International House World Organisation (IHWO) is a network of language schools worldwide. There are over 150 schools and teacher training centres in more than 50 countries [1].
International House was founded in 1953 by John Haycraft and his wife Brita Haycraft in Cordoba (Spain), to provide an innovative approach to language teaching [1]. At that time formal programmes of training for teachers of English as a Foreign Language were almost non-existent [2].
John Haycraft was the first to introduce formalised teacher training in 1962, and the course he developed in the 1960s and 1970s became first the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) Certificate in teaching English, and then the current CELTA training course organised by Cambridge ESOL .
Lucy Horsefield is IHWO Chief Operating Officer [3].
Teaching at International House schools follows the "communicative method", which focuses on student to student interaction and use of new structures and vocabulary, as opposed to the teacher-centred approach of traditional language teaching . The systems and methodology of learning is supervised by the IHWO with a single objective - to offer support in learning the chosen language .
International House is an affiliate network. All International House schools are independently-owned affiliates which share the same philosophy, branding and some course materials. The organisation has more than 150 schools in more than 50 countries worldwide.[4]
Some International House Schools offer Cambridge ESOL Teaching Awards Programmes for English Teachers such as DELTA, ICELT, TKT, IH Management for School Coordinators, IDLTM. University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations can be also taken at some IH Schools: PET, KET, FCE, CAE, CPE, YLEs, BEC, BULATS, ICFE and ILEC.
International House also has the Online Teacher Training Institute (OTTI) offering teacher development by distance study. These courses are assessed by the International House Assessment Unit.