1. SCHOOL INFO.

HOW WE TEACH

METHODS

We teach using traditional methods that have been proven and are currently used in the best language schools in the world. Skillful application of these methods guarantees an intense teaching tempo and constant progress.

The aim of our language courses is to get students acquainted with the practical aspects of the language they are learning. In respect to lessons for the youngest students, the main emphasis is on communication and getting acquainted to a foreign language in a stress-free environment. Main goals for teen and adult students are to cement a knowledge and understanding of all aspects of a foreign language, with particular emphasis on the ability to communicate in an articulate manner.

Our goal is to provide our students with concrete language abilities that can be used in any situation. To reach this goal, we offer lessons in small groups of 4 to 8 people that are led by qualified teachers. The teachers duty is to lead the lessons using the communicative method while focusing on variety (working alone, in pairs, in groups, conversation, discussion, listening exercises, and videos) to allow students to use the language naturally.

Students between the ages of 5 to 7 years are taught exclusively by teachers who are Polish. For most other groups, we propose lessons with both a native speaker and teacher who is Polish. According to the guidelines set by the director of studies, the duty of our Polish teachers is to first be educated in the program of teaching vocabulary, writing, grammar, and the practice of the language and proper pronunciation. The role of the native speaker is to lead students in conversation, introducing students to a living language, break through language barriers, practice proper pronunciation, and to also bring the culture of English speaking cultures into the classroom. In accordance to our accepted methodological standards, teachers are required to check students progress by using regular tests. Information on the test results including teachers comments, language competency, and attendance record are regularly sent all students parents. A final exam is required for all students to continue their education and to receive their course completion certificate.

TEACHERS

How does a teacher transfer their knowledge to students while making lessons interesting and effective? It would seem that only the proper educational training would do, but in our opinion that is not enough. Teachers need to be talented educators, and just as important is their ability to create good interpersonal relationships with students.

From the start we have been fortunate enough to recruit the most talented, professional teachers, who passionately and with great pleasure teach foreign languages.

We guarantee our teachers continuous methodological training and contact with our Director of Studies, to allow our teachers to continuously improve their skills and utilize new methods and trends taking place in education. In accordance with PASE standards, the Director of Studies possesses a degree in English philology and has had 5 years of work experience in teaching.

Teachers working for our school must have the following qualifications: a masters or bachelors degree; in the case of a native speaker, RSA CTEFLA/CELTA/Trinity or an equivalent diploma. Students between the ages of 5 to 7 years are taught exclusively by teachers who are Polish. For most other groups, we propose lessons with both a native speaker and teacher who is Polish.

The work of our teachers is continuously monitored the Director of Studies, and who observes our teachers work in each group once a semester. Students also have say in how our teachers evaluation through surveys which are anonymously filled in.

TEXTBOOKS

As one of the few schools in Poland to have the honour to have OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS as our patron, one of the oldest and most respected language institutions on the planet. In addition to that, for most English courses we use textbooks from this publisher. Whenever necessary we reach for other quality titles and new textbooks from other respected publishers such as, LONGMAN, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, EXPRESS PUBLISHING or MACMILLIAN. In terms of other languages, we use textbooks from HEUBER, LANGENSCHEIDT, KLETT and HACHETTE. Until recently, textbooks have been delivered to CE Libra at a cost savings of 20% to our clients.

GROUPS

All our students praise our system of teaching language in small groups of up to 8 people. From the beginning our philosophy has been that the smaller the group, the better the educational effect.

Its honestly difficult to imagine proper language learning to occur in groups of 10-15 people, which is unfortunately often the norm in Polish language schools. Furthermore, all those who sign up for our courses will be placed in groups according to their abilities and their age. Working within the guidelines of our placement system, teaching language in groups of about 5 or 6 people, are often things not found in other language schools, but we offer this at prices within reach.

Another aspect of our small groups philosophy is: that we dont force all students who are at vaguely similar levels into one group, we try to best divide students into groups based on abilities and age. Because of this, every year more groups form. Its often the case that groups of 8, in which there are people who are of differing abilities, are split into groups of 4 leveling the playing field for the students. This raises the effectiveness of the lessons, without changing the price of the lessons.

We offer a flexible schedule, taking into consideration individual students schedule. Our standard courses take place twice a week, each meeting lasts 90 minutes (45 minutes for preschoolers). We do not choose when lessons take place, that is up to our students. They choose the days and the hours lessons occur.

EXAMS

During our last five years of existence, the students whose teacher and our Director of Studies agreed they take the FCE, CAE, and ZD exams have all achieved positive results. Thus, we can say with clean conscience that our system of exam preparation works. Intensive exam preparation courses are offered to our students (FCE and CAE preparation courses with up to 186 lesson hours per year) with practice exams followed with detailed and honest discussion of the grade, and free textbooks and access to our library are offered. The progress of our students is checked throughout the school year.

OUR SCHOOLS

Each of our schools is conveniently and centrally located in a well-lit and safe part of town. The schools are located on the 1^st (ground) or 2^nd floor and are far from busy streets. All classrooms, reception areas, teachers rooms, washrooms, and waiting areas are well equipped and modern. In addition, all our schools are located in newly built or completely remodeled buildings, specifically adapted to our specifications for educational purposes. This means that from the beginning we have chosen the classrooms location and appearance.

All CE Libra branches are managed by us and exclusively used as educational facilities and for no other purpose. Because of this, we have been successful in creating an ideal environment for learning at all our branches. Our classrooms show our attention to detail. Classrooms are attractive, well maintained, well lit, properly equipped with audiovisual equipment, warmly colored, equipped for groups of 4 to 8 people, and properly furnished with ergonomic and comfortable furniture. In addition to this, where needed, we have installed window shades needed to keep classrooms comfortable in summer months and to ensure privacy in the evenings. All this ensures that lessons take place in a comfortable  atmosphere, thus making the learning more effective.

2. REFERENCES

But Bielsko is by no means an urban jungle. There are of plenty of opportunities for hiking in the mountains that ring the city or exploring the vast network of nature trails that run through them. In the wintertime, skiers will also be pleased to find plenty of opportunities to hit the slopes in several neighbouring towns which are only a short bus ride away. Furthermore, Bielsko is ideally situated for anyone who is interested in visiting Poland's beautiful medieval capital Krakow (2 hours 30 mins by bus, a must see), or any of Central Europe's greatest cities. Prague, Vienna and Budapest can all be reached within six to ten hours by train from Bielsko. Transportation and accommodation costs in this part of Europe are very reasonable by Western standards and it is certainly possible to manage about one foreign weekend trip per month on a teacher's salary with little to no difficulty.

As far as the school itself is concerned, any visitor to Libra will immediately notice that its schools are very different from most of its competitors in the region. It is quite evident that the school's directors have poured a lot of effort, hard-work and money into their business and that they are completely dedicated to creating the best possible educational environment for their students as they can. Everything, from the paint on the walls to the tables and chairs in each classroom, is brand new and colourful. The professionalism of the school is reflected in its student body: most students are hard-working, friendly and greatly appreciative of the chance to have weekly contact with a native speaker. In short, I can say without hesitation that Libra schools are an agreeable place both for you to work and for your students to learn.

As a native-speaking teacher at Libra, you will also be given a great deal of freedom to develop your own lessons plans, student activities and games independently from your partner teachers if you so wish. In my opinion, this arrangement is ideal for native speakers because it offers new teachers an opportunity to be creative and experiment with different ideas rather than locking them into a rigid (and often boring) routine of textbook grammar exercises. But if you ever have any questions or need help, there are always plenty of other teachers around, both Polish and native speakers, who are always more than willing to share their ideas on any topic from games to maintaining discipline in the classroom. The school also has an extensive library of resource/game books which you can always rely on if you are stuck for ideas, or are looking to try something new or different. Furthermore, each school is equipped with all the AV equipment you might need during lessons, e.g. CD/cassette players, TV/VCRs."
SEAN J. MCLAUGHLIN (CANADA), BIELSKO-BIALA, JUNE 2003

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3. JOB OFFER

Centrum Edukacyjne LIBRA is a private language institution specializing in teaching foreign languages. Our schools are located in the southern Poland, in picturesque and lovely towns of Ustron and Skoczow. All of them offer a wide variety of leisure as well as hiking, skiing, sightseeing possibilities; and are really close to the heart of things Katowice and the historical town of Cracow. The first school was established in Ustron in 1998 and LIBRA has been growing ever since. Offering very effective teaching methods and high standards of service and organisation, it soon gained popularity and a very good reputation. It is also the only language school in the region accredited by OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS for high standards of teaching. CE LIBRA currently employs many qualified teachers of English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.
CE LIBRA specializes in teaching English on general as well as exam (FCE/CAE) and business courses. We offer tuition to students of all ages at all levels (from elementary to advanced) on both open and in-company courses.
Classes take place Monday to Friday from 2 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. We teach in small groups of 4-8 students and classes are held twice a week: 45-minute sessions for primary groups (taught only by Polish teachers) and 90-minute sessions for children, teenagers and adults.
All schools are housed in new modern premises equipped with all necessary teaching aids. The nicely furnished interiors, kept in warm, bright colours, give our students and staff as much comfort as possible. There are mini-bars with sweets, snacks and hot and warm drinks /great expresso coffee/ for teachers and students. A resource centre is at teachers disposal to help them prepare their lessons.
Since teacher development is a very important part of our philosophy, the Director of Studies, responsible for academic management of CE LIBRA, organizes regular workshops as well as teacher training at the beginning of each school year. Additionally, each teacher is observed at least once in semester.
Administrative and enrolment duties are done by secretaries (all fluent in English), whereas the Head Office is responsible for academic, accounting and marketing service.
As a highly reputable school CE LIBRA selects teachers carefully and appreciates their experience, dedication, professionalism and positive attitude.
Working in our school as a native speaker teacher of English you would share such responsibilities as:

teaching all levels of general as well as exam and Business English for groups of all ages and one-to-one classes
preparing and administering placement and progress tests as well as final exams
designing educational activities and games for use in childrens, teenagers and adults classes
keeping attendance records and preparing progress reports
testing and evaluating students written assignments as well as grammar, speaking and listening skills
designing and preparing texts, tests and quizzes and other materials for CE LIBRAs web site and courses
attending workshops and trainings organized by DOS

CE LIBRA is currently looking for experienced, creative, reliable and enthusiastic teachers for all our schools to start in September 2007 :
Compulsory requirements:
TEFL certificate (RSA CTEFLA/ CELTA, Trinity TESOL or equivalent) with minimum 80 hrs, 6 hrs observed TP
experience of teaching English to non-English speaking students minimum 1 year
university degree optional (preferably in arts or education)

CE LIBRA offers:
- a good local salary
- realistic working hours (25-30 hours per week)
- work permit and visa arranged and paid for
- accommodation provided (utility bills, gas, electricity, water and phone bills paid by teachers)
- very good chances for personal development
- teacher training
- access to teachers resource centre
- national health insurance
- work in nice and stimulating environment in a team of helpful and friendly teachers
- highly motivated students

If you are interested in teaching English in CE LIBRA in beautiful mountainous region of southern Poland, please send your CV and application letter to the following address:

CE LIBRA
Anna Binek-Glabinska
Director of Studies
ul. A. Brody 4
43-450 Ustroń
POLAND

libra@libra.edu.pl