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Education and Training at Apollo |
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Apollo Education and Training (International House) Vietnam
Apollo is the first fully foreign-owned education and training organization in
Vietnam. Apollo has an unsurpassed reputation nationwide and is a leader in Vietnam's
rapidly expanding English language and business training market, having won
several prestigious awards.
Active in Vietnam since 1994, Apollo has worked with local and international
clients to develop high-quality and cost-effective solutions to their training
requirements. Our on-the-ground expertise and facilities put us in a unique
position to serve the needs of companies, government organizations and
individuals. His Royal Highness Prince Andrew the Duke of York and HE the
Minister of Education and Training opened the Hanoi head office in 1994, and Her
Royal Highness Princess Ann opened the HCMC branch on 4 May 2002.
Current facilities include:
Hanoi
4 training centres
Ho Chi Minh City
2 training centres
Haiphong
1 training centre
Danang 1 training centre
All locations have fully equipped training rooms and support facilities. The
head offices for each location have audio and video equipped training rooms,
cable TV viewing station, multimedia library and internet facility.
International House (IH)
affiliation
Apollo is affiliated with International House. The International House World
Organisation (IHWO)
is a network of language schools worldwide that are committed to implementing
high standards of quality and innovation in education and training. There are
currently over 140 schools in more than 40 countries.
International
House was founded in 1953 by
John and Brita Haycraft,
with the aim of providing an innovative approach to language teaching. IH has
remained at the forefront of development in the field of language teaching and
in the training of language teachers.
Apollo offers
- Commitment to professional ESL development and high teaching standards
- Competitive packages for teachers
- Wide range of resources and modern facilities
- Variety of English course types
- Opportunities for teacher development and promotion
- IH teacher training courses as well as a comprehensive internal training
programme
For more information on the packages Apollo offers, please see the teaching
pages.
Types of classes
You will teach a mixture of class types, depending on your experience and, as
far as possible, preferences. Teachers are expected to be able and willing to
teach both young learners and adults.
Most teachers enjoy the variety of courses they are teaching, and say it helps
to keep them motivated and interested. Some corporate classes are off-site, as
are some classes in Vietnamese schools. Payment is made towards travel over a
certain distance.
Current courses include:
- Kindy (age 5-6)
Juniors (age 6-12)
Seniors (age 13-16)
Adult General English
Business English
Pronunciation
Business Writing
IELTS/TOEFL
Academic English
- 1-2-1 online courses
Corporate Programme
Apollo has an expanding corporate department, offering courses in both EFL and
Professional Development skills.
The EFL courses are similar to the adult courses offered to the public, but will
be more tailored to the needs of individual companies. They also include ESP
(English for Specific Purposes) courses such as English for the hospitality
industry, or English for engineering.
Teaching schedules
Classes are scheduled from 7.45am to 9.45pm, Monday - Sunday; teachers may be
scheduled anytime during these hours, over a 5 or 6 day timetable. Teachers need
to be prepared for the fact that some classes are off-site.
This variety means your schedule will be different each day, and will change as
classes finish and new ones begin, so it isn't possible to talk about a 'usual'
schedule. It is sometimes inevitable to have to work some 'split shifts', with
time for some shopping, a swim, or a nap in the afternoon, although these are
usually avoided. Teachers usually work a 5-day week with 2 consecutive days off.
Students
Vietnamese students are motivated, dedicated, enthusiastic, and hold teachers in
high regard. They are great fun and enjoy highly participative, energetic
lessons. They make Vietnam a superb place to learn and perfect your teaching
skills. Student expectations are high. You will be seen as an expert in all
things connected with English, to the extent of being able to answer complicated
grammar rule queries on the spot. To deal with this you will have to be able to
deflect such questions without saying "I don't know", or you will be in danger
of losing credibility. "Let's look at that in more detail next lesson" usually
works.
You will also be expected to make your lessons interesting and participative - a
teacher who makes their lessons dynamic and active with a wide range of
supplementary games and materials will find their classes happy and motivated.
The majority of students identify their main weaknesses as listening and
speaking skills (including pronunciation). They tend not to want/need to do much
reading, writing or grammar in class. While adhering to the general principles
of '4 skills' teaching, teachers should be prepared to focus on listening and
speaking
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