2. How can I push my students to upgrade their language and improve their skills more
than they believed possible?
What teacher interventions make a real difference?
What is the minimum tweak necessary at any point in any lesson to shift the
activity sideways into the “challenge zone”?
What attitude and action changes would lead to “Demand-High” teaching in my
classroom?
4. i+1i+1
1. Coursebook provides students with a challenge.
2. Our pass rate is currently 65% but working towards 70% average.
3. Students are expected to communicate in English at all times.
What does this mean for our teachers?
• Teachers undergo the IHCYLT certificate in their first year.
• Teachers have 3 observations per year.
• Teachers understand these high expectations.
5. What does this mean for our school?
i+1i+1
• We have waiting lists for our YL classes (56.74% of our students are YLs).
• Our best form of publicity is word of mouth.
• CPD is very important.
6. • 1st
year: Successfully complete IHCYLT/ CELTYL
• 2nd
year: Attend IH YL teacher training sessions
• 3rd
year: Attend IH VYL teacher training sessions
• 4th+
year: ??
CPD: The next step
7. Thank you for your time!
Shay Coyne
scoyne@sab.ihes.com
@shaycoyne
Editor's Notes
I’d like to talk about the strength of our YL program in general as I feel it best reflects Demand High Teaching.
These are the questions that Jim and Adrian pose in regards to DHT. While they make us think about our teaching, for me I felt I needed to simplify the concept so that it became a practical reality. This is what I came up with.
For me, DHT is a combination of Vygotsky and Krashen. Vygotsky focuses on the social, guiding aspect where we as teachers scaffold our lessons and our students’ learning to maximise the acquisition process. ZPD includes mixed abilities, differentiated learning etc. Krashen’s focus is on providing students with a challenge and while DHT does this in class, I’d like to share with you how we provide this challenge at an institutional level.
I’m going to focus on 3 things:
Our books provide the challenge. Primary Colours is a hard book to teach from, but it introduces language such as the past simple in the second level. If we were to use Kid’s Box, we would in effect delay students’ learning by a year. Until recently our juniors used Surfer, a book that was originally designed for teens. Our teens use English in Mind which introduces them to language almost at a C1 level to push them, so that when they get to FCE their grammar is solid.
We expect our students to have a better command of English.
We start our classes for YL mid-September so that we can introduce them to the routines and language they will need to communicate in English in class. Our first week or two is focused on building routines, establishing rules and providing essential language to promote an English only environment.
For our teachers this means:
They do the YL course in their first year, providing them with the tools they need.
Teachers have 3 observations per year and are graded. If they are below standard an action plan is formed.
Teachers understand these expectations, they are told in the recruiting process.
If our teachers are providing students with challenging material and if they are also challenged at work, what does this mean for our school?
We have waiting lists, and repeat levels running at the same time to cater for the demand.
We get most of our students through word of mouth, which places us at the top here in Sabadell. Our students are happy because they are good at English at school, and the end result is that we maintain a large percentage of our YLs over the years as they grow up.
If we expect our teachers to rise to this challenge of being a teacher at IH Sabadell, we need to take care of their professional development.
The problem is that there is little available for teachers in terms of YL development. This is what a teacher interested in YLs could do to progress in the area. But after their 4th year there isn’t much available to them. Our program is only as strong as the teachers who implement it. Therefore, teachers can only effectively teach in a DHT institution with ongoing CPD. That is why I feel it is important to provide teachers with up to date techniques in an annual YL conference, such as today. Then DHT won’t just be a buzz word, it will just mean being a professional YL teacher.
