School in Koszalin

Koszalin (pronounced ko-SHA-lin ) is a small city with 120,000 inhabitants. It is situated very near the Baltic coast, 2.5 hours west of the historic city of Gdansk and 5 hours east of Berlin. The town is quiet but pleasant and has developed a great deal over the last decade or so. It is also in one of the cleanest areas of Poland and the town is surrounded by forests and lakes which are easily accessible. All distances in the city are walkable and there are excellent transport links to the popular seaside resort of Mielno, where fish and chips, open air concerts and the summer beer tent are big attractions. The town itself has a number of bars, cafes and nightclubs, and there are 2 cinemas that show original language films. There is a also a polytechnic, 3 teacher training colleges, a music school, a theatre and a philharmonic orchestra in town which means there is a programme of regular concerts at various venues and plenty of impromtu gigs in the local bars, if you can track them down. Sports facilities are available but limited, but the beautiful forests on the edge of town are ideal for walking, cycling or jogging.

The school was started in 1994 in Koszalin, teaching English and German. Over the years IH has continued to grow and we now have 2 other satellite schools where we offer classes of General English for Adults, Exam Preparation, Young Learner English and Business English. Bialogard is our most popular satellite located in a small town 20 minutes away. Slawno is a small satelite opened in 2002.

Teacher Education and Career Development

In terms of educational development, IH is second to none. Being affiliated to International House World Organisation means that teachers are given every encouragement to develop their classroom skills and to share their knowledge with others. Every Friday, the DoS (or a more experienced teacher) leads a Teacher Development Session focusing on one of the many issues involved in good teaching practice, and from the outset you will be a part of a programme of regular lesson observations. During the year, you will have two tutorials with the DoS where you may discuss your performance and raise any issues that are on your mind. In addition, we attend the IH Training Days organised once a year by each of the schools belonging to the IH North Poland group, which means that you get to meet other IH teachers elsewhere and attend sessions of your choosing. Apart from all this, details of EFL conferences in Poland, book launches in Koszalin and other teachers' meetings are made available and every encouragement is given for you to attend, if you so wish.
We are pleased, of course, if teachers choose to stay on at the school and further their experience here, maybe even in positions of responsibility like Senior Teacher, Young Learners Coordinator, etc, but if not, then will you have at your disposal the IHWO network to seek a post elsewhere in the organisation, using references from IH Koszalin.

Finally, with the idea of helping you integrate quickly into life in Poland, we offer a free Polish course for any teacher interested. The lessons are conducted once a week by one of our Polish teachers of English and, over the course of nine months, should bring you up to a level in the language where you can deal with the demands of life outside the school. It is, of course, also extremely useful for you as a teacher to experience just what your students are going through in their course of English!
 

cofnij