s too easy”

There are some students who, for a variety of reasons, overestimate their ability. This could be because of their passive knowledge, good oral/aural skills or merely reflects their confidence and personality. A student in this category may request to go into a higher class, which in the teacher’s opinion is undesirable and unsuitable for them. The occurrence of such situations can be minimised by having the progress tests which should reflect the content and focus of the week’s work.

These tests are designed to produce results which emphasise how much has been learned. A record of the results of class tests are kept in the portal and can be used to make students aware of their progress and, if necessary, to support your decisions. Should a test prove that the student who has requested to go up is, in fact, one of the best in the class, operate class changing procedure as outlined in that section. If not, point out to the student the areas of competence they need to improve in order to go up to the next level.

Student Feedback

We expect all students to be completely satisfied with every aspect of the school. Feedback is obtained through First Week and End of Course (and optional mid-course) questionnaires and

the collated information from these is emailed to the Academic Team. Any pertinent information is conveyed to the teacher either directly or the general teaching staff in the In addition to this, students will be interviewed on the Wednesday of their first week at school to ensure satisfaction in the following areas:

• Level of class

• Standard of teaching

• Accommodation (if applicable)

Any issues arising from these interviews will be taken up with the teacher as soon as possible so that appropriate action can be taken swiftly. The academic team also inform teachers of positive comments made during the interviews but it can be assumed that if there is no feedback that all students are satisfied. Weekly reports are circulated to the Director of Studies and members of the administrative team. Any student feedback regarding accommodation or social program is passed on to the admissions or student services team.

Teacher Feedback

The Academic Team operates an open-door policy and aims to encourage teachers to express any comments or views on any aspect of the school openly on an informal and day-to-day basis.

Formal channels for providing feedback are:

• Teacher Forums – The academic team should organise regular teacher forums. These should be run by the teaching team, with the agenda managed by them. You may want to direct the conversation by giving a couple of questions to discuss and one of these could be related to non-academic aspects of the school. The results should be fed back to the academic team and collated.

• Meetings – the meetings provide opportunities for teachers to feedback to the management team.

• PDRs (staff appraisals) generally happen in October and March and they give you an opportunity to feed back to your line manager.

• Online surveys – from time to time we conduct online surveys to find out more about staff attitudes and how we can improve,

Complaints

All complaints must be passed to the Academic Managers, so that these can be dealt with while the student/teacher is at school. We ask students to inform us immediately if they have problems and try to resolve these as soon as possible. It is not possible to resolve complaints or problems retrospectively and we do ask everyone to bring these to our attention immediately.

Salary Payments

Bank Details and Tax Information.

When you are recruited HR will contact you to fill in a new starter form, will ask you for bank details in order to deposit your salary. HR will guide you through the onboarding process.

You will be paid on the last day of the month.

Pay Slips.

An e-payslip will be emailed to each employee (with password access only).

It will be up to the individual employee to save and store their own payroll records.

Employees only receive one P60 a year.

No postal versions, only an electronic payslip and individuals can print out if needed.

Philosophy and Overview

Our ethos is that learning happens best when we take a “whole student” view – not only do we aim for a rigorous academic approach, but we also consider the additional factors of social and emotional wellbeing. We try to create an environment which is friendly and open – to provide a community for students who are usually studying away from their home country and language is not the only barrier they have to overcome.

Our teachers strive to create a safe learning environment and we understand that students progress at different paces and respond individually to different tasks. Providing learner support to encourage students to be more autonomous, as well as help them understand their own learning, is an important part of the whole student approach.

Our ethos stands on three pillars – Challenge; Learner Focus; Know your Impact

Challenge – We understand that learning happens at the edge of a learner’s knowledge and a teacher always expects the learner to do more - not perform only within their comfort zone. The learner will always be challenged with upgrade steps but teachers will focus on achievable learning gaps – creating a bridge from where the learner is to the next-step goal -working towards the learner’s ultimate learning goal. We have a belief in our learners being capable of much more, while understanding that neurodiverse students may need different paths to be guided into their proximal zone of development.

Learner Focus - We understand that all students are unique, not only in their language skills, but they come to class with their own motivations, cultural backgrounds, and previous learning

experiences. Learning at ES should be a positive experience and we provide the students with a safe environment to make mistakes and practise the language with their classmates. We treat our students fairly and with dignity. Our teachers provide feedback and guidance to improve the learner’s English, but we understand that learning does not stop at the classroom door. Our focus on the student is a focus on the whole student – not just the student in the classroom.

Know your Impact - We understand that as a teacher, we need to know our impact in the classroom. Students may be engaged, on task and enjoying themselves but the learning must be visible – the teacher and student must know that it has happened. A teacher is a change agent. At the end of any class, a teacher and student should be able to have seen evidence of learning – a testament to the teacher’s impact.

Structure

Our courses are built around coursebooks, but classes are not focussed on the discrete language items of each unit. Teachers are encouraged to look at what the students can do with the language, aligned to the CEFR core inventory. Our weekly learning checks and formative assessment focuses on performance as opposed to achieving a tick box of grammar points from the week. Teachers and students have access to the weekly schemes of work, which set out the can-do statements and language items for the week, as well as a focus on learner-training and a local focus that can be used in the class.

To add value to the lesson, we focus on the local culture of the location of the school. Course-book lessons, no matter how interesting, are fixed and we expect our teachers to add value to the course-book lessons by supplementing the book – influenced by both the location and the students in the class. We expect on average a 60:40 focus on course-book and supplementary materials. We appreciate that all classes are different, so we focus on outcomes and not the content of the coursebook. At higher levels, we expect the teachers to be able to use more relatable, authentic materials to challenge the students.

The scheme of work is a dynamic document that should be adapted through class negotiation to ensure that the weekly focus is relevant to the students in the class. We also encourage our teachers to incorporate local culture as much as possible, to make each week unique, in spite of any course-book repetition. The scheme of work is where we separate from the course-book and can lean into our academic pillars, with emphasis on challenge, learner focus and making impact.

Lessons are expected to be dynamic and interactive. Students are encouraged to communicate as much as possible as we know that learning from and with peers is one of the most effective routes to achievement The teacher is a model in the classroom and can provide the language input for the students, but using the language to communicate with peers is where deeper learning happens.

Teachers are expected to give homework to the students. This could be based on the course-book, something connected to the location or even the needs of the individual group.

Homework should reinforce and not replace the learning in the classroom.

Teachers are expected to check learning throughout the week and there are no formalised unit or end-of-book weekly tests that focus on the course-book.

What do these pillars mean for the teachers?

Challenge:

This pillar stems from a few sources – Vygotsky’s concept of the Zone of Proximal Development from the early 20th century, Demand High Teaching put forward by Scrivener and Underhill in the early 2010s, and more recently Hattie’s Visible learning, which includes the mind frame “I enjoy the challenge and never retreat to “doing my best” – which applies to learners and teachers alike.

Learning that is too easy results in boredom, learning that is too hard leads to anxiety – by focussing on achievable learning gaps and providing scaffolding and guided assistance students can be challenged and achieve the small steps that lead to greater learning. Teachers can challenge students who achieve a task with upgrade steps e.g. “Correct, but can you say it more naturally?” while giving space for peer or teacher scaffolding for those students who need extra support. We understand that helping students too much can turn them into passive learners and have a negative effect on their achievement and that achieving a task without any cognitive effort is counter-productive to learning.

ZPD (zone of proximal development)

Student can already achive this task

Student needs support to achive this task

Unproductive activity: repetition leads to boredom

Learner focus:

Productive activity: mediation leads to engagement

Increase support through scaffolding

No amount of support will help student achive this task

Unproductive activity: futility leads to frustration

Increase challenge of activity

Learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum – what occurs outside the classroom has significant impact on what happens inside the classroom, and we at ES our whole student approach is about providing an enriching experience academically and socially.

There are many factors outside a teacher’s control, so it is vitally important that what a teacher can control contributes to helping students. This goes beyond the in-classroom practice of learner-focus in the lessons, working within each student’s zone of proximal development, adjusting lessons and outcomes to be relevant to the students in the class. It includes co-designing milestone maps or individual learning paths with learners to focus on realistic goals. Reviewing student performance to help them understand steps to improve. Ensure that learning is relevant, challenging and contextualised. Learners are encouraged to contribute to the class in a safe environment, where feedback helps students see evidence of learning and reflection provides opportunity for deeper learning.

“One way to build on prior knowledge is to connect with a learner’s interests.”

Reis, S. M., McCoach, D. B., Little, C. A., Muller, L. M., & Kaniskan, R. B. (2011)

We help students see that learning is not listening to a teacher lecture – we actively encourage learners to independently problem-solve by seeking help from peers, technology, and other sources. Interactions inside the classroom are essential, but we also focus on those incidentals that happen outside the classroom - in the corridor, on the bus, in the cafeteria. At all times, we are aware that we are part of the learner’s journey. Engaging the whole student engages the student in the classroom and beyond. We want our students to cultivate meaningful relationships that create zones of safety and provide scaffolding for pursuing new relationships and opportunities.

Know your Impact:

“My role, as teacher, is to evaluate the effect I have on my students.”

Hatti.J (2012)

Our third pillar is built on John Hattie’s research and his Visible Larning approach. While research has shown that just attending a class can result in some level of achievement, irrespective of the quality of the teaching, it is high impact strategies that can be cultivated to put our students on the path to attainment. We should focus on the things that can have the greatest impact and stop being distracted by the things that don’t matter.

We encourage teachers to adopt the 10 mind frames of Visible Learning:

1. I am an evaluator of my impact on student learning

2. I see assessment as informing my impact and next steps

3. I collaborate with my peers and my students about my conceptions of progress and my impact

4. I am a change agent and believe all students can improve

5. I strive for challenge and not "doing your best"

6. I give and help students understand feedback and I interpret and act on feedback to me

7. I engage in dialogue much as monologue

8. Success criteria are critical

9. I build relationships and trust so that learning can occur in a place where it is safe to make mistakes and learn from others

10. I talk about learning, not about teaching

Current General English Curriculum

The General English Curriculum determines what students will be taught at each level of language ability as described by the CEFR. The functional nature of the curriculum is supported by a syllabus which makes explicit the lexis, grammar and themes taught at each level.

Students are taught to:

A1

Listening

Recognise familiar words and very basic phrases when people speak slowly and clearly.

A2 B1

Understand phrases and common vocabulary related to matters in everyday life, for example personal/ family life and shopping, local geography & employment. Understand the main point in short, clear, simple messages and announcements.

Understand the main points of clear speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure etc.

Understand the main point of many radio or TV programmes on current affairs or topics of personal interest or professional interest as long as the language is clear.

Reading

Spoken Interaction

Understand familiar names, words and very simple sentences.

Interact in a simple way if the other person repeats things slowly and helps. Ask and answer simple questions on familiar topics.

Read very short, simple texts. Find specific information in simple everyday material e.g. advertisements, prospectuses, menus and timetables and understand short, simple personal letters.

Communicate in simple situations which require simple exchange of information on familiar topics.

Understand texts that consist mainly of high frequency everyday language.

Writing

Use simple phrases and sentences to describe family and other people, living conditions, educational background, job etc.

Use sentences and phrases to describe matters relating to everyday life e.g. people, living conditions, educational background, jobs.

Deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in areas where the language is spoken. Enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or important to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and current affairs).

Connect phrases in a simple way in order to describe for example experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions. Briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. Narrate a story or relate the plot of a book or film and describe reactions.

Write a short, simple text, for example sending holiday greetings. Fill in forms with personal information e.g. entering name, nationality and address on a hotel registration form.

Write short, simple notes and messages relating to matters in areas everyday life.

Write simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.

Spoken Production

Listening

Reading

Understand extended speech and lectures and follow even complex lines of argument provided the topic is reasonably familiar. Understand most TV news and current affairs programmes. Understand the majority of films in standard dialect.

Read articles and reports concerned with contemporary problems in which the writers adopt particular stances or viewpoints. Understand contemporary literary prose.

Spoken Interaction

Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible. Take an active part in discussion in familiar contexts expressing personal views.

Understand extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly. Understand T.V programmes and films without much effort.

Understand any kind of spoken language, whether live or broadcast, even when delivered at fast native speed provided time is provided for familiarisation with the accent.

Writing

Present clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects related to a field of interest. Explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Write clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects related to interests. For example essays or reports passing on information or giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view, letters highlighting the personal significance of events and experiences.

Understand long and complex factual and literary texts, appreciating distinctions of style. Understand specialised articles and longer technical instructions, even when they do not relate to a familiar field.

Express fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes. Formulate ideas and opinions with precision and relate ideas skilfully to other speakers.

Present clear, detailed descriptions of complex subjects integrating sub themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.

Write clear, well-structured text, expressing points of view at length. Write detailed expositions of complex subjects in a letter, an essay or a report, underlining what are considered to be the salient issues. Write different kinds of text in an assured, appropriate, style.

Read with ease virtually all forms of the written language, including abstract, structurally or linguistically complex texts such as manuals, specialised articles and literary works.

Take part effortlessly in any conversation or discussion and have a good familiarity with idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms. Express fluently and convey finer shades of meaning precisely. Backtrack and restructure around any difficulty so smoothly that other people are hardly aware of it.

Present a clear, smoothly – flowing description or argument in a style appropriate to the context and with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points.

Write clear, smoothly flowing text in an appropriate style. Write complex letters, reports or articles which present a case.

Spoken Production

Teaching Preparation

All teachers are provided with a syllabus for a 12 week period and all adult General English courses use course books as the basic source of input. However, in order to allow the teacher as much creativity and originality as possible, the syllabus dictates the proposed learning aims with suggested grammar points, themes and vocabulary areas that should be covered in any one week to achieve the proposed aims.

It must be stressed that the syllabus is only a basis for planning and the teacher is expected to prepare lessons showing an understanding of students’ needs and interests. Lessons must incorporate authentic materials chosen and adapted to the needs and level of the class. Teachers are expected to draw on students’ experience of living in the UK as much as possible and where appropriate this should be linked in with the school’s social programme. We particularly encourage the use of “the city as a resource” so that students will actively incorporate the city into their learning experience.

The aims of each lesson should be clear and the lesson should have logical staging. Obviously, the overriding consideration for all classes is the aim of addressing students’ needs and this must form the basis of all planning, preparation and execution of lessons.

Teaching Techniques

It is assumed that students are receiving a lot of communication practice outside the classroom and, for this reason, activities generally referred to as ‘games’ should be kept to a reasonably low level and must always be organised within the framework of the students’ needs. This is not to say that pair work, group work and communicative activities should be excluded, but rather that they must be used judiciously and always with a set, defined aim and time limit. Students come to us expecting a high level of input from the teachers and we have to ensure that we are providing this at all times. Teachers are encouraged to bring their personality, creativity and dynamism to the class as much as possible.

Every aspect of the academic programme is provided to assist teachers in their teaching. While there is no prescribed technique, teachers are encouraged to make full use of all of these to enable them to teach to the best of their ability. Eliciting, concept checking, discussion, clear exposition-explanation, error correction, clear modelling, drilling, anticipating and dealing with problems and language awareness are all to be taken into account.

Weekly and Daily Objectives – Signposting

Weekly plans should be on the classroom wall and used for review. Such plans need not be set in stone but are working documents and should be written in language that students can understand. Teachers should have a “Menu” or list of daily objectives on the board and ensure that their aims are student friendly, appropriate to the level and clear. This signposting can be done as the lesson progresses or retrospectively if the teacher feels it is appropriate.

Teacher Development

Teacher development covers observations, in-house training (including PODS) and professional development reviews, as well as the on-going support, sharing of ideas, materials and external development opportunities. The academic management team keeps abreast of the latest trends in EFL education and will have an overall strategy for the academic year. Each teacher will have their personal development goals and the teacher development cycle aims to guide teachers towards achieving the company academic aims, as well as achieving their personal goals each year. Records of most teacher development are kept in CPD Portfolios. We try to encourage teachers’ professional development and the following areas are an important part of this, and are part of our effort to improve quality and standards on a continuing basis. Below is a representation of the development loop.

Academic vision provides strategic training focus at company level. Drop-in orervations provide overall impression of teaching across the school to inform training at school level.

Teacher has developmental goals at the personal level to discuss in appraisal / PDR

PDR mid-year review. Discuss alignment of teacher with academic vision, action poins from observation, personal goals to set up CPD plan and developmental observation.

Annual DoS observation provides personalised action points to address in PDR/appraisal and to focus on during the year.

PDR end of year review. KPIs and review of developmenta l goals.

The 2nd observation should take place within the first month and requires a lesson plan for the complete lesson. The lesson plan need not go into great detail, but should give a clear idea of the aims, learner focus, skills/language focus, lesson structure, class profile, materials used. It is important to see how the teacher adapts the course materials to the class and how they fit the ethos of the school. They would need to complete a reflection form and the observer should complete the feedback form. At this stage, a decision should be made to end employment, or continue with the probation period. Any action points from this observation can be used to inform the appraisals, depending on timings in the year.

Annual DoS Observation (Quality Control)

The annual DoS observation is a quality control observation that has the function of assessing a teacher based on the CELTA framework for TEFLI status and less experienced teachers with more focus on Diploma level criteria for more experienced and TEFLQ status teachers. The observation framework also references the KPIs of the academic approach of ES to ensure that all teachers not only deliver industry-standard lessons, but embody what ES expects of an ES teacher. The observation is carried out by the DoS or the ADoS or someone in the teacher development team who has had the necessary training. The observer should be TEFLQ or studying towards TEFLQ.

These lessons require a complete lesson plan so the teacher can explain their approach to the lesson. The observation lasts one hour and the teacher completes a reflection form after the observation. The feedback should include action points for development which will inform the PDR and feed into the teacher’s development plan for the year. As a result, this observation falls in the first half of the development cycle.

Buzz / Drop-in Observations (Teaching overview snapshot –Quality/Developmental)

These 20-minute observations provide an insight into the teaching that takes place on an everyday basis and give a realistic impression of teaching practice. They serve two main purposes:

• To act as a diagnostic tool from which the academic team can extract areas of development that need addressing. The idea is to identify areas for development that may be relevant to the teaching team as a whole, rather than particular individual issues and these can act as a springboard for the in-house development programme.

• To ensure that input from the teacher development programme (Pods/seminars) has been adopted as part of the basic teaching practice at the school.

These observations require no preparation from the teachers and can be carried out simultaneously by several members of the academic or teacher development teams. Individual feedback is not required, but teachers can request it if they like. As this is supposed to be a snapshot, it is best to try and complete all observations within the space of a week.

These can be carried out twice a year – once near the beginning of the developmental calendar as a benchmark, and then towards the end of the calendar to assess the efficacy of the development programme for the year.

Peer Observations (Developmental)

These are aimed at providing teachers with support and ideas for development.

Like the DoS observations, these last one hour. However, the teacher being observed will not be required to submit a lesson plan or any other information prior to the lesson. A

pre-observation discussion should take place between the two teachers in which the purpose of the observation is established. Generally speaking, there is a “bottom up” approach where the main aim is for the observer to learn from watching a teacher who is more experienced in a particular teaching area. However, peer observation forms for the written feedback may also include prompting that aligns with the company or school academic focus. If the teacher has personal goals that they want to focus on, they can use them instead. As well as written feedback, both teachers are encouraged to spend time discussing the lesson observed.

There are two types of peer observation running throughout the academic year:

• Mandatory Peer Observation Programme

A schedule is drawn up by the Director of Studies who ensures that as great a variety of observations as possible takes place. When a peer observation is taking place, a member of the academic management team arranges cover for the observer’s lesson and the observer should leave sufficient instructions for cover. This can take place at different times in the year, depending on numbers and operational needs.

• Voluntary Peer Observations

Teachers can arrange subsequent peer observations of their choice outside the scheduled programme, which are taken outside teachers’ scheduled teaching time and are not remunerated. Teachers wishing to take advantage of this should speak to the DoS.

Annual Developmental Observation (Developmental)

These observations are connected to the teacher’s personal developmental goals and are carried out in the second half of the development cycle. The teacher will have a particular goal that they have discussed in their mid-year review and the aim of this lesson is for the teacher to have an opportunity to try something new. The DoS may team them up with a colleague, a teacher trainer or anyone in the academic team who can support the teacher in this observation. There should be at least one meeting between the teacher and their support in preparation for the observation.

The lesson plan need not be very detailed, but it should clearly state the developmental focus and the criteria for success. This is not a quality control observation and the criteria for the observation is specific to the developmental aims.

The lesson can be observed by anyone in the teacher development/academic team who is able to provide constructive feedback to the teacher. The feedback/reflection meeting is not aligned with the quality control goals of the school or company.

Invisible Observations (Developmental)

The aim of this project is to instil a more reflective and progressive culture in terms of teacher development. To provide an alternative and additional channel for teacher CPD and to move away from the extrinsic approach of an external observer and towards CPD that sets teachers up for success.

This entails a teacher filming themselves teaching and to use this as a tool for reflection and development. The project is based on the premise that "teachers should be trained on how to reflect because they may fail to reflect critically and fruitfully if they are not". This being the case, we have put together some tasks that will facilitate this

There are three stages to the invisible observations:

• First reflect on issues “Before You Teach”

This allows for a teacher to research or to think about areas they want to develop before filming. They can look at certain aspects of classroom teaching and design observation tasks very specifically so they lend themselves to reflection. Helping with what the focus needs to be can be discussed with the academic team informally at any time (for example, board work, interaction patterns, monitoring patterns etc).

• Teach and film the lesson - Technical support will be given if required. It is important that if filming consent has not been received from the students, the camera does not pick up any student in the frame.

• Reflect on the lesson “After You Teach”

Before watching the filmed lesson it is recommended that aspects of the lesson are analysed personally in order to support the developmental stage. It is also recommended that filmed lessons be viewed and discussed by peers or someone in the academic team, but they can also be performed completely “invisibly” if this is desirable.

An additional bonus of filming lessons is hoped to increase in the number of peer observations. For those teachers wishing to extend their experience of peer observation, the film library will provide ample opportunity for learning, and discussion of approach and methodology with peers without increasing the staffing costs that are usually associated with peer observations. Teachers can arrange invisible observations of their choice at any time at the school and are encouraged to do so. This is a developmental process that is personal and helps them focus areas of improvement.

Health and safety

General

The Health and Safety of all members of the School is of the highest priority. You are expected to disseminate information to the students and report any problems without fail.

Dissemination of information

It is important to be aware of all fire regulations, excursions, exams etc. in order to be in a position to inform students about them.

Awareness of Fire Safety

All staff must be diligent in preventing a fire occurring and ensure that they do not obstruct fire escape routes or exits. Fire drills are held regularly.

You must familiarise yourself with the exits. It is your responsibility to ensure that the students in your class know where all the fire exits are. Students are informed of the exit procedure in their induction. Wherever possible, you will be informed of the fire drills in advance and are expected to take a responsible attitude throughout.

The Building Manager for CIEE is responsible for conduction the fire drills.

Health

The health and safety of everyone in the school is a concern shared by all with the responsibility resting with the School Director (and in their absence, Office Manager, Director of Studies).

First Aid and Accidents

School policy is that any student/teacher who is unwell or involved in an accident is entitled to professional medical advice and should go to the the nearest hospital to the school. They should be accompanied by a teacher or friend with a good command of English and go there by taxi or ambulance. You are expected to keep the School Director, Office Manager or Director of Studies fully informed of the proceedings.

There is a First Aid box in the staff room.

We are not in a position to administer drugs of any sort, but the students can be directed to a chemist or other shop selling medication.

ES London

46-47 Russell Square

WC1B 4JP, London, United Kingdom

+44 203 874 97 48

marketing@esdubai.com www.eslondon.co.uk